What’s business as usual? If you remember last year’s Siegel+Gale study, “63% percent of believe banks, mortgage lenders and Wall Street intentionally make things complicated to hide risks or to keep people in the dark.”*

That’s not trust. That’s fatalism.

1. * Trust in banks is down 39% since 2007; trust in technology companies is up 2%.

Trust is the baseline. Trustworthiness is the very first thing that we decide about a person, and once we’ve decided, we do all kinds of elaborate gymnastics to believe in people.

– Susan Fiske, Princeton University

Read the article. It’s still interesting.

If you don’t know the answer, don’t make it up. Especially in a crisis.

It’s common sense, but this advice often seems to take people by surprise when it comes up in media training or crisis communications.

I try to take a common sense approach to crisis communications, and while the crises I usually deal with are not life-threatening — mostly service interruptions for enterprise solutions — I think the principles are applicable in many situations.*

Building on Cori’s point, here are a few simple admonitions for communicators next time the flux discombolulaters go offline or the wheels fly off the flywheel.

1. Don’t make things up. Despite best intentions, you’ll look bad when the truth comes to light. Will people think you’re ignorant or a liar? Which is worse? At that point, does it even matter? Either way, you’ll look bad. There’s no shame in admitting you don’t know something.
2. Stick to the facts. As a corollary to the previous point, talk about what you know to be true. I know it’s tempting to float a theory, particularly when your audience is demanding answers. Don’t speculate.
3. Keep it simple. I’ve written about simplicity before. Don’t try to bury your message in a lot of mumbo-jumbo. Ditch the jargon and acronyms. Explain how the situation affects your audience using terms they will understand.
4. Be human. You’re talking to people, remember? Show some personality, or at least a little empathy. Does anybody trust faceless corporations anymore?
5. Apologize like you mean it. Don’t offer a milquetoast apology laden with passive, conditional language. Take responsibility and acknowledge that people are upset, inconvenienced, whatever the case may be. Let them know you’re going to make things right.
6. Focus on what’s relevant. Don’t spam your audience with useless updates. Tell them that you know something is wrong and that you’re working to fix it, then tell them you fixed it.** This isn’t the time to show people how your sausage is made.

This isn’t an exhaustive list or a definitive guide to crisis communications — just a few rules of thumb for communicating about minor crises in the business world. If they’re helpful, you’re welcome. If you have other suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

1. * If your situation is life-threatening, look for help elsewhere. Go! Now!
2. ** Granted, if your situation persists for a long time, you might want to consider periodic updates, but use common sense.

Brand trust is unique. It’s the only brand experience that both companies and customers can take to the bank.

Well said.

Lying hurts your reputation

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend* in direct sales e-mails, which is to  purport that I’ve previously expressed interest in a product or service.  Because then they have my permission to follow up, right?

I have another name for it: lying. I don’t think many people would disagree that it’s a bad marketing tactic, particularly in an age of transparency, so why do it? Goodbye, trust!

Offender #1

I received a message that began like this:

From: person@vendor.com
To: Turpin, Glen
Subject: New [Deleted: Product] Features

Dear Glen,

Some time ago, you had inquired about our [Deleted: description of product] signage solutions for... [Deleted]

Note: I’ve deleted sections of the message that might identify the offending party. As always, I’m more interested in highlighting a problem than pointing an accusing finger.

Here’s the problem. I’ve never inquired about signage. It’s outside the scope of what I do. It’s outside the scope of anything I’ve ever done. I don’t do signage of any sort. So this “some time ago, you had inquired” line is bullshit.

UPDATE April 29, 2009: Though I thought I was sanitizing this enough that it would make a point without calling out a specific individual or company, I apparently left enough keywords that Offender #1 was able to find this post. He wrote a very polite letter of apology, noting that prior to his joining the company, they previously purchased leads from a data source. He apologized for the poor choice of words in the letter and put me on the opt-out list.

This validates Aaron’s point below in the comments. List management is an ongoing challenge, particularly when you have ranting jerks like me on your mailing list. I was too hasty with my accusation and harsh words, and next time I should take the time to think through alternate scenarios. Sorry, Offender #1.

Offender #2

This one came from someone I met at an industry event last year.

From: newslettername@vendor.com on behalf of [Deleted: Name] (info@deletedaddress.com)
To: Turpin, Glen
Subject: Please confirm your subscription to [Deleted: Newsletter name]

Hi,

How are you? Thanks so much for your interest! [Deleted: Pitch for an e-mail newsletter]

Your subscription request for our newsletter [Deleted: Newsletter name], hosted by [Deleted: Vendor] service, has been received. To confirm your subscription, please click the following link:

EASY 1-CLICK CONFIRMATION: [Deleted: URL]

Once confirmed, you will be instantly subscribed to our newsletter. You will be able to unsubscribe or change your details at any time.

If you have received this email in error and do not intend to become our subscriber, no further action is required on your part. You won't receive further information and you won't be subscribed to any list until you confirm your request above.

Thanks again for your interest! Take care!

[Deleted: Signature block]
Email address: "Glen Turpin" <my.address@work.com>
Type of request: import
Timestamp: 2009-04-13 18:34:05

My subscription request for your newsletter? Um… no. I don’t subscribe to e-mail lists. I moved all my subscriptions into my feed reader years ago. I hate cluttering up my inbox with e-mail newsletters.

Also, I only use my work e-mail address for things that are directly associated with my job. The newsletter doesn’t meet that criterion.

Finally, that “Type of request: import” line at the bottom of the message makes it pretty clear that my data was imported from another source.

The bottom line

I make no secret of the fact that I dislike off-target sales pitches. Who doesn’t? But there’s a difference between off-target and deceptive. Are sales so bad that we have to prey on people suffering from information overload?

Seems like a sketchy tactic.

Photo credit: KB35

1. * Okay, not exactly a trend.

Back in January, I pointed to a Siegel & Gale survey of 1,214 American homeowners and investors that looked at consumer perceptions of complex language in marketing communications and contracts.

To recap briefly, many consumers believe corporations use complex language and industry jargon to intentionally deceive and hide risks from them. People don’t trust large corporations, and 84% of all consumers say they are more likely to trust a company that uses jargon-free, plain English in communications.

Jargon isn’t credible

If you work in the corporate world, you know that business-speak and industry jargon runs rampant in day-to-day business communications. It creeps into marketing materials, sales presentations and press releases, often looking something like this:

We’re thrilled to partner with XYZ company. We’ll leverage their leading-edge technology, thus adding value to and enhancing the synergies between the best-in-class solutions we offer our customers. This same out-of-the-box thinking will help us utilize our resources and ultimately shift the industry paradigm.*

I’m wondering… does anybody believe this crap? Does anyone seriously expect a reader to be able to extract meaningful information from those words? And if you don’t believe it when other people spew it, why do you inflict it on others?

Plain English is good for business

Simple, clear language is powerful. It promotes trust in your organization, and people buy from companies they trust. More than 75% of consumers refuse to buy from a company they don’t trust. Plain language helps people find and understand information more quickly. People who understand more make fewer support calls, so your company saves money.

To quote Strunk & White, vigorous writing is concise. Be positive. Be active. Be personal. Plain English is the best way to help your readers understand your content and act on it appropriately. It sells.

Simple language is compelling. Use it wisely.

Photo credit: Joe Nangle

1. * Thanks for the sample gibberish, @xagoeson!

Note: I’ve doctored the screen shots slightly to remove anything that might identify the offending party. In the text, I’ve also eliminated anything that might give away the organization in question. I’m more interested in highlighting a problem than casting aspersions on that organization. The issue is still valid with the sanitized images and text.

It all started with an e-mail….

The e-mail

The e-mail came at 9:00 on a Friday night from an address at a trusted domain. The messages I normally receive from this organization tend to be utilitarian and this one looked like so many others I’ve received from them in the past.

From: system_name@trusteddomain.com
To: Turpin, Glen
Subject: ID Update has been assigned to GLEN TURPIN

Please take a moment to update your ID in the Information Update Portal. This will only take a few minutes so please complete ASAP. Click on the link to access the document with instructions.

http://trusteddomain.otherfamiliardomain.com/big_nasty_url&with_params=lots

Update my ID? Why on earth would I need to update my ID? There’s an information update portal? This message screams identity theft. At best, it looked like a ham-fisted phishing attempt. Where’s the threat that my account my account with Big Bank or Credit Union might be closed? Where’s the offer of millions of dollars in Nigerian diamonds?

More seriously, why would this organization ask me to update my user ID?

I was curious. Better still, I was on a relatively secure system while curious. I copied the link and pasted it into my browser.

The first web site

The link brought me more or less where I thought it would, which was to a site branded by an outsourced service provider. I was surprised at the complete lack of branding from the trusted organization, as well as the cluttered interface. The relevant part of the page was buried in lots of other noise.

Note: This image has been altered slightly to obscure its origin.

That’s it? A Word document? Do I still have to worry about Word macro viruses, or is that passé? I was sure that my anti-virus and malware protection suite would take care of that. Should I be sure? Probably not. But I was living dangerously, so I opened the document.*

The Word document

The Word document was a three page, poorly written file with awful screen shots and inconsistent company branding that explained that I need to visit yet another site, log in with my ID and password, and confirm some of my identity information. Looking at the document properties, I found enough clues to confirm that the document did come from the trusted source. And yet again… everything about it made it seem like an inept phishing attempt.

Important note: At no point did this document explain why or how my ID needed updating. I still had no idea what it means to update a user ID.

The second web site

I wish I could have included a screen shot of the header of the second web site, but there was no way for me to do that without revealing its source. The top of the page provided more unhelpful instructions, displayed as an image, complete with red error squiggles under one word.

The lower section of the screen consisted of this login screen.

Why would I want to change my password on a mysterious, phishy site?

I stopped there. I’d love to know what happens next, but I could go no further on this journey without potentially compromising my password.

Observations

1. It took an e-mail, two web sites and a Word doc to send me to the final screen, and I still had no idea why I was being sent there. A single e-mail would have sufficed, with a paragraph or two to explain the required update, plus a link to the final login screen.
2. If your communications look like phishing attempts, you have a problem. You’ll either erode trust in your organization, or you’ll train your users to blindly succumb to phishing attempts. Neither outcome is positive.

My respect for this organization has diminished, and my trust in their ability to treat my personal information responsibly has been dramatically eroded. I have to wonder if they’ve already been compromised and that identities are being stolen by insiders.

Who lets something like this happen?

Photo credit: 50mm

1. * Try to guess where to click to open the document. The underlined ID Update? No! The downward-facing double chevron? No! The green arrow box that was ripped off from Windows XP? Bingo.

Should companies identify themselves in social networks using brand names or employee names?

What do you think? Feel free to add a comment and explain why.

I can’t overstate the importance of trust. Unfortunately, you can’t buy trust, you can only build it. Organizations have to earn trust over time through their actions, their products, their policies and their leadership.

Importance to the overall reputation of a company

1. Offers high quality products or services (94%)
2. Is a company that treats its employees well (93%)
3. Communicates frequently and honestly on the state of the business (91%)
   Is a company I trust (91%)
   Gives value for the money (91%)

Trust is one of the most important factors affecting corporate reputation. According to the survey, 77% of 25-to-64-year-olds refused to buy a product or service from a distrusted company.

Seventy-seven percent!

Trust influences consumer spending and corporate reputation. What are you doing to build trust for your organization?

1. * I don’t know how they define either of those terms for the purpose of the survey.
2. ** Not surprisingly, in the U.S., trust in banks among those 35-64 dropped from 69% to 36%. The automotive industry saw a similar decline in trust.