Product recalls don’t just present safety and legal issues. They have a significant impact on how customers perceive organizations. Faulty or dangerous products often result in negative responses from the media and the public, and poor response times and non-compliance can make the situation worse. This is where the marketing department comes in. It’s the job of savvy marketers to minimize the impact of product recalls and protect an organization’s image. So, what is the role of the marketing department during the mock recall and product recall planning process?
In the next part of our series on the roles of different departments in product recall management, we examine the part marketers play, and how the latest digital tools can make their job so much easier.
What Do Marketers Do During the Mock Recall and Product Recall Management Process?
The product recall management process involves almost every department within an organization, from management to logistics. The marketing department, however, plays a really important role. It’s up to marketers to minimize the negative impact of recalls on customers’ perceptions and safeguard the reputation of an organization.
Research shows that if organizations don’t act responsibly in product recall situations, there could be a negative impact on brand equity. Regardless of the steps organizations take to deal with a product recall crisis, marketers have to moderate the perceptions customers have. This poses many challenges.
Note: The marketing and public relations departments share many of the same objectives during the recall process but they perform very different functions. We will explore the role of the public relations department later on in this series.
When Do Marketers Step In During the Mock Recall and Product Recall Planning Process?
Once an organization receives a recall notice from the government, many processes take place. At some point, the marketing department will communicate messages to customers on various channels. These channels might include:
- Social media
- Television
- Radio
Marketers use these channels to showcase products and services so a product recall doesn’t affect sales. Typically, the marketing department won’t communicate information about the recall itself (this is usually the job of the public relations department) but plays an important role in how customers perceive an organization.
The messaging all depends on the context. An organization might want to emphasize its safe manufacturing processes after the FDA identifies a dangerous product in its supply chain, for example. Here, the marketing department will create campaigns that protect the image of the organization.
If customers believe an organization is slow to act on a product recall (or has taken the wrong steps when dealing with the problem), it could have an overwhelmingly negative impact. (Research shows consumers are more likely to remember poor experiences than pleasant experiences.) This is why a clear, consistent marketing strategy is so important during and after a recall.
What Challenges Do Marketers Face during Mock Recalls and Product Recall Planning?
The role of the marketer is to present an organization in the best light after a product recall situation. However, there are often breakdowns in communication between managers and marketing professionals, which leads to ineffective messaging. Often, different departments use different programs to share information, which makes it difficult for marketers to communicate the right messages at the right time.
Organizations that adopt a unified approach to product recall management have fewer of these problems. Using software like a recall management system, for example, lets marketers access the information they need for multi-channel campaigns. Marketers can also collaborate on projects with other departments.
How to Challange Your Recall Readiness
Not all recall management platforms are the same. Successful organizations must develop, training and test a mock recall plan that expedites the recall management process and improves recall responses.
Meet Mock Recalls
MockRecalls is a mock recall training and consulting program to test your marketing department’s recall readiness. We are purely focused on protecting your product investment by working with you to create a new recall plan or analyze your entire organizations’ departments current recall plan and then put it through a mock recall or recall simulation test to insure you are prepared for a possible product recall.
Even if organizations avoid legal action for product recall non-compliance, customers have the final say. If consumers don’t like how an organization acts during a recall situation, there could be a negative impact on sales, reputation, and business as a whole.
Looking to test your product recall readiness with your marketing department? MockRecalls will help create and/or test your recall program. Click here to learn more or call us!
Learn more about each department’s role during a product recall