The news has been all abuzz with the actions taken by the NBA to ban Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, for a racially charged conversation that went viral this past week. The Clippers and the NBA stood to lose a boatload of money in advertising revenue and a lot more in credibility if they stood by the outspoken owner. The trending news is all about bigotry, but this was a business decision. What do you do when an employee does the wrong thing? Does firing them solve the problem or is there more to keeping your business brand untarnished in the equation?

If you have a Human Resources department, they are charged with making sure that everyone understands the terms of their employment and defining the lines that should not be crossed. When the line is crossed, you may have a corporate lawyer that will advise you to keep from doing any further damage to your corporation. In marketing and communications, we are charged with promoting the company brand. When an employee does the wrong thing, that brand image is in jeopardy. Our job goes beyond definition of good behavior and legal damage control. The job of marketing is to change the minds of customers and highly influential people when something goes wrong. We are there to guide them past the trouble and to get them to believe in your brand once again.

How do you rebuild the reputation of the company when something goes wrong? Here are some basic steps to take:

First, admit to the problem. Today there are so many ways that the missteps of someone are seen by all. Remember that Donald Sterling made his racial comments over the phone in a private conversation. Someone was recording it and passed it on to the gossip magazine TMZ. You don’t need a celebrity gossip web site to pick up your comments to be damaging. You could be in the same kind of hot water if an employee says something inflammatory to a customer in an email, posts an inappropriate photo wearing your company apparel on social media, or is seen in a video (they are all around us) doing something dishonest. The reality is that eyes and ears are all around us. There is nothing to be gained by trying to cover up what can quickly be seen by masses of people. Admit to the failure and commit to make it right.

Secondly, pledge to making sure the public – and particularly your customers - know the company is taking steps to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again. People are forgiving if they believe you are sincere about fixing the problem. That may require you to go face-to-face with your customers. A corporate statement begging forgiveness may be necessary, but this sort of communication is best when it is done in person.

Thirdly, emphasize the good things the company is doing beyond damage control. When the lawyers have picked up their briefcases and left the building, marketing has to rebuild the reputation of the company. Get good news out in the public’s eye. The truth is, most news cycles are very short. Even though you may be in the midst of a very painful time in your business, know that it will pass. You can help bury it if you feed a steady diet of good news to the press. Promote your charitable causes. Emphasize new contracts or any other optimistic business news. Update the public on promotions in the company. Push the positive.

Beyond getting rid of a bad apple employee, marketing has to restore faith in the company brand. It is imperative that there be a trustful relationship between your company and your customers. If not, your brand will suffer.

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Photo by Lanmeyer