Can bad news help my business?
Andy Starr, Poway

Bad news sometimes arises in every business. How you handle it tells the world what you’re made of.

Ben Sirach wrote in Ecclesiasticus, “From a tiny spark comes a great conflagration.” And the Mandarin Chinese phrase for crisis management — “Wei Ji” — translates as “Danger and Opportunity.”

Assuming you seek long-term customer relationships, lying isn’t an option. The truth comes out eventually, so admit problems up-front, take your lumps, and move on.

Disaster can be an opportunity if you:

• Have your communications team and strategy in place ahead of time.

• Gather all your facts. FAST!

• Honestly address the negatives. Be able to point out the positives.

• Have just one spokesperson represent the company.

• Use full disclosure.

• Imagine how you’d feel if you were watching from the outside.

Consider Domino’s Pizza. Words like “cardboard,” “plastic” and “tasteless” have typically been used to describe their product. Using the same old promotions, their sales bumped along.

Their crisis arose when two North Carolina employees posted a video of one putting cheese up his nose before putting it on a sandwich.

Uh-Oh. Now what?

After firing the two and pressing charges, Domino’s took the initiative. They not only admitted to this problem, but that their food was mediocre. Commercials appeared showing them listening to their harshest critics, then reformulating their pizza from the ground up.

It’s worked. The cheese/nose incident is forgotten, and even my bride — no fan of Domino’s — is intrigued enough to want to try it again.

Had Richard Nixon urged the country to move on after admitting to Watergate, he might have avoided resignation. Had Toyota admitted to Prius’ problems, they might not be facing years spent regaining public trust.

Were these outcomes necessary?

Sugar-coating bad news angers people when the truth comes out. Since good customer communications are key to growing any business, I say tell it straight. Even if you take a hit in the short-run, people will respect you and you’ll do better long-term.

Remember — spin too much, and you may spin out of control.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

Mr. Marketing has been a marketing professional for almost 30 years, or over 20 years, depending on how he spins it. You can reach him with your own questions at www.askmrmarketing.com.