---
name: reputation-recovery
description: Rebuild brand reputation after a crisis through strategic communication, trust-building actions, and sentiment recovery tracking
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: ClawFu
  version: 1.0.0
  mcp-server: "@clawfu/mcp-skills"
---

# Reputation Recovery

> Systematically rebuild brand reputation after a crisis through strategic communications, trust-building initiatives, and measurable recovery tracking.

## When to Use This Skill

- Post-crisis reputation rebuilding
- Trust restoration campaigns
- Brand perception management
- Stakeholder relationship repair
- Long-term reputation strategy

## Methodology Foundation

Based on **Edelman Trust Barometer** research and **reputation recovery frameworks**, combining:
- Trust rebuilding stages
- Stakeholder-specific approaches
- Communication cadence
- Measurable milestones

## What Claude Does vs What You Decide

| Claude Does | You Decide |
|-------------|------------|
| Designs recovery roadmap | Investment level |
| Creates communication plan | Spokesperson selection |
| Suggests trust-building actions | Timing of initiatives |
| Defines measurement framework | Acceptable recovery timeline |
| Identifies stakeholder priorities | Resource allocation |

## Instructions

### Step 1: Assess Reputation Damage

**Damage Assessment:**

| Dimension | Pre-Crisis | Post-Crisis | Gap |
|-----------|------------|-------------|-----|
| Trust score | X | Y | -Z |
| NPS | X | Y | -Z |
| Brand sentiment | X% | Y% | -Z% |
| Media tone | Positive | Negative | - |
| Employee morale | X | Y | -Z |
| Customer retention | X% | Y% | -Z% |

### Step 2: Identify Recovery Stages

**Recovery Timeline:**

| Stage | Duration | Focus |
|-------|----------|-------|
| **Stabilize** | Weeks 1-2 | Stop the bleeding |
| **Acknowledge** | Weeks 2-4 | Full accountability |
| **Act** | Months 1-3 | Concrete changes |
| **Communicate** | Months 1-6 | Consistent updates |
| **Measure** | Ongoing | Track progress |

### Step 3: Build Stakeholder Plan

**Stakeholder Recovery Priority:**

| Stakeholder | Priority | Key Concern | Approach |
|-------------|----------|-------------|----------|
| Customers | P1 | Trust, safety | Transparency, compensation |
| Employees | P1 | Job security, pride | Internal comms, involvement |
| Investors | P2 | Financial impact | Recovery plan, milestones |
| Partners | P2 | Association risk | Assurance, collaboration |
| Regulators | P2 | Compliance | Cooperation, prevention |
| Public | P3 | Values alignment | Actions over words |

### Step 4: Execute Trust-Building Actions

**Trust Rebuilding Framework:**

| Action Type | Examples | Timeline |
|-------------|----------|----------|
| **Transparency** | Reports, updates, access | Immediate |
| **Accountability** | Ownership, changes, compensation | Week 1-2 |
| **Competence** | Fixes, improvements, expertise | Month 1-3 |
| **Character** | Values, commitments, behavior | Ongoing |

### Step 5: Track Recovery

**Recovery Metrics:**

| Metric | Frequency | Target |
|--------|-----------|--------|
| Brand sentiment | Weekly | Return to baseline |
| Trust score | Monthly | 80% of pre-crisis |
| NPS | Monthly | Return to baseline |
| Media mentions | Weekly | Neutral/positive |
| Customer retention | Monthly | Pre-crisis rate |

## Examples

### Example 1: Full Recovery Strategy

**Input:**
```
Create a recovery plan for:
- Crisis: Product safety incident
- Duration: 3 weeks in crisis mode
- Impact: 30% drop in trust score, 15% customer churn
- Current status: Issue resolved, cause identified
```

**Output:**
```
## Reputation Recovery Strategy: Product Safety Incident

### Damage Assessment

| Metric | Pre-Crisis | Current | Target | Timeline |
|--------|------------|---------|--------|----------|
| Trust Score | 72 | 42 | 65 | 6 months |
| Customer Sentiment | 78% positive | 35% positive | 70% | 6 months |
| NPS | +45 | -12 | +30 | 9 months |
| Customer Retention | 94% | 79% | 90% | 6 months |
| Media Tone | 85% positive | 20% positive | 65% | 3 months |

---

### Recovery Roadmap

```
Month 1          Month 2          Month 3          Month 6
   │                │                │                │
   ▼                ▼                ▼                ▼
STABILIZE ──────► REBUILD ────────► DEMONSTRATE ────► SUSTAIN
   │                │                │                │
   │                │                │                │
• Crisis close    • New processes   • Third-party    • Return to
• Compensation    • Team changes      audit            growth
• Full report     • Customer        • Positive       • New
• Apology           advisory          stories          initiatives
```

---

## Phase 1: STABILIZE (Weeks 1-4)

### Objectives
- Close the crisis chapter definitively
- Take full accountability
- Make affected customers whole

### Key Actions

| Week | Action | Owner | Success Metric |
|------|--------|-------|----------------|
| 1 | CEO video apology | CEO | Views, sentiment |
| 1 | Full incident report published | Comms | Coverage, transparency score |
| 1-2 | Customer compensation program | CX | Claim rate, satisfaction |
| 2 | Employee town hall | HR/CEO | Engagement score |
| 2-3 | Board-level changes (if warranted) | Board | Announcement |
| 3-4 | Stakeholder briefings complete | Exec team | Completion |

---

### CEO Apology Framework

**Video Message (2-3 minutes):**

```
Opening (30 sec):
- Direct acknowledgment of what happened
- No minimizing, no excuses
- Express genuine concern for affected people

Middle (60-90 sec):
- What went wrong (briefly, clearly)
- What we've done to fix it
- What we're doing to prevent recurrence
- Specific commitments we're making

Close (30 sec):
- Personal accountability
- Invitation to hold us accountable
- Thank you for patience and trust
- How to reach us
```

**Key phrases:**
- "We failed you, and I'm sorry"
- "This was our fault"
- "Here's exactly what we're doing"
- "I personally commit to..."

---

### Customer Compensation Program

| Customer Segment | Compensation | Communication |
|------------------|--------------|---------------|
| Directly affected | Full refund + X | Personal outreach |
| Potentially affected | Partial credit | Email + support line |
| All customers | Loyalty offer | Email campaign |

---

## Phase 2: REBUILD (Months 1-3)

### Objectives
- Demonstrate concrete changes
- Rebuild confidence through action
- Create positive momentum

### Structural Changes

| Change | Description | Visibility |
|--------|-------------|------------|
| Safety team expansion | +3 QC hires | Press release |
| Advisory board | External experts | Announcement |
| Process overhaul | New QC protocols | Blog/report |
| Third-party audits | Quarterly audits | Public reports |
| Whistleblower program | Anonymous reporting | Policy update |

---

### Customer Advisory Board

**Purpose:** Involve customers in prevention

**Structure:**
- 8-12 customers
- Quarterly meetings
- Direct CEO access
- Input on safety measures
- First to know about changes

**Communication:**
- Announce formation publicly
- Share (sanitized) feedback
- Demonstrate responsiveness

---

### Content Strategy

| Week | Content | Channel | Purpose |
|------|---------|---------|---------|
| 1 | Incident report | Blog, Email | Transparency |
| 2 | CEO video | Social, Email | Accountability |
| 3 | Process changes | Blog | Action |
| 4 | Team introductions | Social | Competence |
| 6 | Customer story | Blog | Recovery |
| 8 | Progress update | Email | Commitment |
| 10 | Third-party audit results | PR | Validation |
| 12 | 90-day report | Blog, Email | Milestone |

---

## Phase 3: DEMONSTRATE (Months 3-6)

### Objectives
- Build track record
- Earn positive coverage
- Show sustained commitment

### Trust Signals

| Signal | Description | Frequency |
|--------|-------------|-----------|
| Safety reports | Public QC data | Monthly |
| Audit results | Third-party verification | Quarterly |
| Customer testimonials | Recovery stories | Monthly |
| Employee advocacy | Behind-the-scenes | Weekly |
| Industry participation | Speaking, standards | As available |

---

### Media Strategy

**Shift from defensive to proactive:**

| Month | Media Approach |
|-------|----------------|
| 1-2 | Reactive only (minimize exposure) |
| 3-4 | Selective proactive (trade media) |
| 5-6 | Broader proactive (thought leadership) |
| 6+ | Return to normal cadence |

**Story angles:**
- "How we rebuilt our safety program"
- "Lessons learned from [incident]"
- "Inside our new QC process"
- "Customer advisory board impact"

---

### Milestone Communications

**90-Day Update Template:**

```
Subject: 90-Day Update: What We've Done

Dear [Customer],

Three months ago, we failed you. Here's what we've done since:

WHAT WE PROMISED → WHAT WE'VE DONE

1. Expand safety team
   → Hired 3 QC specialists, promoted Safety Director to exec team

2. Third-party audits
   → First audit complete, results: [link]

3. Customer advisory board
   → 12 customers, 2 meetings held, 15 improvements implemented

4. Process overhaul
   → 47 changes to production process

BY THE NUMBERS:
- 0 safety incidents since [date]
- 100% of affected customers compensated
- 94% of compensation claims processed

WHAT'S NEXT:
- Quarterly public safety reports (starting [date])
- Industry safety standards proposal
- Continued advisory board engagement

We know trust is earned through actions over time. We're committed
to earning yours back.

[CEO Signature]
```

---

## Phase 4: SUSTAIN (Months 6+)

### Long-Term Reputation Building

| Initiative | Frequency | Owner |
|------------|-----------|-------|
| Safety transparency reports | Quarterly | Operations |
| Customer advisory meetings | Quarterly | CEO |
| Industry thought leadership | Ongoing | Comms |
| Employee advocacy program | Ongoing | HR/Comms |
| Proactive media engagement | Monthly | PR |

---

### Recovery Tracking Dashboard

```
REPUTATION RECOVERY TRACKER
===========================

Trust Score:    ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 42 → 58 (Target: 65)
Sentiment:      ██████████░░░░░░░░░░ 35% → 52% (Target: 70%)
NPS:            █████████░░░░░░░░░░░ -12 → +15 (Target: +30)
Retention:      ████████████████░░░░ 79% → 86% (Target: 90%)
Media Tone:     ███████████████░░░░░ 20% → 55% (Target: 65%)

Status: ON TRACK | Recovery Month: 4/9
```

---

### When Recovery Is Complete

**Criteria for declaring recovery:**
- [ ] Trust score at 90% of pre-crisis level
- [ ] Customer retention at pre-crisis rate
- [ ] 3 consecutive months of positive media tone
- [ ] NPS back to positive
- [ ] No crisis-related social mentions for 30 days

**Post-recovery:**
- Document lessons learned
- Update crisis playbooks
- Celebrate team (internally)
- Transition to growth mode
```

### Example 2: Quick Recovery Assessment

**Input:**
```
It's been 2 months since our data breach.
Current sentiment is 45% positive (was 75%).
What should we focus on now?
```

**Output:**
```
## Recovery Status Check: 2 Months Post-Breach

### Current Position

| Metric | Pre-Crisis | Now | Gap | Status |
|--------|------------|-----|-----|--------|
| Sentiment | 75% | 45% | -30% | Recovering |

**Recovery Stage:** REBUILD (Month 2)

---

### Priority Focus Areas

| Priority | Focus | Why |
|----------|-------|-----|
| 1 | Demonstrate security improvements | Rebuild competence trust |
| 2 | Customer communication cadence | Maintain transparency |
| 3 | Third-party validation | External credibility |

---

### Recommended Actions (Next 30 Days)

| Week | Action | Impact |
|------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Publish security audit results | +5-10% sentiment |
| 2 | Customer advisory board update | +3-5% sentiment |
| 3 | CEO "60-day progress" message | +3-5% sentiment |
| 4 | Employee advocacy content | +2-3% sentiment |

---

### 30-Day Target

**Sentiment:** 45% → 55% (+10 points)

This would put you on track for 70%+ by month 6.

---

### Quick Wins Available

1. **Security certification announcement** (if in progress)
2. **Customer testimonial** (someone who stayed)
3. **Behind-the-scenes security content**
4. **Comparison to industry breach response times**
```

## Skill Boundaries

### What This Skill Does Well
- Creating recovery roadmaps
- Designing communication strategies
- Defining measurement frameworks
- Prioritizing stakeholder actions

### What This Skill Cannot Do
- Know your specific crisis details
- Predict recovery timelines
- Access sentiment data
- Make strategic decisions

## Iteration Guide

**Follow-up Prompts:**
- "Draft the [X]-month update communication"
- "What should we say to [stakeholder group]?"
- "How do we measure [specific dimension]?"
- "Design a trust-building initiative for [audience]"

## References

- Edelman Trust Barometer
- Burson Reputation Recovery
- Weber Shandwick Crisis Recovery
- Harvard Business Review Trust Research

## Related Skills

- `crisis-detector` - Prevention
- `response-coordinator` - During crisis
- `social-listening` - Monitoring recovery

## Skill Metadata

- **Domain**: Crisis / Communications
- **Complexity**: Advanced
- **Mode**: centaur
- **Time to Value**: 2-4 hours for strategy
- **Prerequisites**: Crisis resolved, leadership alignment