Google defines a crisis as; A time of intense difficulty or danger, a time when a difficult or important decision must be made.
Every organization will at some point in its existence experience a crisis that will threaten its brand reputation or operations. How the brand responds in times of these difficulties is what determines if the brand will survive the crisis. Proper crisis communication and management are very important for organizations in times of crisis.
Before your organization experiences a crisis, it is advisable that members of your organization are prepped ahead of possible crisis situations by experts in crisis management and communications. Doing this will ensure that your staff knows how to respond to the media, your customers and stakeholders should your brand experience a crisis. This will save your brand a ton of money in trying to salvage a PR nightmare. Your brand can also hire a crisis management agency to monitor your brand regularly for any negative news that can damage your reputation and deal with it before it becomes a full-blown crisis.
Actions to Take When Your Brand Experiences a Crisis
Do Not Panic:
While the alarms are blaring and the crowd is calling for your neck, remember that how you respond is everything. If you are panicking, it will reflect in your communication with the media as well as your customers. So, the first thing you need to do is to take a deep breath and stay calm.
Get the facts of the crisis:
Work with your team or crisis management agency to gather the facts of the crisis, access the damage and determine the number of people that have been affected by it. This will help you know how to respond to questions and concerns that will arise.
Seek legal counsel:
Contact your legal team and brief them about the incident. Seek their counsel about the legal implication the crisis may have on your brand as well as the legal steps to take to protect your organization.
Draft a killer strategy:
After you have gathered the facts and sought legal counsel, the next step is to draft a killer strategy on how to tackle the crisis. Have it at the back of your mind that the current situation is an opportunity for you to spin the story around in your favor. How you spin it will determine if your brand will maintain its integrity or lose customer trust.
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger–but recognize the opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy.
Communicate early, clearly and consistently:
Do not let the crisis blow out of proportion before taking charge of the narrative. Choose a spokesperson to speak with the media on behalf of your brand and ensure that the person has a clear understanding of the message that your brand intends to communicate. Avoid using ambiguous or technical words. Use words that are easy to understand. Whatever you say, do not go off the record or use the phrase “no comment”. They will make your brand seem guilty.
Keep your customers and stakeholders in the loop:
Keeping your customers or stakeholders in the dark when your brand is going through a crisis is a huge mistake. It will affect your brand negatively and breed distrust. Take responsibility if your brand is at fault, be honest, transparent and show compassion when briefing them about the incident. Reassure them that you are working towards solving the issue. Let them know the facts of the incident as well as the steps you have taken to resolve it. If you will be compensating the victims of the crisis, let them know as well. In doing this, you have controlled the narrative. They may empathize with your brand and even defend your brand when anyone attacks you in the media.
Monitor news, blogs, forums, and social media for negative mentions of your brand:
During this period, your team should constantly be on the look-out for any negative news, tweet or mention of your brand and be prepared to respond in line with the message your brand has decided to communicate. If you are doing this inhouse, there are several social media listening and monitoring tools that your brand can use to efficiently do this. However, if your crisis management agency will be in charge of this, be sure that they use media monitoring tools so as not to miss any mention of your brand.