Does Your Brand Need a Crisis Comms Plan?

25 Mar Does Your Brand Need a Crisis Comms Plan?

If your organization doesn’t have a current crisis communications plan, now is the time to create one. Think about the brands that have found themselves under scrutiny or thrust into the national spotlight recently: Boeing, Nike, Facebook, Covington High School, the Catholic Church – to name a few. While some organizations respond appropriately and aptly when a crisis hits, others struggle to find their voice in the early moments, which are often the most critical in a crisis response.

Before the days of social media and never-ending news, brands might reasonably expect to keep quiet about mishaps, employee scandals and other unflattering incidents. If the media didn’t pick up on a story, you might escape without any damage to your brand. Not anymore. Not when stories explode online, videos go viral and the court of public opinion is already making judgements before you’ve had a chance to think about your first statement.

While having a crisis communications plan doesn’t necessarily prevent a crisis, it puts your organization in a stronger position to respond quickly and communicate well while dealing with the crisis itself at the same time. Brands that drag their feet in the early moments and days risk losing the trust and confidence of their customers and key audiences, which can affect sales, stock prices and the long-term reputation of the company.

It took Boeing a week to issue a statement from CEO Dennis Muilenberg after the recent crash of its 737 Max airplane. There may be reasons to wait to release detailed statements, but not hearing anything from the top for seven days is sure to result in questions of credibility and allegations that Boeing doesn’t know what to say.

How do you make sure your brand is as prepared as possible to communicate effectively during a crisis?

1. Begin with an assessment of issues and scenarios that could put your organization in a crisis. In every industry there are foreseeable incidents. For these situations, create draft messages and response statements. While you may have to tweak them in real life, you’ll be ahead of the game if you have already thought through your core messages ahead of time.

2. Think about your lead spokesperson and how this might change depending on the situation. Not every situation calls for a video from the CEO, but there are times when a response from the top is essential. For anyone who might be speaking to the media, investing in media training and practice interviews is a must.

3. Pay careful attention to social media. Communicating on social media during a crisis has a much different feel than your everyday, feel-good brand stories. For smaller organizations, especially those that only have a handful of employees managing their social accounts, managing a crisis on social media can quickly become overwhelming. Thinking through your social media strategy can lessen the stress when the pressure is on.

Chad McLeod, APR, CPRC, is the owner of McLeod Communications and co-host of PR & Politics.