Burner Tips

There’s a new reality that utilities need to consider when engaging with customers before, during and after a crisis. BY REBECCA BROWN
Crisis Communications in a Changing Landscape

The utility industry has undergone enormous change in the last few years, and it continues to adapt to new sources of energy, technological updates and a shifting global market and regulatory environment. But beyond the changing industry, utilities’ customers have also changed. What consumers expect from their utility companies, how they access and process information, and what role they believe American energy should play all look very different today than they did five years ago. In a crisis, the ability to navigate this change is nothing short of essential. A well-designed crisis strategy can help a utility connect with customers amid the evolving landscape and maintain or even bolster its reputation.The Power of the CustomerEdelman’s 2017 Trust Barometer (www.edelman.com/trust2017), an annual public opinion survey tracking trust and credibility, revealed the largest-ever drop in public trust in the institutions of government, media, nongovernmental organizations and business. According to the survey results, 58 percent of Americans now distrust these groups, and 37 percent of Americans distrust corporate CEOs as credible spokespeople. Across the board, the respect with which Americans view the top-down flow of information has eroded, and in its place there is a greater confidence in information gathered from peers. It’s crucial that companies consider this new reality when engaging customers before, during and after a crisis. The problem that utilities often face with public perception is that customers don’t think about their utility company—or engage with it—until there’s a problem. Unfortunately, this can lead to a situation in which the only interactions customers have with their utility are negative. Reputation should be treated as the most valuable commodity a company is trading: It’s a commodity that is increasingly hard to build and even harder to rebuild. At its core, reputation is about trust—a trust that, in today’s landscape, is based on transparency and accessibility. With a 24/7 news cycle driven by controversy and conflict, and the internet providing a platform for every potential critic, companies should treat all communication as reputation communication. Today’s most effective utilities are investing in customer engagement: They are using direct-mail campaigns, developing website content and taking advantage of social media platforms to educate consumers about who their utilities are and what they do. Contextualizing utilities in the broader landscape of the economy and the environment—and illustrating the critical role that utilities play—is key to building a reservoir of goodwill. Doing so should be treated like an insurance policy: The more information and engagement, the less potency bad news has. It’s why utilities should take these key steps before, during and after every crisis situation. Do This Before a Crisis Ever Happens

Know your vulnerabilities. Taking the time to assess points of weakness in reputation and develop a framework for managing them is an invaluable exercise. Mapping out these vulnerabilities not only provides the opportunity to improve areas of concern, but it also ensures that companies are better prepared to respond when an issue arises.

Establish a rapid response protocol. The speed with which utilities must not only address, but also publicly acknowledge issues is critical to a utility’s reputational health during and after a crisis. After all, an absence of information provides an opening for misinformation. During an emergency is not the time to be deciding who should be communicating what and how. Have a comprehensive plan in place that lays out an agreed-upon protocol and structure that can be followed. This is increasingly important as customers expect immediate responses via social media during an outage.

Conduct scenario planning. Nothing beats practice. Running through established protocols offers the chance to correct what didn’t work. In addition, experiencing the timetable and dynamics of an emergency can be an eye-opening experience and will help an organization refine its approach. Finally, it allows an organization to have a clear sense of the speed at which it can communicate.

Leverage your employees. More and more, a company’s employees are its most effective spokespeople. Invest in internal communication and ambassador training programs that empower employees to educate, inform and, when necessary, defend their company and industry. Given the reduced public trust in CEOs as mentioned above, employees are often best suited to provide the peer-to-peer, on-the-ground communication that customers are looking for.

Take Charge During a Crisis

Follow your protocol. Too often during a crisis, the procedures and planning developed ahead of time are disregarded and corners get cut. Those protocols were established for a reason. Trust them and take advantage of the stability they’re meant to provide.

Be nimble. Crises are not “business as usual.” Be prepared to move quickly, engage your audiences in less familiar ways and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. A good crisis protocol will be one that can be easily adapted and scaled for any situation.

Follow Up After a Crisis

Evaluate yourself. Assess what worked and what didn’t. It’s easy to shrug off a crisis as a one-time glitch, but taking the time to consider and then incorporate “lessons learned” not only strengthens your ability to manage future reputational issues but also decreases the likelihood of their occurrence.

Continue to tell your story. The 24/7 news cycle has its positives and negatives, but one benefit is that after a crisis dies down, the audience moves on. Don’t be afraid to continue promoting corporate achievements and progress to rebuild and maintain your reputation and customer relationships after a crisis.

Final Thoughts The utility industry plays a critical role in American energy—and a unique one, given its direct contact with the public, which often fails to appreciate the nuances utility companies navigate to provide reliable energy to customers. As such, the ability to effectively communicate and manage reputation has become a mandatory corporate asset—and a built-in guardrail during a time of crisis.
Rebecca Brown is a member of Edelman’s energy and transportation team, based in Washington, D.C. American Gas - March 2017Burns McDonnellUser GuideMastheadPresident's MessagePaying It ForwardWe’re All in This TogetherWarm WelcomeDigestBuilt for the JobA HORSE of a Different ColorLaser FocusBlowin’ in the WindNothing Corny About ThisBy The NumbersNatural Gas IntelligencePlacesOregonWest VirginiaMichiganIowaMassachusettsNew EnglandIllinoisOhioUncovering the Commercial SectorThe Right IngredientsJobsOps ConferenceBurner TipsAd IndexNext IssueMaking A DifferenceMcDonaldULC Pipeline Robotics