Such openness has proven critical for companies that are able to recover from product liability incidents, said Harvey Hoffenberg, president of Propulsion LLC, a Connecticut-based marketing firm.
Hoffenberg pointed to Johnson & Johnson’s response to the fatal 1982 Tylenol tampering scare, widely seen as a model for how best to cope with disasters. The company’s chief executive appeared on television early in the crisis and it recalled millions of bottles of pain-reliever tablets and introduced tamperproof packaging. Tylenol emerged with a reputation for safety and reliability.
“Just being quick to respond isn’t the only thing. It has to have a real foundation for change,” Hoffenberg said. “Consumers do forget easily sometimes, but only when they’re comfortable.
