The 5S principle of crisis public relations refers to the five principles adopted to solve the crisis after the crisis. Initiated by President You Changqiao, a key public relations officer in Beijing, it includes the principles of shouldering responsibility, sincere communication, speed first, system operation and authority confirmation.
shoulder the responsibility
From this point of view, in principle, the attitude of enterprises is very important, one is the interest and the other is the emotion. No matter who is right or wrong, enterprises should take the initiative to take responsibility. Actually, Watson did the same thing. The first time after the incident, Watsons took the initiative to take responsibility. First of all, immediately "ordered" physical stores and online stores nationwide to remove all masks involved, and sent the masks with the suspected dead consumer Ms. Jin to relevant departments for testing. Secondly, take timely action to get in touch with customers' families, express their humanitarian concerns, and actively obtain their cooperation to investigate this matter; The company expressed its deep sympathy and condolences for the death of this lady. In fact, the public and the media often have a steelyard in their hearts, and they have psychological expectations for the enterprise, that is, how the enterprise should handle it, so I feel satisfied. Therefore, enterprises must not choose confrontation.
Sincere communication
When the enterprise is in a crisis vortex, it is the focus of public and media attention. Every move will be questioned. Don't take any chances and try to get away with it. After the incident, Watsons took the initiative to get in touch with the news media to explain the facts, and published a letter to the media in the official Weibo at the first time, including: Watson's pearl whitening mask meets the standards and requirements of China cosmetics hygiene standards, and no quality accidents have been seen in years of sales; In a responsible attitude towards consumers, Watsons has removed all masks involved in the first time; Watsons contacted the victim's family to cooperate with the investigation and so on. Not only that, Watsons also took the initiative to issue a statement to consumers, hoping that consumers would look at the matter objectively and warned against malicious slander and spreading rumors. Be sincere, speak with facts, promote mutual understanding, and eliminate doubts and anxieties.
Speed first
The so-called "good things don't go out, bad things spread thousands of miles", especially today when the media is so developed. Therefore, enterprises must strive to control the development of the situation in the shortest time and at the fastest speed, and disclose information to the public at the first time to eliminate doubts. Mr. Yang, a consultant of a consulting company in Beijing, said.
Watson's response to the crisis was very positive. Experts pointed out that due to the "agenda setting" function of mass media, whether public opinion agrees with the company's approach and position in dealing with the crisis will be immediately seen in media reports. The day after the incident, Watsons released its first statement "Letter to the Media about the incident of Watsons Pearl Whitening Mask" in the official Weibo. On the night of August 15, Watsons in more than 20 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Suzhou, successively told the media that the masks involved had been removed from the shelves, and made a promise to consumers that consumers who bought Watsons Pearl Whitening Mask could return them with shopping receipts. If you lose the shopping receipt, return it according to the price in the system.
system operation
When running away from one danger, don't ignore another. In crisis management, we must operate systematically and never lose sight of one thing and another. Only in this way can we see the essence through superficial phenomena, creatively solve problems and turn harm into benefit. It includes cold to hot and static braking; Unify views and stabilize the position; Set up a team to be responsible; Lian Heng, with the help of external forces and so on. Watsons has done a good job in this respect. First of all, the bad news shocked the industry, but Watsons did not panic, but as always, it was orderly, the company was extremely calm, unified the masks involved, and unified the attitude and caliber of employees. Secondly, actively get in touch with the media and the government and make a public statement. Finally, for the "symptoms" of the accident, the public is also concerned about the "quality" of the mask, looking for "medicine", taking the initiative to send the mask to the testing institution, speaking for themselves with the mouth of a third-party authority, and so on. According to professionals, Watson's "public relations attitude" is consistent, clear and strictly trained.
Authoritative confirmation
It's no use praising yourself. Without authoritative approval, it will only leave a laughing stock. After the crisis, enterprises should not cry with loudspeakers, but should ask a third party to speak at the front desk to let consumers off guard and regain their trust.
From the management point of view, any enterprise may experience a crisis from inside or outside the enterprise. Therefore, the focus of crisis management is to prevent and establish a crisis early warning mechanism. Whether an enterprise can draw up a crisis response plan, respond quickly and coordinate communication after the crisis is to verify whether the enterprise regards "crisis management" as an important topic.
According to industry insiders, the impact of this incident on Watsons will not be too great. From the analysis of a large number of news facts, we can see that Watsons actively cooperated with the police investigation, took the initiative to remove the mask involved, and promised consumers a full refund, thus gaining the "initiative" in handling the incident.