What do we do? To recall or not to recall?
To recall or not to recall - WHAT DO WE DO???
By now, everyone knows that petfood is killing pets.
And, everyone is now saying - why aren't the petfood "brands" doing more? Why is it all coming down to the manufacturer that has to do everything and not the brand? Why aren't the brand names doing something for the pet owners?
The debate is just heating up and I'm sure that there will be many case studies done in colleges around the world on what was done, what should have been done, and how it could have been done better.
I'm sure that you are surprised that the brands haven't done more - I am.
Here are incredible brands, known very well, doing nothing.
So, here is my case study:
1) Own up to the mistake and apologize - publicly.
2) Make restitution to the pet owners - the manufacturer is out millions and millions of dollars, but, the brand can only lose it's image (which, of course, also affects the bottom line) - so, to provide a $1000 or even $10000 to the 20 pets that have been proven to have died from this trajedy is nothing, compared to saving the brand.
3) Be the FIRST to come forward (see #1) - don't be the last. This almost reminds me of a surreal movie, where the first one to step forward will be killed (where I believe the first one to step forward will be applauded).
4) Immediately come out with a recall of ALL of your products from that category. I have a pet and we feed them IAM's wet food - so, if I was CMO at IAM's, I would pull all of the IAM's wet food from every store and replace it (of course, I would inspect all food coming back and destroy the bad).
5) Get out front and discuss this - get on all the TV programs - discuss what happened, and talk about what we are going to do to correct it. What we are thought we did right (i.e. safety and quality control).
It really isn't that hard. It makes sense to let the food manufacturer stand out there, on their own and die - which they are going to do anyway. But, again, as a pet owner, I had questions about the "brands" quality and caring. As I'm sure that there are millions of others (pet owners) that have questions also.
The one thing, ONE THING that you have as a company, that must be protected at ALL costs, is your brand. To stand to one side and let something else affect it is not correct. You, as a future or current CMO or Marketing Executive, should NOT allow something like this to happen.