Business

Crisis Control in Business

Crisis Control in Business

Tips for Handling a Crisis Situation as a Business

A crisis is never good for business and can often be disastrous. For that reason, according to educator Jonathan Osler, it’s essential to know how to handle one before you’re actually in the middle of one.

Crisis Management 

1) Be Honest About What’s Happening

The first thing to handle a crisis is being honest about what’s happening. It may seem like you’re downplaying the severity of the problem, but they’ll be more understanding by being open and honest with customers. If they find out after the fact, they’ll feel deceived, and deceived customers are never good for your business.

2) Don’t Lie About the Severity or Details of the Situation

The worst thing you can do in a crisis lies with your customers. They deserve to know all of the details – not just those that paint your company in a favorable light. If you don’t tell them everything, they’ll worry that there’s more to the story than you’re letting on. And once doubt sets in, it can be not easy to win back their trust.

3) Know Your Customer Base and Market Well

Jonathan Osler emphasizes that knowing your customer base and their concerns will help you better handle a crisis. For example, suppose people have previously expressed concern over animal testing on products. In that case, you need to know that information so that in case something should happen where animal testing was an issue; you’ll be prepared with a response ahead of time.

4) Offer Transparent Communication with Customers

Transparency is critical when dealing with customers during a crisis. You need to make sure that they know exactly what happened and how it happened to understand why it happened and how it was handled.

5) Take Decisive Action – Act Quickly and Decisively

If you get yourself in a crisis situation, it’s important to act quickly and decisively. When faced with a crisis, don’t wait to decide what needs to be done: make the decision and move forward.

It’s also important to consider your customer base when making decisions during a crisis. Be sure not to forget about the people who are there for you either before or after the crisis. Keep them in mind as you’re moving forward with your plan of action.

Options for decisive action include updates via social media or email lists, offering promotional discounts for customers who were inconvenienced by the event (such as 50% off their next order), and using an email template that provides information on how customers can reach you if they have any questions.

Conclusion

In a crisis it’s essential to know the proper steps to take and be prepared to take decisive action. It’s also necessary to be honest and communicative with your customer base. A crisis is a chance for you to improve your brand image and demonstrate your values. So make sure you don’t lie or hide from your customers and know who they are and what they want.

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Pamela is a television journalist, humor writer and novelist. Her first novel, Allegedly, was released in 2015 by St. Martin’s Press. The book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She and her husband, Daniel, have a 3-year-old son, Carter.

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