This is the flip side of the last question. By asking this question, you’re seeking information that will allow you to compare and contrast your customer’s opinion of you and your competition.

I don’t know any business or organization that doesn’t have competition. I don’t know any business or organization that doesn’t need to know more about their competition. It seems to me that asking your customers about your competition is an obvious place to start learning. Your view of your competition is inherently biased. You have preconceived notions of your superiority of product, your extraordinary customer service response, and your exceptionally speedy customer responsiveness. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be working there, leading a team, right? Having a positive mental image of your organization is good as long as it is tested against your customers’ opinions on a regular basis.

It occurs to me that fear might stop you from asking this question. What if you found out that your competition was really doing a good job? What if your customer confided that they were switching to your competition? Think of it this way: What if your customer was thinking those things and you didn’t know about them? Without the information gained by asking this question, you have no chance to change things for the better. Shouldn’t you be more afraid of that?

You may lead in an organization that is fortunate enough and big enough to have entire departments that measure customer opinions. That doesn’t replace the value of hearing those opinions for yourself. Asking your customers questions about your competition will help you understand the reports that land on your desk in a deeper way. You may lead in a small organization where decisions are more often made by hunch than by research. Your quest to listen to your customers’ opinions of your competition is even more important. This information can provide valuable insights into your customers’ behavior in the future.

Finally, asking a customer this question might spark the awareness that you really care about their opinion. Certainly it will help them understand how much you value them as a customer.

To Address Positive News Coverage

Prefer modesty and goodwill as you agree with the positive news coverage of your organization.

Let the facts and events tell the story for you, without embellishment and arrogant rhetoric.

Avoid the temptation to say “See there” to your competitors; instead show tolerance and goodwill.

Take a low-key approach about your successes and the causes in order to profit from all goodwill this coverage can provide.

To Address Negative News Coverage

Be open, direct, and swift to acknowledge bad news.

Summarize the situation and your opinion/response succinctly.

Elaborate with examples, statistics, or illustrations.

Restate your key summary message.

To Create Employee Awareness of Public Image

Generate enough excitement to catch the audience’s attention.

Explain specifically what you want the audience to do or not to do to create a favorable image.

Give personal, as well as corporate, benefits for positive participation in your public-awareness campaign.

Call the audience to action.

To React to a Crisis

Acknowledge the situation with a brief and candid statement about the actions you’ve taken to manage the crisis.

It is not enough to state the facts of a situation and give a conclusion such as “there should be no more concern for public safety” without giving the details of how you came to that conclusion.

Give all information in language clearly understandable to a lay audience. Avoid technical jargon.

Express concern for employees, stockholders, and the general public who may be affected by the crisis.

Assure the audience that you will continue to inform them of further details and actions.

Aim for “headline” messages—clear, succinct statements that give your entire message in a well-thought-out phrase.

Say what you want to say and then stop; don’t let reporters’ microphones “rattle” you.

Avoid an impatient or testy tone with a reporter.

Remember that a “no comment” or other evasive answer implies guilt and a cover-up to many people.

Use these crisis opportunities to build credibility for your company’s trustworthiness, truthfulness, and responsible actions.