Crisis Communication

As Public Relations becomes more of a “need” than a “want” in large companies, and large companies have huge amounts at stake, knowing how to handle a communication or company crisis is becoming an important asset (and stand-out point) for PR professionals.

Crisis Communication is when something goes wrong in a company and there is someone there, with a plan, ready to communicate all information effectively and with company goals in mind; in a crisis these goals can be as simple as keeping customers or share holders happy.

So what do you do? There are several things to consider with each case, but most importantly you need to start with a plan of action. If you want someone else’s advice, who has worked in the crisis communication field, I have attached an outline of a 10 Step communication process, written by Johnathon Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management. 

However, it is no surprise to me that the instruction I have received about crisis communication, the Bernstein claims to have been teaching for a long time.

http://www.sheroian.com/story/crisis-communication-process/

The first step is being prepared. Know your company, your competition, and your market. Try to stay on top of what issues could go wrong, how you could address those issues, and to whom you could address the issues.
The second step is, when crisis hits answer immediately and honestly, with the goal of keeping up or positively influencing the companies reputation. To do this, you must know who to get in contact with.
The third step is preparing different communications for each group in your communications plan (company board, general staff, stakeholders, customers, social media followers, etc.). Knowing how to communicate with each group individually, on the current situation and future preparations, while not screwing up the company’s rep. in the meantime is no easy task. This is why it is important to be prepared.
My fourth and final step is to continue to stay on top of any investigation, media information or news, consumer opinions on social media, etc.  Continue to be putting out updates, making sure they have all of the information that you can give (people trust a company that is honest, transparent and apologetic rather than one who denies or projects blame.