There are many ‘dos’ when building reputation; indeed, Shifting Sands is dedicated to creating the mindset and skills for succeeding at this work. Less frequently discussed are the ‘don’ts,’ but these are just as important.
Everyone who has ever worked in communications—or, more likely, every human who has ever worked with other humans—has made mistakes, misspoken, missed an opportunity or showed occasional misjudgment. We all have a war story, and as the philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche said, ‘That which does not kill us makes us stronger.’ The singer Kelly Clarkson said this, too.
For today’s column, though, I want to focus on the big ‘don’ts.’ These are the big ones that can undo in a day a reputation that has taken years to build as well as the little things that chip away over time at credibility and goodwill. Here are 5 ‘don’ts’ to keep in mind:
Waffle: A ‘waffle’s is what I call a wishy-washy statement –one that isn’t clear, doesn’t take a position and often reads like a word salad. Lots of words that don’t necessarily go together but feels, to the speaker, like an authentic statement. Apologies for the food analogies – I must be hungry as I write this. The point is that often, companies – as well as institutions and CEOs—want to ‘play it safe’ and in so doing strive to find words for a situation that will please many stakeholders and invariably end up pleasing none. An ‘mixed message’ communicates nothing no matter the number of words used. And when that happens, reputation takes a hit.
To illustrate how ‘waffles’ play out, consider U.S. university responses to student protests earlier this spring about the crisis in the Middle East. University presidents who made strong clear statements followed by strong clear actions maintained their reputation and that of their school. Those who vacillated, whose statements aimed more for ‘neutral’ than a specific point of view, found themselves taking criticism from all sides. Here’s a good read about lessons learned. What is also worth noting is how waffling impacted confidence in American universities overall. According to national surveys, American confidence in higher education has plummeted over the past year, reaching record lows after months of campus protests and the following Congressional hearings about this issue on college campuses.
Be tone-deaf: This happens when company statements or actions do not consider the full context of a specific situation or world events or an effort to be especially ‘edgy’ or ‘provocative.’
There are so many examples of reputational blows from this particular ‘don’t.’ Consider Balenciaga. In 2022, this luxury brand was linked to worldwide scandal due to the way it portrayed children in two ad campaigns. These ignited a firestorm that traveled from the internet to the traditional media and is known, as the New York Times stated, as ‘one of the most explicit collisions of internet culture, politics, fashion and conspiracy theories to date.’
It took the company the better part of two weeks to issue a statement admitting, “grievous errors and internal steps to prevent them in the future.” The blow to Balenciaga’s reputation extended to sales around the world. Here is a timeline. The good news in this case is that Balenciaga’s reputation has bounced back due, in many ways, to steps taken to rebuild.
Wait too long: As outlined above, when companies delay response, often, they cede control of the story and let others control the message. Social media kicks in. The loudest, and sometimes most polarizing, voices go viral. And then when the company finally does respond, the message is weighed against the noise and build-up over the previous days or weeks. Make no mistake, deciding when and how to respond to an issue is highly sensitive and surely one of the most challenging for any communications team. Rushing a response is never recommended. But an earnest, authentic, considerate and timely response always is. An example of a ‘don’t’ that will be in crisis communications handbooks for the next decade comes from the beer brand Bud Light.
Go dark: Fundamental to building corporate reputation is creating and building enduring trusted relationships. Relationships are based on two-way communications – a question and an answer, a request and a response, an offer and an acceptance or a refusal. Sometimes the answer to an ask is yes. Sometimes it’s no. While the latter can be disappointing, it is still an answer and reflects consideration and respect for the question, the questioner and the questionee. There is no place in a relationship when one party goes dark. This is particularly egregious when the party doing the ghosting requested time and attention from the other party (e.g., information, background, a proposal, an interview). Here’s a great article from one of my favorite sources, the Harvard Business Review.
Speak “corporate:” Words are so fantastic. There are so many of them available to us. The stories supporting reputation work need to be conveyed with words that resonate and make a human connection. Stakeholders want to feel as if the company is speaking directly to them individually. I just finished a new corporate narrative for a biopharma company. It was a journey for the company’s leadership team, without question, but once we captured the emotion behind the founding of the company and the work they do, we were able to move beyond the standard, safe corporate phrases to get to the heart of what makes them different and important.
The good news is that there are many ‘dos’ to guide excellent reputation work, but for the best outcomes, the ‘don’ts’ offer cautionary tales of their own.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Sandra Stahl has created and led communications solutions for many of the world’s leading pharma, biotech, diagnostic, device and consumer healthcare brands over a 30+ year career. Her skills as a strategist and developer of compelling narratives have enabled organizational-and market- readiness, powered investment, enhanced profiles, amplified landmark data, built reputations and influenced opinion. She is a recognized thought leader regularly published in industry, national and international media, and author of the award-winning book, The Art & Craft of PR (LID 2018). Additionally, Sandra is founding faculty in the PR track in the Branding + Integrated Communications master’s degree program at The City College of New York, now in its 10th year, has delivered lectures at university communications programs around the world including Columbia University in New York and Xavier Institute of Communications in Mumbai, India.
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