Creating Conscious Messages Part 4: Taking Accountability Beyond Words
This is the final article in a 4-part series on how to craft conscious marketing messages without manipulation. Each piece shows you successful ways to communicate that respect customers, build trust, and create long-term value that grows your business. Additional articles in the series include:
PART 4: Take Accountability Beyond Words
"I'm sorry. It was my fault."
I have come to learn these are among the six most powerful words I can speak as a parent or spouse. Unexpected, disarming, humble, effective, and yet, even with frequent practice, difficult to say.
Taking accountability starts with acknowledging one’s contribution to the circumstances, but it doesn’t end there. In the business world, this idea has become synonymous with apologizing. Apologies are necessary—and there are still far too many circumstances where companies delay apologizing or don’t at all—but an apology itself is often insufficient. True conscious marketing requires taking action to prevent the situation from happening again and clearly communicating those actions with integrity.
We have become accustomed to grand corporate announcements, delivered by the CEO, but taking accountability need not always be so public. Businesses frequently make mistakes in daily operations creating numerous opportunities to acknowledge and rectify the situation. Whether poor customer service, lower than expected product performance, or instances of environmental pollution, each circumstance of unmet expectations offers an opportunity to demonstrate leadership through clear messaging and purposeful action.
There are three components to taking accountability:
1) Understand and acknowledge the issue
2) Take the necessary steps to make amends
3) Put in place systems to avoid reoccurrence
Without these, businesses risk losing customer trust and loyalty. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Accountability Gone Wrong
Here are some examples of companies that initially, or have never, taken accountability. In all three, you will observe that the initial response 1) Did not understand or acknowledge the issue, 2) Did not remedy the situation, or 3) Did not put in place the necessary steps to prevent reoccurrence.
1) Ticketmaster Blames Swift’s Popularity for Ticketing Fiasco
When Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert tickets went on sale in late ’22, fans waited hours with millions unable to purchase tickets. Initially, Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation issued a statement blaming unprecedented demand, emphasizing those fans who did receive tickets. Live Nation Chairman Greg Maffei said to CNBC, “Reality is it’s a function of the massive demand that Taylor Swift has. And despite all the challenges and the breakdowns, we did sell over 2 million tickets that day. We could have filled 900 stadiums.” After fans and Swift, herself found the response unacceptable, with lawsuits and anti-trust issues looming, Ticketmaster took down its initial statement and issued a formal apology.
While demand for Swift’s concert was unprecedented, Ticketmaster could have avoided further backlash by immediately apologizing and stating how it planned to improve future service. Denial, shifting blame to Swift’s popularity, and gaslighting fan’s complaints inflamed discontent.
2) Meta Denies Responsibility for teenage Mental Health Deterioration
In 2021, Meta (formerly Facebook) whistleblower Frances Hagen leaked hundreds of internal documents and appeared on “60 Minutes” discussing Meta’s knowledge that Instagram exacerbated eating disorders and mental health issues among teenage girls. Here is Meta’s response to the leaked documents:
”It is not accurate that leaked internal research demonstrates Instagram is ’toxic’ for teen girls. The research actually demonstrated that many teens we heard from feel that using Instagram helps them when they are struggling with the kinds of hard moments and issues teenagers have always faced. This research, like external research on these issues, found teens report having both positive and negative experiences with social media.”
Dismissing the severity of the issue, Meta tried to portray a more balanced picture. If the consequences were less dire—such as customers not liking a particular flavor—this response might be reasonable. However, with accusations of suicide and severe illness caused by eating disorders, Meta’s response lacked an understanding of the magnitude of harm, and its denial rejected accountability, implying that it has no role in mitigating its platform’s negative impacts.
3) Wayfair Continues Doing Business with Border Detention Center Contractor
In 2019, Wayfair sold $200,000 worth of beds to a contractor who was using them to furnish detention centers for migrant children at the US/Mexico border. After employees communicated their disagreement, Wayfair responded via an employee email that it would continue doing business with the contractor:
“As a retailer, it is standard practice to fulfill orders for all customers and we believe it is our business to sell to any customer who is acting within the laws of the countries within which we operate.”
In response to the statement, employees staged a walkout of Wayfair’s Boston headquarters. While the company correctly stated its right to make this business decision, as it was not breaking any laws, leadership did not take the concerns of its employees seriously. Wayfair’s response lacked empathy and an understanding of customer and employee expectations of doing business ethically. Employees staged the walkout only after the company’s response, indicating that Wayfair had an opportunity to repair trust with employees—and potentially avoid national coverage and product boycotts—but failed.
Why We Don’t Take Accountability
We often forget that companies are made up of people. When people are accused of something, it’s our natural instinct to defend ourselves and point blame. I need only ask my children who broke the toy to observe this instinct. Within an organization, the decision of when and how to respond—especially in crisis—is nearly always a person or group of people reacting emotionally.
Accountability is a willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions and contributions. It does not mean that one is wholly to blame, but it acknowledges one’s role in bringing about the result.
While there are many recent examples of companies taking accountability, many still do not. So often, we hear backpedaling, defensive language, ambiguous statements, blame of systems, processes, or external circumstances, or simply a lack of response.
Following are some common reasons brands don’t take accountability. The company:
doesn’t agree with the criticism or doesn’t think it was in the wrong.
believes circumstances were out of its control, and therefore isn’t accountable.
thinks apologizing looks weak and reduces customer confidence.
believes an apology will hurt the company’s reputation.
assumes taking accountability will lower the stock price or cause a loss of investor confidence.
doesn’t want the expense of the time and resources required to make amends.
fears lawsuits or increased regulation associated with any admission of accountability.
doesn’t know how to apologize or what taking accountability looks like.
has already apologized and believes it doesn’t need to do anything else.
The Business Case for Accountability
Initial denials are often met with an even more forceful response from those harmed or upset. Intuitively we know that taking responsibility is the right thing to do, but it can be extremely difficult in the moment, particularly when there is incomplete information. Companies often end up being forced or pressured to apologize. Acknowledging responsibility at the outset causes less reputational damage and can reduce customer discontent. One study by CRISP shows that 90% of customers are likely to shop with a brand again if it responds well to a crisis.
Another study from the University of Missouri found that companies can actually benefit when publicly accepting blame for poor financial performance. Companies that blamed their performance on other factors, such as the economy, competitors or the government, continued to see low stock prices for a year following their announcement. On the other hand, when companies took responsibility for their performance and communicated a plan to address the issue, their announcement stemmed stock price declines.
Customers appreciate honesty, especially when the message may be difficult for leadership to share, says study author Stephen Ferris, professor and senior associate dean at the University of Missouri Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business. “Investors will accept a forthright recognition of an honest mistake, expecting that corrective actions are likely to follow. When firms explain a negative event as due to an external cause, company leaders can appear powerless or dishonest to shareholders.”
Accountability Done Right
Let's look at a few examples of companies illustrating the three key elements of taking accountability well.
1) NETFLIX: Acknowledge the Issue
In 2011, Netflix made the decision to increase prices and separate its DVD business from its streaming business. After a few botched explanations, CEO Reed Hastings wrote a blog post (see its opening below). Beginning with “I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation,” he owns the mistake. He then demonstrates an understanding of customers’ concerns: “We lacked respect and humility.” The post was hailed as an example of empathy and humility.
2) ZOCDOC: Take the Necessary Steps to Make Amends
ZocDoc makes appointments on behalf of patients by logging into medical scheduling systems. Occasionally the systems don’t sync, resulting in a patient showing up for an appointment that ZocDoc failed to book. The begin by outlining the standard of service their customer can expect. Taking responsibility for the error, ZocDoc offers an Amazon gift card and, in the process, attempts to learn more about what happened so they can improve.
Source: Pipedrive
3) AIRBNB: Put in Place Systems to Avoid Reoccurrence
In 2014, Airbnb faced increasing complaints of discrimination among guests and hosts; an apology would not be enough. The company needed to take action to change its policies and operations to reduce discrimination. CEO Brian Chesky issued a formal apology stating Airbnb’s core beliefs and its failure to live up to them.
“Discrimination is the opposite of belonging, and its existence on our platform jeopardizes this core mission,” Chesky wrote. “Bias and discrimination have no place on Airbnb, and we have zero tolerance for them. Unfortunately, we have been slow to address these problems, and for this I am sorry. I take responsibility for any pain or frustration this has caused members of our community. We will not only make this right; we will work to set an example that other companies can follow.”
Beyond the apology, Airbnb took action by asking Laura Murphy, former ACLU head, to evaluate all of its policies and operations, and implemented the following changes based on her findings:
Updating and strengthening its anti-discrimination policy
Creating a policy to quickly rebook guests who experience discrimination
Increasing “instant book,” which reduces instances of discriminatory bookings
Voluntary anti-bias training for the Airbnb community
While these efforts likely did not end instances of discrimination, they illustrate the importance of taking action beyond communications—within policies, operations, and employee and customer training.
Tips For Taking Accountability
Whenever a crisis arises, it presents an opportunity to rebuild trust. Even if circumstances were out of your control, there is always something your business can do to empathize with customers and clearly communicate your actions. Here are a few guiding principles:
1) Understand and humbly acknowledge the issue
Respond quickly: Even without all the information, a fast response is critical. Sometimes this requires communicating the issue before many customers or stakeholders are aware, but it’s always better for your audience to hear your message from you.
Understand the issue: Troubleshoot to find the root cause. If you don’t understand why critics are upset, talk to them. If a system broke down, uncover the source.
Communicate with empathy: Be heartfelt and genuine. Demonstrate concern for customer, employee and stakeholder needs and criticisms. Avoid defensiveness.
Own it: Use the active voice and don’t blame external factors or systems. This doesn’t require taking full blame, but it does mean clarifying your role in the matter.
2) Take the necessary steps to make amends
Outline a standard: Explain your mission and values and declare what you stand for, what you aspire to, and what your audience should expect, even if the status quo is imperfect.
Provide restitution: Identify who has been impacted and whether anything beyond an apology is needed to repair damage and rebuild trust. Some examples are a discount, product replacement, a non-profit donation, or the reversal of a business decision.
3) Put in place systems to avoid reoccurrence
Take action: Consider what improvements are needed to reduce or prevent the situation from happening again. This may require a third-party review, as in the Airbnb example, or it may require overhauling systems, processes, products, or policies.
As guardians of our brands, we need to ensure that taking accountability is delivered consciously. This requires understanding the issue and communicating it back to the customer in an empathetic way. Brands must also honestly give assurance that, to the best of its ability, it won’t happen again by actually taking restorative action. Our words must line up with our actions.
Just like we have frequent opportunities to apologize to those in our life, so too do companies. Taking accountability is a sign of strength and courage. When brands build that muscle, we trust them more, knowing they will be humble enough to admit fault and make a change for the better.
Stay Tuned for Next Month’s Article!
