Crises most often occur unexpectedly, which is why it is extremely important for crisis communication to be prepared and planned well in advance. This makes it easier and calmer to carry out actions aimed at mitigating and resolving the crisis situation.
- Proper management of communication in a crisis situation requires a previously developed strategy.
- Crises usually erupt unexpectedly. Whether it is negative comments on social media or a factory of the company caught fire – it is worth knowing how to conduct communication in a crisis situation.
- Most crisis situations can be adequately prepared for by cooperating with professionals who, by analyzing the company’s operations and its environment, will prepare a communication strategy for various potential crisis scenarios.
- In the absence of a communication strategy for a crisis situation, it is necessary to thoroughly analyze the crisis that has occurred and the actions taken, establish a single line of communication, and designate people for communication with the media.
- There are universal principles worth applying in crisis communication. An example is the 5P rule – Apologize, Prepare, Prevent, Improve, Compensate for losses.
- It is also worth selecting the appropriate tools for communication in a crisis situation. For instance, you can prepare a press briefing, publish a statement, or collaborate with an expert.
Crisis communication is a uniquely crafted set of appropriate tools for a given company, used to resolve the encountered problem. It is a so-called crisis manual, which is essentially an instruction on how to act in a specific situation, professionally referred to as a crisis strategy. Its goal is to protect the company’s reputation, not only in the media but also among stakeholders and employees. Unfortunately, few organizations are prepared to properly manage communication during a crisis. Crisis communication is usually considered only after the crisis has already erupted, and that is often too late.
Crisis communication is often a huge challenge for many experienced PR professionals, and even more so for people who lack appropriate knowledge about crisis management. Therefore, it is extremely important to seek help from specialists and develop an action strategy in advance.
How do crises arise?
Crisis situations can have very different causes – from negative comments on social media to issues such as a technical failure in a factory that threatens the health and life of employees or the environment. Regardless of the source of the problem, each of them can escalate and expose the company to loss of reputation, partners, and financial losses.
An important characteristic of crises is that they usually occur unexpectedly. However, this does not mean they could not have been anticipated and prepared for – quite the opposite.
How to prepare communication in a crisis situation?
Not every crisis can be prevented, but every crisis can be well prepared for. This is possible through constant and thorough analysis of the company’s situation, market changes, and the environment. Based on these data, potential threats are estimated and a communication strategy for crisis situations is developed. Depending on the size of the company and its business profile, several or even dozens of action scenarios can be prepared for various problems.
The foundation is the development of the aforementioned crisis manual. The document should include information about designated media contacts, descriptions of their roles, and contact details. Additionally, it must include the previously mentioned action scenarios, i.e., the communication plan for crisis situations. If such plans have been developed – we act in accordance with one of them. Before starting actions, it is worth meeting with the management and PR specialists, to summarize the established communication plan.
Crisis communication at the last moment
When a crisis has already occurred and you have no idea how to respond to pressing journalists and an increasing number of stakeholders or partners demanding answers – you have two options – find a specialist available immediately (this can be very difficult) or gather decision-makers and selected company employees and act independently.
First of all – the most important thing is a thorough analysis of the situation and a summary of all facts (it’s useful to write them down on a flipchart, for example). Then, consider and develop the stance desired by stakeholders and the environment, while also beneficial for the company, which will form the foundation of communication. It is important to analyze several possible worst-case scenarios of how the crisis might evolve and prepare responses in case the situation worsens. Another crucial matter is appointing the person(s) responsible for media and stakeholder communication. The basis of crisis communication is that company representatives speak with one voice and deliver consistent information. That is why it is worth describing the communication method and key messages in the plan so that in a stressful situation each person has a kind of “cheat sheet.”
In crisis communication, the company should be perceived by the target group as transparent and acting in good faith regardless of the problem. Therefore, the tone of the messages should be positive and empathetic, also indicating that the company is responsible.
Universal actions in crisis communication
If the crisis did not arise from the company’s fault, and was caused, for example, by a rumor or misunderstanding of information in the media, then it is of course necessary to take a defensive stance. However, bear in mind that the tone of communication should be polite, calm, and courteous, so that the people behind the company are seen as professionals, and the company itself will certainly resolve the crisis without damage to its image or finances.
In the case of crises resulting from the company’s own actions, the simplest and almost universal principle in crisis communication is the 5P rule, which is:
- APOLOGIZE – admitting fault is very difficult for some, but it is always worth standing on the side of the affected individuals. Apologies and admitting guilt show that the company is responsible, empathetic, and able to handle the problem instead of burying its head in the sand.
- PREPARE – many processes in crisis situations, which are often likely to occur, can be standardized. An example could be glass in beetroot jars from one retail chain. The consumer reports the problem to a clearly indicated address on the website, then customer service contacts them, apologizes, and promises compensation for the inconvenience caused by the situation. This situation can concern a nutshell in cookies or contamination of medicine. In every case, a single procedure can be established to handle such scenarios, including the “worse” ones.
- PREVENT – continuing with the glass in beetroot example, after the apology, the company should take preventive steps to avoid further damage. They therefore report the faulty product batch to the relevant institutions and manage the withdrawal of this batch from sale to prevent another customer from being injured by a sharp object.
- IMPROVE – this is the appropriate moment for experts to intervene, meaning specialists in the beetroot factory investigate the issue. They check how the situation occurred and propose solutions so that such an incident does not happen in the future.
- COMPENSATE LOSSES – that is, compensate for the fact that the consumer received a faulty product. You can send a small gift, e.g., a set of your brand’s products and a nice note. The consumer will certainly appreciate the company’s sense of responsibility.
The 5P principle presents ways of acting in three phases of a crisis situation – phase I, before the situation: prepare and prevent, phase II – during the crisis: apologize, and phase III – improve and compensate. The universality and effectiveness of this principle are confirmed by numerous examples of companies that applied it during a crisis and came out unscathed.
An example of such a situation is an accident in a store of one of our clients. A decorative element fell onto a person shopping in the store. Good One PR agency acted according to the adopted strategy, that is, it contacted the injured party, apologized for the incident, and offered compensation. It also prepared media communications containing information about checking the tightness of installations and decorative elements in all its stores. Additionally, managers of other chain stores were trained in proper mounting of movable elements, and all store employees underwent first aid training. The company also presented data from previous technical inspections.
Crisis communication tools
It should be remembered that the more details provided by the company representatives, the fewer questions and “add-ons” will arise from external parties. Depending on the scale of the problem and the target group that the crisis may also affect, appropriate communication tools should be chosen:
- Press briefing, which is a meeting with journalists during which company representatives inform them about the situation and also answer additional questions.
- Media statement, which can be posted on both the website and all company Social Media channels. Remember that it must be properly tailored to each medium and audience group. The statement on the website will be longer and more detailed, on Facebook or Instagram aimed at customers it should be less complex, and on LinkedIn, i.e. for partners, stakeholders, and employees, it should take a more formal tone than on FB and IG.
- Press release, containing a description of the situation and the actions taken by the company. Sending it requires a properly prepared media database interested in the topic. Creating it at the last minute can be problematic.
- Media monitoring, which captures all publications about the company across all types of media – press, radio, TV, and online. It is worth appointing a person who will continuously handle this topic and prepare reports on what is happening in the media regarding the company.
- An appropriate internal communication tool should also be selected, and all employees should be informed about the company’s situation, usually to reassure them but also to ensure a consistent message in case the media reach them. Depending on the company’s size, this might be a meeting or an official email sent to all employees.
- Expert – this can be a person from within the company with relevant competencies/experience or an external person who confirms that the steps taken by the company are correct – this is especially important in crises directly threatening the environment or public health. It means backing the company by a person who is an authority in the given field. They will help calm the tense situation and make the message credible.
- Contact with stakeholders and partners – you can use the tool that is regularly used to contact this group of recipients. It is important that every interested person receives the relevant information.
Considering the multitude of crisis factors, it is worth preparing in advance for potential situations that could threaten the company’s reputation and do this with the best specialists who will also act as a communication management team during the crisis. For crisis communication strategy preparation, we invite you to cooperate with Good One PR.
