Let's review an old story together.

Before 1688, Europeans thought that swans were all white, because there was not a European who had never seen a black swan. "All swans are white" has become a fact that no one doubts or deceives himself. However, a few years later, black swans were discovered in Australia. Since then, all those who claimed that "all swans are white" have been regarded as ignorant or dishonest.

At the worst of Sanlu melamine crisis, countless dairy enterprises were in fear on the one hand, and claimed that their products had been strictly tested and everything was produced according to law on the other. Every enterprise proves that it is a white swan in its own way-indicating that it is different from the black swan Sanlu.

Mengniu also vowed to inform consumers, advertising and other publicity methods to show consumers that Mengniu milk never contains melamine. Unfortunately, the continuous in-depth investigation by the State General Administration of Quality Supervision dashed Mengniu's dream of maintaining the image of the white swan, and Mengniu's milk was also found to contain melamine!

After the melamine crisis broke out, Mengniu handled it properly: quickly stopped selling, recycled products, opened a consumer hotline, and started compensation procedures. The old cow even burst into tears in front of the TV. Unfortunately, public anger did not stop there.

In this melamine crisis, except Sanlu, Mengniu is probably the most criticized enterprise, and some even directly accused Niu Gensheng of being the melamine of Mengniu.

Mengniu was neither the source of the melamine incident, nor did it react slowly in this crisis, nor did it shirk its responsibility after the crisis broke out. But why did public anger cling to Mengniu?

The most important thing is the special psychological mechanism of the public in the crisis: when the industry crisis is raging, it is extremely risky to clarify that you are completely isolated from the source of the crisis. When raising the public's positive expectations of enterprises, a little crisis will make the public feel twice disappointed with enterprises-a huge psychological gap will make public opinion go beyond rational judgment of events and rise to the height of questioning corporate social responsibility, thus expanding and deepening the crisis.

Don't say that all swans are white before black swans appear. Don't say that you have nothing to do with the crisis until it completely disappears.

Law 2 of Crisis Public Relations: Facts are always fragile.

After the OMP incident, Mengniu quickly held a press conference on the security of Telunsu OMP. Yang Wenjun, president of Mengniu, said that the Ministry of Health and other six departments have made it clear that Telunsu milk is safe, so it is not harmful to consumers' health. Mengniu will not start the compensation procedure for consumers for the time being. If consumers have questions about Mengniu products, they can return them.

Technically, there is no security problem in Telunsu OMP. Experts from the Ministry of Health also believe that drinking milk containing OMP will not cause health hazards.

However, the clarified crisis facts have not resolved the media criticism and public anger. These criticisms focus on several aspects:

1. In the past advertisements, Mengniu was suspected of exaggerating the efficacy of Telunsu OMP.

2. According to the relevant regulations of the state, any new additives added to food by enterprises must be submitted to the food additive standard preparation committee composed of the Ministry of Health and other departments, even if they are added as new resource substances, they must also be submitted to the relevant departments of the Ministry of Health for approval. Although Telunsu OMP is safe, it violates the principle of approval.

3. Why did Mengniu fall into a product quality crisis after the melamine incident? Although the facts show that it may be a false alarm, it also reveals that Mengniu has some problems in product production, approval and publicity.

For all kinds of questions and criticisms, Mengniu's response is only one sentence: OMP is safe and Mengniu Telunsu is trustworthy. In the current OMP public opinion crisis, Mengniu is talking to the public on the surface, but in fact it is confronting-the focus of both sides' demands is no longer on one level. Countless past crises tell us that facts are always fragile. When the crisis strikes and deepens, the public's expectation of enterprises is not only a mirror to clear up the facts, but also feedback from enterprises at a higher value level.

Facts and values are the two poles of the world ontology. British philosopher Hume put forward the difference between factual knowledge and value knowledge on the basis of distinguishing fact from value. He believes that factual knowledge can be sought from inspection and appraisal and can be used to describe a given event; And value knowledge is much more complicated, starting from feelings and appealing to the heart, but it is easier to impress people than factual knowledge.

In the crisis, the presentation of data and evidence about the cause, development and consequences of events belongs to the factual dimension, and the reflection, apology, communication and commitment of events belong to the value dimension. In major crisis events, the public's expectation for enterprises is often to seek clarification of the facts first, but it quickly transitions to the demand for value response. Therefore, after the outbreak of a major crisis, if enterprises only insist on whether they are right or wrong, yes or no, with or without this level of facts, it is impossible to fundamentally eliminate public anger. Heart-to-heart communication and sincere commitment and action based on corporate social responsibility are effective ways to resolve the crisis.

Rule 3 of Crisis Public Relations: The best way to manage a crisis is to treat the disease before it happens.

It's still an old story.

King Wen of Wei asked the famous doctor Bian Que, "Your three brothers are all good at medical skills. Which is the best? "

Bian Que replied: "The eldest brother is the best, the second brother is the second, and I am the worst."

King Wen asked again, "Then why are you the most famous?"

Bian Que replied, "My eldest brother treated me before I got sick. Because most people don't know that he can eradicate the cause in advance, his fame can't spread, only our family knows. My second brother was treated at the beginning of his illness. Most people think that he can only cure minor illnesses, so his fame is limited to his own village. And I, Bian Que, treated my illness when it was very serious. Most people have seen me perform major operations, such as bloodletting and skin medication, so I think my medical skills are brilliant and my reputation has spread all over the country. "

Crisis is a normal state for any enterprise, not an accident-the seeds of crisis lurk in all links of enterprise operation value chain, and no one can predict when, where and how the crisis will break out. However, smart companies know that the best crisis management strategy is just like Bian Que's treatment of diseases. It is more important to diagnose the root of hidden dangers and prevent them before they happen.

Mengniu, which is growing rapidly, has inevitably accumulated some stubborn diseases that are difficult to solve in a short time, such as the inability to keep up with the factory production capacity, weak product production monitoring, difficult personnel management and malicious confrontation in market competition. If these stubborn diseases are not effectively solved or paid attention to one by one, they may turn into a major crisis for enterprises under the temptation of some external factors. With the outbreak of melamine crisis, who can say that Mengniu and Sanlu are different? In the face of huge interests, morality is always fragile, but industry leaders should show their determination to resist temptation at this time. Looking back at those excellent enterprises, which enterprise does not give up the temptation and at the same time shut out the latent crisis?

Admit your own shortcomings, warn that the crisis is around you, and tell yourself with trepidation that it may be the best lesson for Mengniu and other enterprises after another tragic crisis.