After stepping over the line with some of her comments during an episode of Fashion Police—a show that makes snark part of its mission statement—Giuliana Rancic has come forward with an apology. And it is an excellent example of how to apologize through the media. It is sincere and authentic, while demonstrating understanding of where she misstepped and how her statement may have offended audiences. She directly addressed the target of her comments, Zedaya, with humility and grace.
We can expect to see Ms. Rancic recover, likely stronger than ever.
Note: Zedaya’s response to that apology is no less impressive. Celebrities can learn from her intuitive grasp of how to negotiate the new media climate. We all can.
Every day, it seems, another major American brand experiences a crisis. Despite a large and experienced industry of experts that fix them, they don’t seem to be going away. Last fall the CEO of Microsoft became one of many corporate leaders to unwittingly create one.
Why are so many CEOs stumbling in the diversity department? The problem often starts internally. Statements and actions by CEOs and other leaders portray them as out of touch with the people their companies target as consumers. Outrage ignites online, goes viral, and then lands on prime-time news. CEOs and boards are surprised over the impact of their actions or statements. They are often puzzled as to why a backlash occurred at all.
If you are a CEO, there are several steps you can take to ensure you don’t become the next target of online backlash. The first is to understand why these crises are happening so often and what they share in common.
My recent Forbes.com piece, The Most Successful CEOs Embrace Customer Diversity, sheds light on the problem. How else can CEOs incorporate a more well-balanced blend of diversity within their corporate cultures? Conduct a search for #diversity and you will find plenty of suggestions.
CEO Mary Barra has not been able to stop GM’s crisis. But her 2.0 crisis communications skills are an asset to GM. They can be judged by the transparency and skill with which she handled the recall catastrophe on the Internet.
Barra’s communications strategy incorporates multiple digital media platforms. She has used these channels to respond to the crisis with a strong and genuine message. In addition to harnessing social media like Facebook and Twitter to connect directly with customers, she has also addressed the recalls in a series of videos, a USA TODAY editorial, and even her commencement speech at the University of Michigan earlier this month. CEOs can learn much from studying her playbook.
We previously highlighted how Toyota utilized innovative social media strategies to repair its reputation following recalls in 2009 and 2010, but more problems, including recalls in both October and November of this past year, have threatened to undo that progress. Toyota attributed these recent recalls to “its increased diligence toward quality and safety” and “fought vigorously in recent years to defend itself against claims that its vehicles were prone to speeding out of control with no warning,” according to Forbes.
The Value of Trust
Despite the historic size of the recent settlement—and the fact that the acceleration issues have not been scientifically confirmed—Toyota appears to have decided that the benefits to its reputation outweigh the cost. As the Wall Street Journal points out, the settlement “includes no admission of fault or unlawful conduct by Toyota and allows the company to avoid the risks associated with battling a lengthy trial.”
By offering support and compensation for both current and former owners of affected vehicles, Toyota is seeking to win back the trust of some of its most important customers. “This settlement is a nod to loyal Toyota owners whose car resale values were hurt by the unintended acceleration issue and the intense publicity that followed,” auto industry analyst Michelle Krebs told Forbes. Additionally, allocating $30 million “to finance automotive safety research related to driver behavior and unintended acceleration” allows Toyota to underscore its broader dedication to safety. “We concluded that turning the page on this legacy legal issue through the positive steps we are taking is in the best interests of the company, our employees, our dealers and, most of all, our customers,” said Toyota’s Christopher P. Reynolds. “This agreement marks a significant step forward for our company, one that will enable us to put more of our energy, time and resources into Toyota’s central focus: making the best vehicles we can for our customers and doing everything we can to meet their needs.”
An Expensive Solution
With its stock on the rise and the automaker set to once again become “the world’s biggest car maker,” Toyota appears to be faring quite well. But as Pepperdine University School of Law professor Richard Cupp warns in a Reuters article, “lawsuits like these could become increasingly common, even where there is not provable physical injury on large scale.” On Business Insider USC Marshall School of Business marketing professor Ira Kalb offers some valuable advice, pointing out how better crisis management and communication could have lessened Toyota’s woes. “To keep the top spot,” Kalb says, “making a better car is not enough.”
