There are numerous historical examples of brand crises that go beyond online criticism and involve the company’s ethics and morals. A famous example is the Volkswagen case in 2015, when it was discovered that the company had installed software in its vehicles to manipulate emissions tests. This revelation had a devastating impact on the brand’s reputation, resulting in significant financial losses and a loss of consumer trust.
Another example is the case of Facebook (now Meta), which was involved in controversies over privacy and misuse of user data. These crises have shaken user trust and brought to light ethical questions about the use of personal data. There are also cases involving concerns about the environment, such as the oil spill that hit Guanabara Bay in 2000 and which damaged the reputation of Petrobras.
Recently, the Carrefour Group faced a serious crisis, triggered bosnia and herzegovina whatsapp data by the death of João Alberto, 40, in a store of the chain in Porto Alegre on the eve of Black Awareness Day in Brazil. The murder sparked protests across the country and put even more pressure on the company's image, which had already been severely damaged by crimes and racist acts that had taken place in its facilities in recent years. In 2020, the group suffered a loss in market value of R$2.16 billion.
Therefore, a brand crisis can arise in many ways, including:
Product problems: Defects or failures in products that compromise safety or customer satisfaction.
Public controversies: Unfortunate statements by company representatives, involvement in scandals or inappropriate behavior that have negative repercussions.
Poor customer service: Persistent or widely publicized negative experiences that demonstrate a disconnect between the brand promise and the reality consumers experience.
Security incidents: Data breaches or security failures that compromise consumer privacy and trust.
Every company is subject to a brand crisis
Well, you might be thinking that a crisis of this magnitude only affects large companies that work massively with brand positioning, such as multinationals and large corporations. But, could the crisis not also affect small neighborhood businesses?
Imagine a pizzeria that recently opened and is trying to win over the city's clientele. In the first few weeks, the owner did not prepare for the success that sales would bring and hired only one delivery person. As a result, the wait time for delivery was more than three hours, leaving many consumers dissatisfied. One of them decided to post many complaints about the situation on social media, and other people who also bought from the place confirmed the allegations. The result? The following week, sales dropped by half!
In e-commerce, this type of crisis is even more frequent, since the most popular purchasing criterion among consumers is the evaluation. When choosing a product or service, customers consider both positive and negative comments. A survey conducted by the Guia dos Melhores platform showed that 78% of consumers consider the set of evaluations existing in an advertisement before formalizing the purchase.
How to overcome a brand crisis?
Crisis management is a process that seeks to correct the impacts caused by an adversity, avoiding or minimizing losses to the organization, in addition to preserving its reputation in the market. Overcoming a brand crisis requires a coordinated and strategic effort that involves all areas of the company. Typically, a committee is created and a leader is appointed to coordinate the team to overcome the challenges brought about by the emergency. The crisis committee should include representatives from the legal, operations, product, finance, human resources, and marketing departments, among others.