A Crisis Communications Plan Will Help Your Business in Its Greatest Time of Need
It’s easy to think that a crisis communications plan is solely for disasters either natural or man-made. But the reality is regardless of the organization, business or individual, a crisis communication plan is a crucial piece of an overall business strategy. This doesn’t mean you need to predict the future, but it does mean you need to create a path to move forward should a crisis ever arise.
A crisis communications plan really comes down to one thing: preparation. Many overlook the need for one because they either haven’t been faced with that type of scenario yet or, worse, they’re of the mindset they’ll never be impacted by a crisis. These few tips will help to explain what a crisis communication plan looks like, some of its crucial pieces, and why preparation is better than scrambling when a potential crisis rears its head. Here are a few things to consider:
Let’s dive in!
1. What’s the value of having a crisis communications plan?
A crisis communications plan puts you in a position to respond to a crisis in a timely and efficient manner. Just like a governmental agency responding to weather events like hurricanes or floods, you will have to respond to a host of stakeholders who are looking to you for answers. Show your leadership team the advantage of thinking ahead.
2. Identify stakeholders.
This is often one of the most crucial pieces of a crisis communications plan because stakeholders are your audience. Forming a messaging strategy is incredibly difficult if you don’t identify who you’re speaking to, and you will waste your time, or even exacerbate the problem. Identifying stakeholders ahead of time helps to focus the plan and tailor to your business’s needs.
3. Talking points are your friend.
The press is calling, investors, customers, supporters and detractors are all knocking at your door for answers. How are you supposed to respond?
Crafting a set of talking points can help to ease the stress by using succinct, simple and direct messaging. They help to keep you on subject, and provide responses that don’t require interpretation and instead focus on consistency. A template for these talking points can be developed ahead of time and then tweaked as needed for individual situations. Don’t get caught with nothing to say. Not responding can often be more damaging than the crisis itself.
4. Develop a fact sheet.
Of all crisis preparation this could seem like the most tedious, but really, it’s a way to have a one-stop depository of information to provide to stakeholders. In times of crisis stakeholders often get lost in misinformation or even their own emotional response, so it’s more crucial than ever to discern between what’s true and what’s false. Grounding your facts also grounds the situation. Fact sheets can be developed in conjunction with talking points and social media responses to create less work and keep your messaging consistent.
5. Understand the proper social media response.
A post or response on social media that was neither strategized nor focused can often create an entirely new crisis for you to unravel. It’s important to understand who your audience on social media really is and how, or if, they differ from traditional stakeholders.
For instance, an individual who follows your channels may be familiar with your product but have no knowledge of the challenges you are facing or why. Falsehoods spread like wildfire, so don’t assume followers have a larger or more informed understanding of the situation. Take the time to consider them as an entirely different audience and craft messaging that remains consistent but contains added detail. This will bring context and knowledge to those who may not have it. And, if traditional stakeholders are also social followers, it’s yet another opportunity to keep them informed.
6. Stay realistic and strategic.
It’s important to know there is no hard and fast end date to a crisis. They are not 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. problems that exist only within the work week. Your crisis communications plan will likely solve any immediate needs if thoughtfully prepared and executed. But, while the worst may have passed, there’s still more to do. Countering negative with positive is part of crisis communications, but keeping that positive conversation going is just as crucial. One way to approach that process is to…
7. Learn from successes and mistakes.
When the immediate threat of a crisis dissipates, government officials conduct what they call a “hot wash,” a process in which they critique their response with open, honest conversation and observation. These same conversations need to be had with your leadership and within your team to determine what to keep in your crisis communications plan, and what to improve. Nothing is perfect, especially in times of crisis. Yet, there’s much to learn if you take the time to do so. And doing so will ensure you’re prepared should these plans need to be activated again in the future.
Remember:
Preparation, identification, and response are the cornerstones of a crisis communications plan. Working with your team, building those plans from the ground up, and realizing that now is the time to prepare, not when the crisis is unfolding, is equally important. You might not think it right now, but you need to be ready.
The Next-Mark team has handled our share of crises for clients. Let us help you develop a crisis communications plan so there is one less thing to stress about when a situation does arise. Connect!
At Next-Mark, we have curated numerous client brand stories since 2005. If we can help, please contact us at 941.544.2765 or at brandstory@next-mark.com.
