In a Crisis, Think Like Your Customer

Someone files a lawsuit alleging your taco is filled with something less than meat. Sound familiar? This isn't a time to hit the bunker. It is time to think like your customers.

Whatever you think of Taco Bell's response to the lawsuit, one thing is clear – companies need to respond from the point of view of their customers. Taco Bell turned to its huge Facebook fan base to generate support. It also posted sponsored links to drive Web searchers to where it could tell its side of the story.

However, it missed an opportunity to reach a wider, more skeptical audience by, for example, showing its supply chain for meat – from the ranch to the Taco Bell counter. You don't need a dry business school presentation. Humor and a little presentational value could have been employed to make the trip from hoof to taco fun to watch, as well as instructive.

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Lessons from a Chilean Mine Disaster

Rescued miner Florencio Avalos (left) hugs Chile's president Sebastian Pinera. Photograph: Hugo Infante/Government of Chile/ Rex FeaturesAfter 10 weeks trapped underground, 33 Chilean miners safely emerged one-by-one in a capsule aptly named Phoenix. There are a lot of valuable lessons to learn from this disaster-turned-miracle, including how to manage a serious crisis.

In its blog, Crenshaw Communications listed eight crisis management lessons, which we would like to share in ours:

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Reputation is a Journey, Not a Pit Stop

Johnson & Johnson may have to use some of its Band-aids to fix its bruised reputation concerning recent faulty product recalls.Johnson & Johnson, the company held on a pedestal for its unequivocal, bold response to tainted Tylenol in the 1980s, is being hauled back in front of Congress to defend its current record on faulty product recalls. It serves as a reminder that maintaining your reputation is a journey, not a pit stop.

The company in recent months has engaged in a phantom recall of Motrin and recalled over-the-counter drugs such as liquid Tylenol, millions of contact lenses and tens of thousands of artificial hips, all made by separate units of Johnson & Johnson.

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