Trump Supporters Vs. Walmart: Lessons Learned From Walmart's 'Impeach 45' PR Crisis

Will the controversy over politically charged clothing related to President Donald Trump help or hurt Walmart? (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

The multinational retail chain Walmart found itself embroiled in controversy after USA Today broke a story that Walmart was selling apparel for adults and babies on its online marketplace with the words "Impeach 45" blazoned on the merchandise. The outcry was swift from supporters of Donald Trump, who called for a boycott of Walmart.

Walmart has faced criticism in the past for selling apparel with logos and phrases many consumers found offensive. Walmart's response is usually to offer an apology and pull the offending products. Supporters of President Trump were able to use social media to immediately begin casting Walmart as anti-Trump and within just a few hours, the story had been picked up by major news outlets globally.

After being accused of joining the "Far Left," the offending merchandise was pulled by Walmart. Walmart tried to diffuse the situation by pointing out third-party sellers were selling the merchandise and that the apparel was not a Walmart-selected item.

Like it or not, fair or unfair, Walmart just convinced millions of President Trump's supporters that Walmart is a foe and not a friend. Walmart has effectively been labeled as being part of the resistance against President Trump.

The Risk Of Offending Is Real 

In this day and age of hyper-political partisanship and 24/7 social media, retailers are at an increased risk of offending and alienating customers. The smallest misstep can quickly grow into a full-scale media circus and public relations nightmare. Retailers are aware of the dangers of a scandal occurring and most believe they have invested the appropriate time and effort to design and implement strategies for how best to respond to a PR crisis.

I disagree.

I have reviewed risk management and crisis management policies and programs from retailers globally, and I find that most fail to adequately offer the protections desired. Instead of being focused on preventing PR incidents from occurring, most retailers focus on how to respond when a PR incident becomes a reality. This is dangerous and unnecessary.

I offer the following steps for how to prevent and/or mitigate a PR crisis:

1. Play Offense, Always

This advice appears to be the most intuitive, but it is actually the most difficult for retailers to understand. There is a fine line between having a social conscience and being offensive. Just as it is true that the purpose of a business is to create a customer, it is also true that customers are of different races, religions, sex, nationalities and political beliefs.

Unless a retailer is focused on a niche market with a clearly defined customer base where customers have similar beliefs, every effort must be made to create awareness of the danger of offending customers.

Walmart should have implemented a program capable of identifying any apparel or products sold by third-party sellers or Walmart that could be deemed offensive. Note: If you have to ask if something is offensive, it is. Walmart must update their merchandising strategy to eliminate any chance of an offensive item ever being made available for sale.

2. Keep It Simple

Even the best strategies can fail. Retailers must have a designated spokesperson who can confidently speak with reporters and the public. The goal is to avoid making the situation worse by having conflicting statements or giving the appearance that the retailer is avoiding responsibility.

I recommend the use of "KISS" when it comes to creating a PR playbook: Keep It Simple, Stupid. The first page should include the following steps:

• Breathe
• Relax
• Get the facts
• Write the statement
• Speak with confidence
• Answer questions honestly 

3. Admit, Minimize And Move On

The worst thing to do to a crisis is prolong it. If the facts indicate that the retailer or an entity associated with the retailer is at fault of doing something that triggered a PR crisis, admit/acknowledge the issue. Minimize extending the crisis by presenting clearly defined steps of what the retailer has done or will do.

Walmart made the right choice by pulling the merchandise and announcing a review of its third-party seller program. Walmart should now move on and work behind the scenes quietly to reduce the possibility of another incident.

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Read Again https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittainladd/2018/07/05/donald-trump-supporters-vs-walmart-lessons-learned-from-walmarts-impeach-45-pr-crisis/

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