Everyone knows it. It’s practically on every corner, you can’t really miss it. It helps people in so many ways, and it’s true to its tag line of ‘every little helps’.
Yes, I’m talking about Tesco, the supermarket giant. Yes, the shelves are full of lovely goodies and it’s the one place where variety is a big thing. It’s also a one-stop shop in many ways, where you can get your insurance, your prescriptions, your loans and even your glasses and contact lenses. You wouldn’t need anywhere else if you had a Tesco near you, which you probably do anyway.
But even the giants suffer sometimes.
Yes, Tesco is a strong brand that invests massively in brand awareness and it is constantly top of mind as superstores are concerned. But what happens when a supplier scandal starts worrying loyal customers and sales drop? Take the horse meat scandal, although it took place some time ago it is still very much a concern for Tesco (and many others). Scandals hey don’t always go away as quickly.
The group recently reported the first fall in annual profit in nearly 20 years. And with Tesco goers saying things such as “I’m sad that Tesco, my trusty local store, is selling horse meat disguised as burgers!”, the whole supplier chain requires a review, but it’s not just that that will need careful consideration.
When a brand image is damaged by something (in part) out of their control, what do you do? How do we get the loyal customers back, the ones that don’t even think twice about buying from you? It’s a long process, but also very much a necessity.
You may have noticed a more ‘soft’ approach applied to all Tesco communications recently. They have given the brand a fresh makeover called ‘Love Every Mouthful’, which was created as a celebration of food with seasonal British produce at its heart. The stores look different, the printed ads and telly ads look (and sound) different and they all have one big goal: to re-establish Tesco as the superstore of choice for many relapsed customers.
The key lesson to take from this is that when a brand encounters itself in a situation that damages its reputation, it must act quickly. There is no time to ponder over what to do, action is necessary and needs to be taken immediately. Tesco has done so, which is a fantastic start on the road to recovery.
Other steps a company can take when it loses sales, customers and faith through PR disasters are:
1. Get organised
If your brand finds itself in a tricky situation, assume responsibility to your mistakes and assure your customers that actions will be/are being taken to resolve the situation. Then, get it done. You may need to look at internal processes and a lot of work may need to be done in record time.
2. Time is a healer
Brands should craft a schedule of routine check-ins and deadlines for rebuilding their image, reputation and consumer loyalty and trust. It does take time, but with a well-designed plan a brand can begin to see small successes and progress at every milestone.
3. Don’t keep quiet
Just as you should keep your audience updated directly following a crisis, you should continue to keep the communication lines open and your audience up to speed on your progress. What steps are you taking to rectify the situation? How are you ensuring it won’t happen again? Which direction are you moving in? If you don’t keep people in the know they will assume you’re just coasting along and hoping everything will disappear. Plus, they may have some insight to share that could help you along the way.
4. Plan for ‘never again’
Once the recovery plan is underway, make sure all problematic areas have been addressed properly and that there is no room for mistakes to happen again.
Tesco is still in every corner and it will continue to be. It will just have to slowly convince some of its customers to go in again.
Marilia Spindler is an Account Manager and creative thinker at Happy Creative, a strategic marketing and branding agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
