The Cost of a PR Disaster

It only takes one PR disaster

It often takes decades to build a strong, respected brand. Unfortunately, all of that hard work can be undone in one PR disaster. Innovations in technology and the rise of social media make it possible for bad press and controversy to spread virally. If your company is not prepared for these situations, a small controversy can quickly turn into a full-blown scandal.

One of the main causes of bad press is a poor customer experience. Unhappy customers are typically very vocal, and cellphone cameras make it too easy to capture any potential gaffes on film. United Airlines learned this the hard way; a PR disaster struck when video footage of a passenger being forcibly dragged off a flight created a media firestorm, which consequently damaged their brand reputation and impacted stock value. United isn’t the only company to feel the financial impact of a scandal like this.

Take these other major incidents for example:

• Chipotle’s E.coli outbreaks and data breach.
• Wells Fargo’s fake accounts scandal.
• Volkswagen’s emissions controversy.
• Toshiba’s accounting fraud.

The financial sost of a bad customer experience

GetCRM has collected data on these events, among others, to analyze the financial costs for the corresponding corporations. The lasting impact of such a PR disaster varies from company to company; some have recovered rather quickly while others are still reeling.

Read the infographic below to learn more about how much bad customer experiences can cost companies.

Please include attribution to GetCRM.com with this graphic.