By Rose Hayes – Director
Crisis communications is when a company emergency or issue leads to negative commentary in either the press or on social media. The concern is that any resulting customer or investor attention will damage reputation or impact sales. This can stem from many occurrences, including:
- Product or supply issues – product recalls, problems with a supply chain or late delivery, unsatisfactory results or a product’s build quality
- Staff issues – strikes, redundancies, grievances or poor customer service
- Accidents or incidents – falls and injury or criminal activity
- Financial reports – negative results or profit warnings
Creating a crisis communications process
Being prepared is key as, of course, crises are always an unpleasant surprise. Having a process in place is essential and must not only be prepared in advance, with all those involved being educated on their role and part to play, but circulated to anyone who may be approached directly by a journalist. These are often senior team members and reception staff.
As well as considering who may be the first point of contact in a crisis, ownership must be taken for handling the enquiry, providing a response, and following up on any resulting press coverage or business impact.
A PR agency that specialises in media relations can create and manage a complete crisis communications process on a company’s behalf, utilising their skills and existing relationships to secure the best possible outcome.
Writing a crisis statement for the media
Preparing a response, often in the form of a media statement, is a crucial step. It is strongly recommended that a PR agency is used to create your statement as the incorrect approach to a comment can lead to further negative coverage or feedback from customers or the public. As professional wordsmiths, they will also have the experience to create a short and impactful response that keeps your messaging and reputation in mind.
Ahead of creating the statement, spokespeople must be chosen and prepared to have their name attributed to a response. Or in some cases, be ready to be interviewed in either a pre-recorded or live setting.
Again, a good agency will provide training that means your spokespeople have the confidence and skills to stay calmly and effectively on message, while coming across as genuine, caring, and professional.
As well as an external statement – those suitable for the press or social media – communication to staff members must be considered. An internal statement may be different in tone and messaging but must educate and reassure as needed.
A word of warning that internal communications can always be shared with external sources and as such, should never include any information that a business would not want publicly known.
Building relationships with journalists
Building positive and collaborative relationships with journalists is another core skill that is offered by communications professionals but is often difficult for businesses to cultivate themselves due to the required time that must be invested. They will also understand your interview and reporting rights for an added layer of consultancy and protection.
It is important not to ignore approaches from journalists and to ask an agency for help if needed rather than trying to tackle anything independently. Being as responsive, open and helpful as possible is always the best approach as journalists also want to have a factual response that is going to be useful to their readers.
Combating negativity on social media
Negative comments and exposure on social media can be as, if not more, damaging than press coverage. It can quickly get out of hand with far less control than when dealing with publications through journalists.
To be prepared, companies need to apply a separate and dedicated strategy and process for handling negative attention on social media, separate response statements and regular monitoring and management of all channels.
Evaluation of press and social media results
Even when a crisis has been handled (or diverted), it is important to take a step back and consider the lessons that can be learned. Not only in relation to any business processes, services or products that relate to the crisis but the actual handling of the crisis.
For instance, did the process work or does it need updating, what were the results, what lessons can be learned, and do you now need to nurture an ongoing relationship with the journalists that you dealt with?
Talk to our marketing experts
Our team is well-versed and trained in handling crisis communications in both the press and social media. From process setting and statement writing, to confidence and messaging training, we provide full support to clients.
Find out more by contacting us here, and we will be in touch to discuss what you need.
