The Main Difference Between Being Proactive or Defensive
The biggest difference between whether your company is being proactive or defensive is who responds first. If the company seems to respond before the topic gains too much traction or seems unheard of then it is proactive. However if the company only seems to release a statement after they generate a lot of heat on the issue then it becomes defensive. Both strategies have their own advantages and disadvantages while proactive has a more moderate effect being defensive can either have really good effects or really poor effects.
Being Proactive
When the issue seems to very serious that is when being proactive is the better approach as you want to be the first to respond. The proactive approach is all about mitigating damage before it can do too much. It’s also good to know that you don’t have to have a problem to be proactive. One example is Brooks Brothers, when you visit their store and give them certain information they will reach out to you and ask about your experience.
Being Defensive
There are also times in which being defensive is the smart approach. Often these are times when there are either faulty accusations or when you are not sure how much they know. This is because if something comes out and you decide to have a press release about it and end up revealing more than they actually know it will be a lot worse for your company. This can also be done outside of litigations or potential lawsuits. Examples of this would be Verizon or warranty companies where if you have an issue they’re not going to be pro-active about it rather make you do all the work with your problem which would be them being defensive.
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