Crisis & Combat: A Two Part Series
Part I: TECH
Nothing in business is purely smooth sailing, there are always bumps in the road, things that need adjusting, or cause hardship. Your company is constantly being scrutinized. Not only do you have to account for differing opinions in the media, and public relations problems, but you have to make sure you are hiring people of character. A failure to balance these things can lead to crisis, something that every company runs into at one point or another.
Crisis’ come down to two broad categories, tech and people.
The web footprint your company leaves can have serious effects on your customers. From a public relations standpoint, the improper use of customer data can scare away the consumer, and breaches in firewalls can release information that pushes even the loyalist of customers away.
To begin, a common problem that gets public scrutiny is the improper use of technology that gets companies into trouble with their customers. In the current realm of the internet, companies have the ability to leverage customer data to track trends, and create leads to attract them to their products. Have you ever noticed the ads that pop up on your social media account might indeed show the pair of shoes you googled last week? Some people might find that extremely convenient, but not all, and thus this use of customer data walks a fine line between a superb business plan, and a direct invasion of privacy.
Google is responsible for about 65% of all search inquiries in the United States. Therefore, every one of the people responsible for these searches have allowed, knowingly or not, for google to track and access them, thus creating preference based ads. Say you are uncomfortable with this and decide to up your online privacy by turing on ad blocking, clearing your cookies, and turning off your location access. Well, even in this situation (and props to you if you even know what “clearing your cookies” means), if you have social media, you are still being tracked. Social media companies use your photos and “liked” pages to sell your information to advertisers, and just like that the creepy ads are back again.
Although some people enjoy the convenience, many others feel like their privacy has been violated, and there have even been reports of smart devices such as “Alexa”, who when plugged in, have recorded private conversations in people’s homes, and accidentally sent them out to other people.
So, what have the creators of technology such as “Alexa”, who herself has caused controversy, done to respond to these events and allegations? They admit that invasions of privacy have happened, offered reasons for why the mistakes occurred, and are working to eliminate those events. They looked at a winless situation and admitted wrongdoing, the correct approach to gain an understanding from the customer and limit backlash.
In the past two years, companies anywhere from Macy’s to Arby’s have released statements confirming that breaches in data have caused personal customer information to be released to an unauthorized third party. A common thread being credit card information, and warnings to check statements involving recent purchases that may have not been submitted by the cardholder.
Many of these companies respond in the same way, not confirming how many customers were effected, but indeed admitting the breach and offering advanced protective services in the future. This reaction, grants them immunity from being involved in any foul play, and may even save a customer base who not only likes the product enough to keep buying, but also respects the honest professionalism of admittance.
When it comes to the web, a lot can go wrong, but then again, it is also an unmatchable tool in terms of marketing and profit raising. When things go wrong, which they inevitably will, the best way to combat the wrongdoing is to come forward and make a statement before it is too late, and make it an honorable one. Your company will thank you later when the turmoil ends, as it always does.
Don’t forget to check back in for part II!
