4 Crisis Management Lessons from Emirates

Crisis does not leave anyone and can happen at any time, if the business does not have a timely response plan, the harm suffered will be great. Let's review how Emirates airline handled the crisis they faced in 2016 offline.

STARTING POINT

On 3/8/2016, the Boeing 777 bearing the number EK521 of the Emirates airline caught fire during the landing at Dubai International Airport. All 300 people on board, including 282 passengers and 18 crew members, escaped the accident safely. Unfortunately, in the process of rescuing the passengers, a firefighter was killed.

LESSONS LEARNED

Here are 5 lessons learned about crisis management from the Emirates airline crash:

LESSON 1: ALWAYS READY

Crisis are unpredictable, so there must always be an action plan and a designated unit in place to quickly resolve an incident. It is clear that Emirates Marketing and PR has dealt with this crisis very quickly and effectively. They followed a clear process to control the situation, appease the public, and protect the brand's image.

Prepare a crisis management process and share it with all Marketing & PR staff, as well as the company's employees. This is important because it helps to control what is allowed to say, when to say, how to say, and who is represented to speak.

LESSON 2: ALWAYS GO OUT TO TRUTH AND TRUST

There is no time for you to release false or inaccurate information to the public. You need to immediately confirm or deny the situation. This does not mean focusing on the communication part of the problem, but delving into solutions and positive actions to protect the interests of consumers and brand image. Show sympathy, respect, and support throughout the crisis.

LESSON 3: ALWAYS PRACTICE POSITIVE

Emirates does not give any chance to third parties to make their own wishes about the accident. In a very short time, Emirates airline issued an announcement to the public on Facebook confirming the accident, ensuring the safety of passengers and crew. Provide an emergency line of contact for families, relatives and friends of accident victims.

The airline also made a promise to the public that it would continuously update the situation quickly and accurately. Meanwhile, still creating conditions for the media and the press to work with the PR department of the company to answer their questions. Emirates keeps the public and the press calm and rationally provided information while leaving enough time for the company to gather evidence, confirm and update the situation. Using the right social media tools for community management is a very important factor in today's digital crisis..

LESSON 4: OBSERVE, LISTEN & RESPONSE

Listening to feedback about your brand in times of crisis is paramount, to prevent and minimize damage to your company's reputation.

As soon as the accident happened, Emirates immediately changed the colors on their Logo to neutral colors such as white and gray. The background background is also changed according to the same color, on social networking sites of the company such as Facebook (6.2 million likes), Twitter (765,000 followers) and Linkedin (598,000) cover photo are removed. With a large number of fans and customers following on social networks, all Emirates activities are closely watched, so they always have to respond quickly and reasonably.

The color change story is simply to show sympathy (no playful colors, only neutral colors) and does not evoke negative memories in the minds of customers and investors. . Emirates aims to protect the positive image & experience of the brand in the eyes of consumers, on social media.

TO CONCLUDE

Companies need to gradually adapt to shifting from traditional advertising methods to digital advertising channels. Plan ahead and choose the right social media and tools to manage crisis more effectively and quickly. Today's technology allows companies to reach masses of consumers, to attract new customers and to care for loyal ones..

From the point of view of a customer, the act of Emirates airline immediately scored and increased the prestige of this brand. Passengers on Emirates flights are always assured of choosing their airline services because they know this is a brand they can trust. What Uninted Airlines failed to do in its recent customer treatment incident.

Related course: Crisis Management