Chapter 71: High-Profile Publicity

Chapter 71: High-Profile Publicity

Jiang Chengxiao immediately stood up: "Director Song, I heard that a batch of our factory's products has encountered some issues. As a member of the factory, I sincerely hope to contribute to solving the problem. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Song Baili sneered: "You're just a loader, just focus on moving your goods. Other matters are none of your concern."

He then glared at Song Xilan: "You haven't been talking, have you?"

Song Xilan quickly raised her hand to swear: "I haven't said anything! Even when Qiaoling came to me, I kept my mouth shut!"

Jiang Chengxiao, however, bravely interjected: "Director Song, right now, there are all kinds of rumors flying around the factory, and people are panicking. It's impossible to keep a lid on it. Instead of trying to silence everyone, it would be better to be transparent and tell everyone the truth. This way, we can avoid the spread of misinformation, which can be worse than the truth itself."

Song Baili frowned: "What do you know!"

In such situations, the other leaders in the factory shared the same mindset—cover it up and keep it under wraps.

For example, the workshop supervisor in the production workshop. If there was a minor issue in production, his first instinct wouldn't be to report it to the leadership but to resolve it within the workshop.

However, this incident was too big, and most of the products had already been stored in the warehouse, ready for shipment. He couldn't keep it under control anymore and had to report it to the director.

But for Director Song, this matter was still within the factory's ability to handle. He didn't want it to become public knowledge, as it might reach the higher-ups in the light industry group and affect the factory's performance this year.

Thus, his first reaction was to issue a gag order, strictly forbidding anyone with knowledge of the incident from spreading it.

Yet, Jiang Chengxiao said: "The factory workers are all talking about it. Even a mere loader like me can guess that there's a quality issue with this batch of goods. It's clear that such things can't be suppressed. The more people are kept in the dark, the more curious they become, and the wilder the rumors will get."

His words were unpleasant, and Song Baili initially wanted to scold him for talking nonsense, but for some reason, he let him continue.

"Right now, the rumor is that there's a problem with the product formula. But as it spreads, it might reach customers who don't know the truth, and they might think there's something bad in our biscuits, that eating them could make people sick, or even kill them. This would seriously harm our factory's reputation."

Song Baili: "So, what do you suggest we do?"

Jiang Chengxiao: "In my opinion, this is actually a great publicity opportunity—a chance to show how seriously our factory takes product quality and that we absolutely won't let substandard products enter the market."

"Therefore, instead of hiding it, we should make a big deal out of it. For example, we could invite reporters from Nanyang Daily, the most widely read newspaper in our city, to interview us and help publish an article detailing how we discovered the quality issue and immediately took action to recall all shipped products. We would rather take a big financial hit than let any substandard products reach customers. This way, all customers who buy our products will know that they can trust our factory's products. We could even create a gimmick, like offering a refund or paying three times the amount for anyone who finds a quality issue with our products."

Song Xilan listened to his lengthy speech with shining eyes: "Dad, I think he makes a lot of sense."

Song Baili snorted: "A young punk, talking so casually. You make it sound so easy. Do you know how much this batch of products is worth? And refund one, pay three times the amount? You're talking without understanding the consequences."

Song Xilan, being a fence-sitter, now felt that destroying the products would be too wasteful: "That's true. Actually, this batch of goods just missed adding sugar, so it's not sweet. Other than that, the quality is fine. Eating it won't harm anyone's health. It's all perfectly good food. Destroying it would be such a waste. Maybe some people who don't like sweet things would find it delicious!"

"Sugar-free biscuits are great. I love sugar-free ones."

"If this were modern times, it could even be a selling point, marketed as a healthy, low-calorie option. There would be fitness enthusiasts and people on diets rushing to buy it."

"Now that you mention it, I realize that sugar-free biscuits actually save production costs for manufacturers. So why are sugar-free biscuits more expensive than regular ones on the market?"

"It's all about marketing. As long as you target the right consumer group, even problematic products can sell at a premium."

"Come on, what era are we in? People are still struggling to get enough to eat. Talking about health and weight loss? Back then, when people bought candies and biscuits, it was all about the sweetness! For them, sweet biscuits were a high-end nutritional supplement, good for the body. It's not like modern people who worry about high blood pressure or cholesterol."

Song Xilan, only half-understanding, cautiously suggested: "Could we find a unique selling point and market this batch as a product specially designed for a specific group of people?"

Jiang Chengxiao: "That's a good idea. For example, diabetics can't eat sugar, so this biscuit would be perfect for them. Also, children who eat too many sweets are prone to cavities, and elderly people might have trouble digesting too much sugar. These are all groups we could target."

Song Baili actually took their words to heart. Their ideas were completely different from the suggestions made during the meeting earlier.

During the meeting, the main suggestions were: first, to keep the matter under wraps and prevent more people from finding out. The solution was to issue a gag order, strictly prohibiting factory employees from discussing or spreading the news. But deep down, everyone knew that while such measures might work on the surface, they couldn't control what happened behind the scenes. By tonight, everyone outside might already know.

Moreover, as Jiang Chengxiao mentioned, due to the lack of clear information, the rumors have become even more chaotic, with all sorts of speculations.

Secondly, find a way to sell this batch of goods to minimize economic losses. Unlike the idea of selling to people with special needs, the consensus was that the goods couldn't be sold in major city stores. It would be best to send them to small towns or rural areas in distant provinces for sale.

However, Director Song was not very satisfied with this approach. Isn't this just ripping off the customers? Just because it's sold to rural people who might not understand their rights, it doesn't mean everything is fine!

Thirdly, there's the urgent issue of restarting production. The task of supplying festive goods to major stores must be completed.

But achieving this production goal presents a major challenge.