Ouch: Bad Press Can Hurt Your Biz Bank Balance

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘no publicity is bad publicity,’ but it’s not true these days. Take a look at the Weinstein scandal. The accusations against Harvey Weinstein managed to take down the entire film business he was responsible for. Quite simply, investors knew that no one was going to see a film with his name attached to it. Even an auction to other interested buyers couldn’t save the business from collapse. It’s certainly not the only example where a scandal has hurt a business

BP, for instance, were hurt massively by the oil spill scandal several years ago. Now, BP survived this because, of course they did, but they still had to pay massive fines and were subjected to various negative news articles about how they damaged the environment.

Data protection is another problem in the news today that could definitely land your business in hot water. When Equifax put over hundred thousand of their customers at risk from cyber hacks, their stock fell through the floor. So, yes bad press will hurt your company and whether or not you survive the story will largely depend on how big your business is. Smaller companies are more likely to crack under pressure. Perhaps then it’s best to ask how to prevent a scandal like this from emerging in the first place.

Keep Track Of Buzz Online

You might be surprised to learn that a lot of scandals actually develop from the buzz generated by customers. Media companies are constantly searching through reviews and customer responses looking for a pattern of poor service because even this can become a story. It’s therefore in your best interest to keep a check on negative reviews and really any chatter about your company online. Do this, and you should be able to correct a situation before it gets out of hand. Remember, if no customers are complaining there’s no story to tell.

Put Protective Measures In Place

These can be literal physical measures and policies about how you run your business. Looking at the physical measures, you need to make sure you have the right physical set up to prevent an environmental issue. For instance, oil water separators can make sure that when you are transporting chemicals, there’s no risk that they will contaminate a water supply and cause issues in the environment.

Policies, on the other hand, can prevent office issues like harassment that can also cause a media storm. For instance, you might have an issue with bullying in your business. Adopting a zero tolerance policy will send a clear message to workers and ensure that this does not continue to be a problem.

Get A PR Team

Finally, do make sure that you are investing in the services of a PR company. A PR team can help you deal with issues with the press publishing negative stories about your company. Sometimes all it takes is a positive relationship with the media to stop a controversy surrounding your business going viral.

We hope you find this advice helpful and realize the full financial danger of bad press.