A crisis is decided
in the first six hours

01What monitoring actually watches

Most monitoring tools give you a volume curve, and volume on its own means little. One skeptical piece in a trade outlet and three thousand angry posts on Weibo are handled in completely different ways.

We look at three things: who is speaking (media, regulator, competitor or consumer), whether there is a factual basis, and whether anyone is pushing it (organic or organized). Only once those are clear do you know whether to respond.

02Three principles in a crisis

1. Faster beats perfect An acknowledgment within six hours — "we are aware and verifying" — is worth far more than a flawless statement two days later. Silence reads as agreement.
2. Only promise what you can deliver Every promise to compensate or to fix something will be quoted back at you. If you cannot back it, keep it out of the statement.
3. One voice One spokesperson, one channel. Multiple voices is the most common self-inflicted wound in a crisis.

03Afterwards matters more than beforehand

The two weeks after the noise dies down are the repair period. Three things have to happen: state the facts (one substantial feature is worth ten statements), align the internal line (sales, service and HR must say the same thing), and close the gap in the process (who decides next time, and how fast you respond).

We usually deliver a review once a crisis closes, setting out which step was slow and where. It stays out of external material; it goes to management only.