You may have read about the Tesla tussle with the New York Times earlier this year. Reporter John Broder wrote an inarguably scathing review about the Model S which Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed is not only inaccurate and unethical, but has cost the company $100 million.
When the review first came out, Elon rebutted on their own corporate blog. Perhaps Broder was unaware of the technology built within the vehicle, but Musk pulled the data and responded point by point to Broder’s review essentially proving the point that Broder set out to sabotage the company from the beginning.
My initial reaction to the situation was that this makes a great case study for the importance of building a platform; an audience and a loyal community allows you to get your story out with relying on the media. It’s one of those wonderful side benefits to your online efforts and community building.
Your community matters
The best crisis communications start long before any crisis or issue arises. If you don’t spend time building relationships when things are going well, you’re sort of left out there alone to hang and dry when things go bad. There is no such thing as an add water now for your instant community.
Your community will come to your rescue when needed. You can see this in the comments in Musk’s blog post. The majority pledge their undying love to him, even if they don’t always agree with his approach.
But we aren’t all Elon Musk. I dug into the details further and thought about how I’d advise my client in the same situation; and I’d do it differently.
Ask yourself the following questions when deciding how to respond to a PR crisis.
1. How do we want the response to change perception?
I don’t see any value ever in burning bridges, especially with a reporter from The New York Times, for goodness sakes. Further, you don’t want to come across as angry and defensive. Musk’s point by point rebuttal does all those things. Decidedly, having that data did well to prove his point, so he successfully planted doubts about the intent of the reporter.
You won’t always have facts on your side. Even if you do, a softer, less accusatory dialogue might be more in order. We want to win everyone over.
Which brings us to the silent audience: All those people reading the reviews and forming perceptions in the quiet of their homes.
2. How can I get the public to sympathize with my brand?
Elon Musk’s response created a second wave of publicity…not in a good way.
Often we focus too much energy on the actual detractor and while it is very possible to turn your detractors into ambassadors, sometimes you have to resign yourself to the fact it’s not going to happen.
In that situation, you should focus your response less on the actual detractor and more on having your response out there for the public to see. Elon’s response only served to anger his subject further, who wrote a second piece in the New York Times. Please, stop the bleeding. Now, everyone is writing about the controversy and the back and forth, shining a light on the issue even further.
If you hadn’t seen that scathing review the first time it ran, it’s more than likely you caught it after the second.
Don’t respond in anger, but DO respond. Show your silent audience that you are paying attention and you are dealing with the matter. You might be sorry, you might be fixing the problem. There are a variety of things you might be doing, and they should know. Lashing out only serves to fan the flames.
3. Am I prepared for potential backlash?
Let’s step back in time and talk about preventive maintenance. Before you begin your media outreach campaign, look at the various ways it might turn against you and plan accordingly. If you are going to have a Tweetchat, remember, someone can hijack your hashtag and trash talk you. Be prepared. Do the proper research on reporters before you invite them to review your product or service.
If Tesla had done so, they’d notice Broder isn’t a fan of electric cars to begin with.
It’s difficult not to take criticism personally – even more so when it’s your own company and said criticism is costing you $100 million. Whether Tesla responded appropriately or not is another matter. The important thing here is every situation is unique. Keeping your loyal audience in mind and your ultimate goal – how you want to influence perception on the matter – will hopefully keep you resilient in times of crisis.
For more marketing advice from Lisa Gerber, click here.
Image: Frank Schmidt (Creative Commons)
