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We all know what “crisis” means, and we’re all likely on the same page about what “public relations” entails. But put the two together, and you’ve got a burgeoning arm of traditional PR services that has taken on a relatively new sheen in the age of instant news — and that’s becoming increasingly more common.
Why? Because in this brave new age, crises abound, and communication about them is no longer relegated to scheduled press conferences, week-old newspaper articles or “60 Minutes” segments. Used to be you could kind of hide when your brand took a hit or at least circumvent an immediate response until you got all your ducks in a row about the oil spill, product recall or scandalized political candidate. But nowadays, when you’re on the elliptical at the gym at 6:02 p.m. and you hear about the cybersecurity breach that occurred at your bank at 6:00 p.m., not so much.
Crisis PR, popularly known as “crisis comms,” is a branch of PR focused solely on managing a company’s or individual’s reputation during a negative event, and its sole purpose is to protect that reputation until the ramifications of the adverse situation can be properly addressed and mitigated. And it’s something that every single entrepreneur in every single industry needs to be ready for — before they need it.
Related: A 3-Step Plan for Handling Any PR Crisis
A three-pronged approach to crisis PR
There are many facets to crisis comms that you can easily access and research on the web. These include multiple areas of concentration (e.g., information sharing, media relations, risk assessment), multiple pain points (bad reviews, negative press, disgruntled employees, collateral damage) and multiple players (spokespeople, stakeholders, your staff, the public).
So what I’m going to lay out here is less of a comprehensive plan that attempts to encompass all possible scenarios and more of my own personal three-part proactive approach that I’ve employed for a multitude of clients who have gone through a multitude of crises in the 15+ years I’ve been running my own PR firm. In other words, I’ll present a bird’s-eye overview of crisis PR instead of trying to futilely detail every twig and leaf that make up the bird’s nest. And I label it a “proactive” approach because each of the prongs is put in place prior to a crisis arising.
Each crisis will vary in nature, complexity and severity, but all types of crises — whether reputational, public safety or financial — can benefit from these foundational strategies and thus should start with these strategies.
Related: Don’t Let Crisis Control You: 5 Expert Tips on Effective Communication
Strategy #1: Acknowledging the reality of crises
Really? I’m suggesting that an entrepreneur launch a PR crisis plan just by admitting that crises happen? Yep, you betcha. That’s because I’ve seen firsthand, over and over, business owners who truly don’t want to dedicate effort and resources to this area because they simply feel immune to crisis by the small size of their business, protected from it by the type of business they run or in denial that some random unfortunate happening could actually bring them down and out.
It’s not much different than the homeowner who doesn’t want to invest in higher insurance premiums because the chances of a flood, tornado, hurricane or lightning strike hitting their property are so slim. They get their chimney swept and their dryer vent cleaned out every year, so a house fire can’t happen, right? Wrong.
A full quarter of my business is cleaning up “house fires.” So the first thing you need to do is get over your aversion to the word “crisis.” Once you accept that you are as vulnerable as anyone else, you can start conceptualizing and realistically assessing:
- Where are your weak points?
- What are the possible worst-case scenarios for your business?
- Who or what poses the greatest threats to your reputation?
- Where or to whom will you turn if one of those threats materializes?
Strategy #2: Pre-planning
When you have a list of potential risks in hand, not only can you start mapping out reactions and responses to any of those risks emerging, but the list itself forms the destination points on your map. Here’s what I mean.
Say you’re in the business of selling a product. What could happen that could really hurt your sales of that product and, in the process, significantly bruise your reputation? Well, you could get a few bad customer reviews (not great). You could get a bad write-up in the press (even worse). Your product could in some way be involved with an accident or injury (pretty awful). For each scenario, you want to plan in advance how you will counteract these potentialities.
Pre-planning steps you can take include:
- Closely monitor comments and feedback so you can promptly and tactfully respond to negative reviews — on your own site, on Amazon, wherever your product is sold; to the consumer, silence is often equated with an admission of poor quality or service
- Employ a social listening tool to stay on top of the monitoring (most negative feedback these days does indeed appear on social media)
- Have a written response at the ready for any unflattering press attention you may receive; this should include the mission and values of your company, positive testimonials you’ve received, an account of the good works you’ve done and the ways your product has bettered or advanced your industry
- Be willing to ask for a retraction, a deletion or the opportunity to post a response on any outlet that publishes negative content
- Have safety reports on your product available
- Partner with subject-matter experts who can attest to the usefulness and fidelity of your product
- Establish relationships with specialists you can retain when you need legal counsel or professional-grade crisis management
Additionally and more generally, as ongoing efforts, you can prepare for mishaps large and small by:
- Analyzing your industry as a whole to learn what calamities befall it
- Becoming aware of market trends so you can anticipate developments and strategize in the face of them
- Getting your internal operations in order for when external circumstances threaten to disrupt them
Related: It’s Time to Redefine What It Means to Be Resilient as an Entrepreneur
Strategy #3: Assemble a team and devise actionable steps
Once you’re aware of potential crises in your market and have measures in place to prevent them to the greatest extent possible, it’s time to activate a crisis management team and assign each member specific crisis plan steps. My team includes my lawyer, accountant, business manager, a publicist, a writer and a digital assistant assigned to my firm’s social media community engagement activity.
Your team might look very different and meet very different needs. So neither the size nor even the scope of the team matters as much as what actions you’ll want to take to respond rapidly but responsibly in the face of a crisis.
Related: 10 Simple Ways to Build a Collaborative and Efficient Team at Work
Here are some of my recommendations:
- Openly acknowledge the problem and, when you’re accountable for some or all of it, sincerely apologize for your misstep
- Craft clear, concise messaging, then consistently transmit it, across all channels and to all concerned parties
- Identify and reach out to all stakeholders, listening to their concerns and assuring them that you’re managing the situation appropriately
- Respond promptly and courteously to all requests for comments
- Share your plans for remediation
- Remain transparent and honest throughout the crisis
- Monitor public sentiment and course-correct when you hit a false or unintended note
- Support your employees in any way they may need to feel reassured and confident in a successful outcome
- After the fire has been doused, conduct a post-game analysis, learning from your mistakes and taking measures to never repeat them again
- And lastly, of course, launch a reputation-rebuilding campaign, if needed, to reestablish trust with your client base and regain your good name
No one likes a crisis — not even people like me who earn a livelihood from helping clients navigate theirs. But crises are unavoidable in this incredibly fast-paced world, where social media invites us to share thoughts that may not yet be well thought out, where video and audio recordings capture people at their worst moments and where news is spread instantaneously around the world, often before it is verified in any way.
Whether you prepare for the inevitable in-house or hire a professional to equip your repository of responses and fortify your reserves, just prepare. Maybe you can’t totally avoid something you never saw coming. But you can be ready for it when and if it does. Get ready.
