Anna Crowe is Founder and CEO of Crowe PR, a national PR agency, as well as an Amazon best-selling author, speaker and marketing professor.
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As a business owner or agency professional, you’re likely familiar with the concept and importance of a strategic crisis communications plan. It’s designed to provide structure and guidance if (and when) a company’s reputation is at stake. And today’s landscape is a great reminder of its importance.
As the legendary Warren Buffett once noted, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Things can change internally and externally at any given moment, and your response to the challenge can make or break your reputation and future success. Prepare your business for the unknown by developing a strong communication plan that can help survive even the toughest of times. And as the saying goes, bad news can happen on weekends, holidays and when the weather is nice.
While there are various ways to approach this, below are three key elements of an effective crisis communications plan.
Anticipation Of Potential Crises And Planning Ahead
An obvious example would be the current pandemic, but crises can come in many shapes and sizes. Whether it’s a product defect, a change in management, unhappy customers, an inappropriate comment from a company executive or a natural disaster, organizations will face road bumps during operations, some of which can shake the business to the core.
Evaluate every possible scenario, and create an organized plan for each. Identify key stakeholders, and compile a list of potential questions. Then choose your spokespeople. Should your representatives need media training, be proactive and conduct media training sessions regularly so they are camera-ready at any given moment. No matter what their title is, the spokesperson should be transparent, admit accountability and avoid false optimism — you can’t put a spin on a crisis.
A Clear Communication Process
Creating that forthright internal and external-facing team can help control the conversation and ensure that you have clear and consistent messaging. This essential step of internal organization includes establishing approved messaging, forming employee communication processes and identifying the order of approaching both internal and external communications.
The communication plan is essential when considering the order of events in any given scenario. For example, you wouldn’t want your employees to learn about upcoming layoffs from the press before you have announced them internally. And employees must know to whom they should direct media queries. In retail environments, reporters often will plan to interview store managers or clerks, so it’s essential to have a communication process in place so employees know to whom they should direct queries, and they understand the talking points.
A Sense Of Urgency
Time is of the essence when dealing with a potential crisis. It’s not only what you say and who says it, but also when the message is delivered. And while you must have your messaging down, you also need to act swiftly and address issues head-on. Some situations may require a reactive statement, so use your established communication protocols to draft the statement and circulate it as planned.
It is important to evaluate your plan’s effectiveness once you reach the other side of a crisis. Assess the overall damage to your business. What worked well, and what didn’t? Your crisis communications plan should be ever-evolving, so be sure to be proactive and update your communication strategy in real time. If your business is prepared for the unknown, you will have better success at navigating through difficult times and can even come out stronger in the end.
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Author: Anna Crowe, Forbes Councils Member
