In a PR Crisis Without a Crisis Response Plan? Here's What to Do
Follow these steps if your business is in a PR crisis without a plan.
Ruh-Roh
Regardless of how you got here, the reality is that your business will face a PR crisis whether you like it or not. Sometimes, they strike before we've had a chance to create a crisis response team, develop template statements, put together a response plan, or even place preventative measures in motion.
Of course, this is not an ideal situation, and it's one that we hope you and your business will never encounter. However, as entrepreneurs and leaders, we must always press forward for the benefit of our business and manage the crisis as best as possible.
That's why we've gathered these steps you can follow today if you find yourself in the unenviable position of a PR crisis without a response plan.
Here's what you can do.
Step 1: Assemble Your Comms & Leadership Teams
Assemble! (Source: Squarespace)
Do not try and do this on your own. Whether you have an in-house communications team or utilize a PR firm, gather the comms squad and your leadership to get everyone up-to-date on what has happened.
READ MORE: Crisis Communication: What Is It and Why You Should Care
This team is now your quick response force or QRF tasked with identifying the issue, deciding on a course of action and, most importantly, is responsible for developing all external communication products until the crisis is over.
Step 2: Issue a Holding Statement & Stop all External Communication
Do not ignore the issue and hope it will go away. To start, create and issue a holding statement to any reporter or outlet that you trust. Do not commit to anything. This is only a statement acknowledging the situation exists, that you are working on it, and that more information will follow.
Finally, be sure to stop all external communication by your employees and corporate communications shop so you can focus on mitigating the crisis.
You're holding statement should look something like this:
At Company XYZ, we are aware of the situation and are actively monitoring it. At approximately XX:XX this/last (morning/afternoon/evening/night) .... (breakdown of the crisis). The safety, well-being, and safety of our employees, clients, and partners are our highest priorities. We are working diligently to address this issue and will provide more detailed information as it becomes available. We appreciate your understanding and patience at this time.
Step 3: Gather the Details
Do not fail to spend an adequate amount of time learning what went wrong. Next, move on to finding the details. Figure out the cause of the crisis: the parties involved, what happened, and why did it happen.
Look into the public's response: what are people saying, how many are talking about it, how severe are the responses, are people split? If so, how split are they on the matter? Use these details as a QRF to inform your next steps and a response.
Step 4: Decide on Your Next Steps
Do not choose your next steps without seeking buy-in first. With a holding statement out, and your team on the same page with all the details, you can move on to creating a plan.
First things first, ask some basic questions: how timely does our response need to be, are we in the wrong, is this an old issue, is it from the company, or is this from an employee? Is this just a company crisis, or is there a physical crisis, i.e., a fire, active shooter warning, etc.? These are just general questions to consider. Your given situation will dictate the questions asked.
Next, move on to deeper questions: Who will issue the statement? Will a company representative like the CEO go on camera or will you issue a statement to an outlet? If any are involved, how are other organizations responding? Whatever you decide to do, your next step is essential and timely.
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Step 5: Communicate Your Actions to the Public
It’s time to step up. (Source: Squarespace)
Do not withhold critical information from the public on how you plan to respond and mitigate the crisis. Your shareholders, employees, and clientele need to understand what you intend to do and how.
Transparency in a crisis is often a difficult thing to demonstrate, but it is required if you hope to move past it with limited damages. Practice extreme ownership of the situation.
Even the most transparent companies can flop in their response if they are poor communicators. It is your responsibility to make sure everyone understands your message. Cut the fluff, euphemisms, and anything that isn't necessary. Transparency is your goal.
The Squared Away blog has a deep catalog of content geared towards communicating with journalists and the media. Along with links to some of those feature articles, we listed a few more helpful tips for crisis communications.
Reach out to local journalists and those you have a rapport with first. They will likely be the quickest to publish the story and reach your target audiences first.
Informed journalists inform the public. Don't withhold necessary information from the media in hopes of receiving a less detrimental response. All essential information must be provided to avoid continuing the PR crisis through unclear messaging.
Be concise and accurate. Don't sugar-coat it, just get the message across as quickly and clearly as possible.
Pitching Local Media: Learn How with a Pitch by Evocati PR that Secured Local Media Coverage Featured by Yahoo! News
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You Got This
We like to tell our clients that, "we've sat in their chair before." Our leadership team has been through many challenging PR times in the federal, corporate, and nonprofit sectors wearing the so-called PR Hat.
We know what it takes to respond to a crisis and how to manage a response. If you'd like our help getting prepared or have additional questions, contact us today.
When a crisis strikes, use these proven steps to craft a response that will help you and your business find the light at the end of the tunnel.
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