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Your measurement questions answered.
Email yours to Katharine Delahaye Paine.

This month:
How Can Measurement Minimize Crisis Damage?

From: Peggy Stuntz, Editor, PR NEWS

To: kdpaine@kdpaine.com

Hi, Katie! PR NEWS recently produced a Webinar on the role of measurement in monitoring, maintaining and salvaging a company’s reputation in a crisis. The speakers weren’t able to cover as much as we’d have liked during the time available, and as a result, many of the attendees had lots of questions. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the following:

Question: How could measurement play a role in any of the "crises du jour" to help minimize damage?

Answer: The biggest question any organization needs to answer when they’re in the middle of a crisis is what impact it is having on its publics, especially the publics that matter most. A fast overnight Omnibus question would answer that and give the besieged communicator at least a general sense of how badly the crisis was impacting the company’s reputation.

Also, they need to know if their crisis management techniques are working. In other words: Is the crisis going away? Or is it getting worse? Generally, a crisis should have the worst of its coverage during the first week, and after that, if it’s well-managed, coverage should decline in subsequent weeks. —KDP

Question: How should organizations employ measurement to avoid crises?

Answer: Measurement serves as an early warning system to help organizations understand what issues are brewing out there in the media, in discussion groups, etc. It tells you who’s writing or talking about them, and speeds up your response time. It helps identify friends and enemies. For example, back before privacy issues were as hot as they are today, we were working for a software company and picked up a negative article about a new product that expressed some concerns about potential privacy issues. It served as a heads-up that a potential situation was brewing, so before it could become a crisis they were able to reposition the product. In fact, they ended up dumping it because of the potential damage to the corporate reputation. —KDP

Question: What specifically should we be measuring day to day in terms of ongoing industry crises and our own reputation?

Answer: At the very least you should be tracking your share of exposure, share of recommendations, and share of favorable or unfavorable positioning on key industry issues. —KDP

Question: How can measurement be used after a damaging crisis to restore reputation?

Answer: Measurement helps identify friends and enemies, strengths and weaknesses. After a crisis is over, you need to build your credibility back with words and deeds, and these are best communicated through third-party endorsements. A good measurement program will have identified those third parties.

Additionally, a measurement program can identify how specific publics have responded, and which issues are most important. By revisiting those specific publics and taking action to restore their confidence, you can better repair a reputation. —KDP