'Apology communications' the way to go in solving business crisis ...

MANILA, Philippines - Say goodbye to corporate secrecy and censorship, sincere apology is the way to go, according to the latest Asia-Pacific Corporate Social Media Study 2011.

The study, conducted by global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, showed that Asia is now leading the so-called "apology communication" practice in the corporate world when dealing with a business crisis and it proved to be an effective strategy.

Compared to the 2010 APAC corporate social media study, the present findings revealed that the practice of holding secrets or statements by companies experiencing crises is now "outdated" since it only looks weak and defensive, projecting a very negative image in social media.

"Holding statements today by companies is like hiding behind a shield," said Bob Pickard, president and CEO of Burson-Marsteller in APAC.

He adviced that apologies nowadays by companies must be "sincere and genuine" taking into consideration an organization's reputation in today's digital or cloud era.

Pickard shared everything that famously goes wrong is now called a "PR disaster", citing the BP oil spill, Toyota recall, and the Tiger Woods spectacle as few examples. He said that companies, whether they like it or not, will sooner or later experience a crisis as depicted in the study.

Since the study has proven time and again that "crisis is part of a business" Pickard said there is a need to plan sufficiently on how to deal with it especially in communicating through social media.

?To reach and persuade stakeholders today, it is not just the vocabulary and tone of corporate marketing and communications that must evolve,? Pickard said. ?More important, companies must adopt a mindset that puts listening and acting genuinely and transparently front and centre. And, they must understand how to deal with negative feedback expressed publicly that could resonate and escalate.?

Pickard added that visits in corporate websites continue to decline yearly and it is now essential for businesses to embrace the new media to be able to deal well a business crisis.

The study showed Asia has dramatically improved its engagement in social media since last year. Figures revealed 80% of global companies went digital in 2010 compared to only 40% in Asia.

However, the 2011 figures showed a double increase in size of Asian companies that went digital, now pegged at 80% compared to 84% by global firms.

Pickard said almost any corporation or NGO now can become a media company and so there is now a dire need for more "professional story-tellers" or journalists within firms that could serve as members of a dedicated digital team.

This, as the sheer size of communities has become a communications management challenge and the key is to simplify the complexity of digital story-telling.

An exclusive affiliate of local PR firm Strategic Edge Inc., Burson-Marsteller's APAC social media study 2011 is a review and analysis of social media activity by 120 major companies across 12 markets in APAC, composed of Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=752250&publicationSubCategoryId=200

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