A great example is an incident faced by Dominos Pizza; in 2009 two employees were fired after a prank where they filmed a video of themselves contaminating food, later posted to YouTube and viewed by thousands. Dominos President, Patrick Doyle, promptly fired the employees and responded to the disturbing post by releasing an apology to customers, shown below:
Dominos' use of social media helped to restore and even improve the company's image prior to the employee prank crisis. By creating two-way communication between customers and corporation, Dominos further learned deeper issues customers had with the company. Again in response, Dominos launched a full fledged campaign to improve their products offerings and the perception of consumers [Check it out at PizzaTurnAround.com].
How to be resilient using social media:
- Prepare. Discuss a resilience plan for when the time comes it is needed. Each corporation is different, big or small. Lay out a plan that fits the needs of both customers and employees.
- Prevent. Specify who is responsible for updating all forms of utilized social media. If more than one person is involved in this process, coordinate efforts so no wires are crossed and no information is duplicated or misconstrued.
- Predict. Try to remain one step ahead of other forms of media. It is always easier to be the first to admit to something before it is negatively displayed in an uncontrollable form, such as the Dominos videos leaked to YouTube. Predicting allows the issue to be acknowledged before it becomes a problem.
- Listen-Address-Adapt. In the case of negative publicity, listen to the public. These are your customers and monetary income and they know what the want. It's important to address your consumer's voice and adapt to what they want and need.
- Finally, remember to Change. Remaining stagnant in an internet-driven world is a fast track way to become obsolete. Continuing to upgrade through social media use keeps companies competitive and innovative in any industry.
