Little secrets grow up quickly
When organisations lose trust in the eyes of the public, the simple diagnosis is often that they need to communicate more. What a flattering thought: Communicators can fix it. Basically everything and with simple remedies?
6. April 2017
They can explain more and better why the organization is actually right. Or just deeply misunderstood. Why customers simply get it wrong when they feel they have been lied to about product quality. When communities protest against new projects because of noise or pollution levels. When citizens lose faith in politics and politicians. Communicators can communicate it away. They can even win elections.
Is it really that simple? Can a plethora of press releases, campaigns, posters and give-aways fix it? In other words, can a goodie-bag restore trust? The uncomfortable truth is: It does not make sense to spend huge amounts of money on communicating if you are not willing to give customers, citizens and media real insight. Thanks to digitalization and social media the former audience has become the co-owner of your business. And only information which is publicly available cannot be leaked.
Lack of transparency triggers shitstorms
Where companies try to hide away or polish the truth, NGOs and investigative journalists fill the gap, expose bad practices and make the truth even more uncomfortable. Take Nutella, probably the biggest rockstar among bread spreads in the World. When the European Food Safety Authority in May 2016 exposed palm oil as a possibly carcinogenic substance when heated over 200 C, brands like Barilla immediately announced that they would not use it anymore. Nutella, on the contrary, published a Dementi and started an image campaign – resulting in a quick rise of calls for boycotts in social media.
Supply chains are another area, where poor traceability raises suspicions. Opacity correlates with modern slavery, environment pollution, child labour. And whoever disregards consumer expectations for transparency risks to expose himself to major shitstorms. The fashion industry is just one example for sectors who are regularly in the media for this reason.
Photo: Simon Holstein, Pixabay
Communication is not a one-way-street, but can only take place when people are ready to share with respect for each other’s concerns. Transparency does not mean publishing as much information as possible but all the information which is relevant for stakeholders. It’s a basic precondition for real dialogue.
If you are ready to take the bull by the horn, you can bring the debate out your offices and other backrooms into the heart of society.
We at Communication Works would love to help you.
Text: Sabine Froning
