Strive Notes

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Here is an excellent example of how having a blog can help a company in a crisis.  Bill Marriott, chairman and CEO of Marriott International, has been blogging since at least January 2007.  He is widely read by employees, customers and the tourism industry in general.  He comments on a range of topics from employment issues, to operations to personal insights like his views on  the Beijing Olympics.

So when tragedy struck last weekend in the form of a terrorist attack on the Islamabad Marriott, in which 53 people died — most of them Marriott employees, Bill’s blog allowed his team to respond quickly. They posted a quick statement of facts within a couple of hours of bombing including a phone number for people who wanted to know information on the guests staying at the hotel.

Then a couple of hours later, while the true extent of the damage was still unfolding,  Bill himself posted a personal comment expressing his own emotions about the tragedy and saluting the employees who were still at the scene doing everything they could to help.  There are more than 200 comments of condolence and support on his blog post.

As Shel Holtz points out, without Marriott’s  blog, the company would have been restricted to traditional channels for expressing itself. They would have issued as news release or perhaps posted a comment on their corporate website.  But this wouldn’t have been nearly as effective in conveying Bill’s own sentiments as his blog post did. And both solutions would have provided only for one-way communication.  The audience would not have had the facility to express their own grief and outrage.

Here are the main takeways:

• Bill Marriott already had an established relationship with readers through his blog who find him to be a credible spokesperson.
• Blogging is nimble so they company could react almost instantly to communicate the facts.
• It allowed people to express their own views and concerns, thereby strengthening the relationship.
• Bill was quickly able to assume leadership in a crisis, despite geography, time zones and other constraints.

Like too many of us, I had my own brush with terrorism on September 11th and I really feel for the people involved in this cowardly attack. I hope companies will learn from Marriott’s example of how to use social media in a crisis.

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