The Buitoni or Ferrero cases prove it: no company is safe from a major crisis. These events can have serious consequences on the health and lives of the population. Today, anticipation is crucial. With the Internet and social networks, information and rumors circulate at full speed. When faced with danger, a company must react immediately and demonstrate total transparency to maintain public trust. How to achieve this?
Anticipate the crisis so as not to be caught off guard
The time factor is crucial in managing a crisis. It is important to react as soon as possible in order to be able to give your arguments before rumors and false reports have spread. This is, for example, the strategy adopted by Ferrero during the salmonella contamination episode at its Arlon factory: as soon as the first warning signals appeared, the brand took the decision to order a massive recall of all of its Kinder products manufactured on this site. By taking the lead, the company sought to demonstrate its concern for health safety and quality. She thus prevented uncontrolled rumors from spreading, even if the reality was not to her advantage.
React quickly and vigorously
Responsiveness seems even more important in crisis management than in any other area of business. It makes it possible to limit the consequences of the crisis which more quickly becomes a resolved problem. This also helps show the importance that the company attaches to the safety of its consumers or the quality of its products. Thus, the car manufacturer Stellantis, faced with critical failures of the Takata airbags fitted to some of its models (notably the Citroën C3), reacted by ordering an immediate stop to driving (“Stop Drive”) and by carrying out a massive recall of the vehicles concerned for replacement. The financial and logistical cost of the measure was considerable, but the radical commitment to driver safety was the condition sine qua non to maintain trust in the brand.
Prepare communication tools in advance
Preparing a web page dedicated to crisis management or modifying your main site to adapt it to the situation avoids responding in an emergency. This avoids the deafening silence that allows speculation to run rampant. You must also prepare a list of key contacts to establish to quickly transmit information (unions, media, administrative or health authorities, etc.) and prepare press release frames in advance.
Also list the potential crises that threaten your business. For example, a transport operator like SNCF faces accidents, delays or bad weather. The food industry fears poisoning, bacteria like E.coli or listeria, and undeclared allergens. Finally, the automotive or technology sector fears manufacturing defects and security breaches.
Every company must measure these dangers and ask themselves a key question: “If this happened to me, what would I do? ». This anticipation allows you to structure effective communication. This will prevent your company from having to close its doors.
Demonstrate transparency
The rapid and informal circulation of information via social networks makes the hope of hiding a malfunction or limiting its dissemination illusory. It is therefore better to know this and lay your cards on the table: if the public has the feeling that something is being hidden from them, they will be merciless (as illustrated by the dramatic crisis of Buitoni/Nestlé pizzas, where hidden hygiene failures destroyed the image of the brand). On the other hand, if the company gives the impression of playing fair and assuming its responsibilities, it will be more listened to and more quickly forgiven. By clearly explaining the origin of the failure and the strict corrective measures applied on its production lines, a company can gradually restore its level of requirements and place itself alongside consumers.
Bouncing back from the crisis
Judicious handling of a crisis can even constitute an opportunity to reinvent your model. Ferrero had already demonstrated this during the vast controversy surrounding the tax on palm oil, deemed harmful to health and accused of promoting deforestation. The Italian company then explained the need for this raw material for the Nutella recipe, while making a massive commitment to sourcing from 100% certified sustainable plantations (RSPO).
More recently, the company reiterated this reconstruction approach following its health crises by completely modernizing its control protocols, automating its alert systems and opening its processes to independent environmental and health audits. The brand thus applied the principles of crisis communication from start to finish: anticipate health risks, react with total transparency to the public and bounce back by raising its demanding standards beyond regulatory standards. Effective in sustaining your business!
