Some may still have doubts to the question posed in the owner, since sometimes it is difficult to know if a situation of reputational crisis has put in check our billing or our sales.
In other situations of reputational crisis it seems that it is very clear that a situation of this type leads to a decrease in sales.
The case that I deal with next has to do with how the Catholic Church is facing one of the most important crisis situations of reputation that they have on the table: the issue of child abuse
It is not the first time that I deal with this issue and only It is necessary to take a look at previous reflections to see to what extent an institution as important as the Catholic Church, which has millions of ‘clients’ spread all over the world, was capable of supporting and managing the problem derived from the abuse of minors.
Well, in the recent trip to Germany, the top leader of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI told reporters that they were traveling on the plane with him that he ‘understood that the church should be left’ “for the cases of abuse of minors.
It is the first time I see a manager of a great brand, and that no one misunderstands the comparison of the Catholic Church with that of a company, publicly acknowledge that a reputational crisis has meant a “decline” in sales, which in the case that concerns us involves a loss of ‘believers or followers’ of the Catholic Church.
I am convinced that all situations of reputational crisis involve, at least in the short term, a loss of credibility and confidence of its customers and stakeholders, which leads them not to buy that brand, that is, to punish it. Everything will depend on how one acts at this point of the reputational crisis, what actions are taken and how it is communicated, so that the affected brand regains credibility and trust before its clients and stakeholders, and they re-trust in it and re-acquire their products or services.
It is not an easy task, it is arduous and slow, but it can be ‘traced’. In case there were still some unbelievers, reputational crises affect sales.
We will see over the next few months, what are the steps taken by the Catholic Church to redirect and above all “overcome” the lost sales.