Ten Tips to Surviving a Product Recall

© Copyright 2003, Wilson Group Communications, Inc

By Steve Wilson

1. Cooperate: One of the things you learn early in a recall is that you are not alone. There’s your product, customers and consumers and inevitably, a government agency. It pays to cooperate. Companies almost always find out its much better to work with government agencies than compete with them. If you try to go it alone with your own game plan, it may appear like you’re not on the public’s side.

2. Act Fast: When there’s a problem with your product, time is a luxury you don't have. You need to act fast. You can take the right actions, but if you don’t take them fast enough, it may not matter. People will only remember how long it took you to act.

3. Don’t try to shift the blame: It doesn’t matter whose fault it is if a potentially harmful product is out there. Do the responsible thing and worry about who is to blame later.

4. Don’t wait to be forced: When you know you have a problem, don’t wait for the government to order you to recall your product; do it yourself. Too many companies are more concerned about the fallout of a recall than the fallout of product that should have been recalled.

5. Don’t worry about the money: Sure, recalls are expensive, but what are the expenses of not recalling a potentially bad product? The public seems to remember how well you handle the crisis, sometimes, more than the crisis itself. The cost of not handling a crisis well can be much more expensive.

6. Make it easy for consumers: If consumers didn’t like your product, they probably would never have purchased it in the first place. Take advantage of customer loyalty and offer them something in return.

7. Don’t be afraid to apologize: Apologizing isn’t the same thing as saying, “We’re Guilty!” If something happened that shouldn’t have, it’s okay to say it. If things were great, you probably wouldn’t be recalling the product. At least apologize for the inconvenience.

8. Communicate: It’s not enough to announce a recall, make sure “everyone” knows. That includes the news media, customers, consumers as well as your employees. An information vacuum creates rumors and rumors create horror stories. Get the facts out and keep people informed.

9. Investigate: Bad things do happen to good products, but find out what happened and why. People might just forgive you for making a mistake once. Just ensure them that the same thing won’t happen again.

10. Be Prepared! Don’t wait for a crisis to happen. It’s probably just a matter of time. Plan now for how you would handle a recall, what decisions will have to be made and who will have to be involved.