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Have you heard that all press is good press? Or all publicity is good publicity? Well, that’s not quite true.
When your small business is on the receiving end of negative publicity and scathing reviews, you’ll likely find yourself wishing for a time when you were flying under the radar.
You aren’t alone. At a time when consumers have more of a voice and a platform than ever, plenty of companies fear what a public bashing could do to them—especially when numerous studies show that customers place a lot of weight on negative reviews.
But here’s the thing: You aren’t perfect, which means you might find yourself in the middle of a public relations crisis at one point or another.
Maybe somebody from your employee’s past accuses them of racially-insensitive behavior. Perhaps a whole group of customers gets sick from a bad batch of your bagels. Or maybe you’re the victim of identity confusion, and your business gets misidentified as a different one.
First things first—breathe in and breathe out. These types of situations are stressful, and they absolutely deserve to be handled with care and consideration. Once you’ve calmed the sense of panic that’s rising from your shoes to your throat, let’s talk about how to deal with a variety of scenarios.
You’ve been called out. And the worst part? The press is right—you, your employees, or your entire business really did do something wrong.
Now’s the time to take ownership rather than going on the defensive, as apologies that seem insincere can backfire, harm your reputation, and lead to even more negative press. So how do you take accountability for your error? Let’s clear this up with an example.
Imagine that you run a barbershop, and you and your employees have been relatively loose about wearing face masks during the pandemic. Your lack of care bothered one vocal customer, and now a brutal Facebook post about your business is making the rounds.
You decide you want to post a statement to your own Facebook page to try to do some damage control. As you craft that post, make sure you keep these tips in mind:
It’s every business owner’s worst nightmare: Somebody is pointing the finger at you for something you didn’t actually do.
Sticking with our barbershop example, perhaps you and your team have been incredibly strict about health guidelines and safety measures—and you’re baffled as to why someone would say differently.
Understandably, you’re worried about coming right out and saying, “That’s not true!” will make you look defensive and like you’re shirking responsibility. But, at the same time, you don’t want these falsehoods perpetuated when they could potentially destroy your business.
Now what? Here are a few steps you can take:
And finally, there’s the case of mistaken identity. Perhaps a business that shares a similar name to yours did something awful. Your business is completely innocent, but now you’re being tagged in scathing posts and have found yourselves in a firestorm of undeserved bad press.
It happens more often than you might think. Here’s just one example where a Minnesota divorce lawyer named Eric Nelson posted a message to clarify that he wasn’t the same attorney representing Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd.
Minnesota divorce lawyer Eric C. Nelson has something he wants you to know. pic.twitter.com/7Knozp0KXD— Claire Bushey (@Claire_Bushey) March 11, 2021
Minnesota divorce lawyer Eric C. Nelson has something he wants you to know. pic.twitter.com/7Knozp0KXD
— Claire Bushey (@Claire_Bushey) March 11, 2021
This type of confusion can lead to a totally helpless feeling, but rest assured that there are some things you can do to right the ship:
When you work so hard to build your business, receiving bad publicity is enough to fill you with an overwhelming sense of dread.
Some situations will be easier to recover from than others. But regardless of what hot water you find yourself in, it’s crucial that you think carefully about how to respond appropriately—or you risk making a bad situation worse.
Once you’ve done everything you can to patch things up (and learn from your mistakes, if necessary), it’s time to move on. Remember, even something as majestic as Niagara Falls has its fair share of brutal reviews.
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Based in the great state of Wisconsin, Kat is a freelance writer focused on careers, productivity, and entrepreneurship. When she’s not in front of her computer screen, she’s either hiking with her 2 rescue mutts, baking up a new recipe, or squishing her adorable son. Learn more about her at katboogaard.com.
Small Business Tools
7 min read • Aug 12, 2022