Regardless of your sector, it’s highly likely that your business will face a problem at one point or another. Those problems won’t make or break for your business, but how you react to them could be.
With social media holding the power to send news viral in minutes, and the internet making it easier than ever to spread information, your business must have a public relations crisis plan in place should anything go awry. Your plan will be vital for retaining a positive brand image amongst both clients and stakeholders.
So, what are the golden rules for PR crisis management?
Get ahead of the story
If you know that something has gone wrong internally, or something suddenly hits the press, act immediately. There’s nothing worse for consumers to see a business on the rocks, but not saying or doing anything about it.
If you know that there has been an internal issue that could be turned into a negative story in the media, get ahead of the game by releasing your own statement. This will be the first step in helping you curb critical bad publicity and position much better than if you were to publish comments after someone else had the first word.
Alternatively, if the press gets there first, make sure you’re the first voice to comment on the story. While it doesn’t mean rush your statement, it does mean that you need to be quick off the mark to protect as much of your business’s integrity as possible.
Show accountability
Simply passing any blame onto another party will immediately make you look less than impressive in the public eye. Instead of covering up a disaster, acknowledge the issue and take responsibility. Whether you do this by answering questions, releasing a press releasing or posting on social media, it should always be your first response.
Be transparent
The crucial crux of dealing with a business crisis is communicating with stakeholders. The only way to do this effectively is to be transparent about what went wrong and how you’ll rectify the issue.
With news travelling across the globe in seconds thanks to the internet and social media, any misstep will quickly be broadcast, so total transparency is the only way forward. Be clear when communicating and be proactive in how you handle things.
Just say sorry
For any issue that is the fault of your businesses, it’s imperative that you extend a genuine apology to all of those involved. Without doing so, you’ll struggle to move forward after the crisis, and it will continue to fuel the fire of any developing narratives.
The apology is an essential part of your response but be sure also to include an explicit action. Outline exactly what you and your brand will be doing to ensure the issue doesn’t happen again to demonstrate that the business is changing its ways.
Ultimately, a well-versed plan could be a saving grace for your company. While your crisis might not necessarily be a global downfall, any negativity that comes your way could severely impact your relationship with the most crucial part of your business: your customers. As such, you shouldn’t ignore or put off PR crisis management.
Take the time to put together the steps your business should take if ever faced with a threat to your reputation. Ensure that information is shared around your colleagues and feel prepared to handle anything you may face in the future.
With years of experience in handling the reputations of companies across a multitude of sectors, we know exactly what we’re doing when it comes to crisis planning. So, for extra support at your time of need, contact us today.
