Stop the Presses

Tainted food has claimed another victim–this time, the company that allegedly created the crisis. New Jersey-based meat processor Topps Meat Co.ceased business operations after a week-long crisis. Why?  Because the recent recall of more than 21 million pounds of its frozen hamburger patties led one senior company executive to conclude that his company could not ‘overcome the economic reality of a recall this large‘.

Topps put a high-profile communications firm to work on the case several days into the crisis–and I’ve got to tell you, I have nothing but empathy for my fellow PR practitioners.  In an almost impossible situation like this, there’s only so much they can do. But I believe it was too little, too late. But instead of focusing on that, let’s take a look at what other companies in the food industry can learn from this situation:

• You’ve got to say you’re sorry:  In a crisis situation, acknowledging any responsibility and issuing an apology are two of the first things any company should do.
• Manage the situation: Acknowledge that something went wrong and tell the world about the steps you’re taking to fix the problem.
• Invest in crisis communications before you need it: Investing the time and money into creating a workable crisis communications plan isn’t saying that you’re expecting for something to go wrong–it’s simply acknowledging that you’re ready to do business in the 21st century. A good crisis plan simply buys you the time you need in the first 48 hours of the crisis to think clearly, rather than having to focus on creating the crisis communications process (like ‘Who will talk to the media?’ or ‘Who’s calling customers?’)
• Focus on your customers (and their customers): Messages that are ‘me’ focused–what the crisis will do to your business, how damaging it is to your company, accomplish two negative things: 1) They send the not-so-subtle message to your customers that your company’s well being is a higher priority than theirs and 2) They make you appear weak and vulnerable, inviting just the kind of litigious attention you’re been trying to avoid.

Could Topps have survived the recall?  We’ll never know. One thing we do know is that the American public is extremely forgiving when people (and companies) own up to their mistakes and demonstrate that they are correcting them. Food-related businesses would be wise to remember that.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 at 11:25 am and is filed under Articles and Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.