What We Do
Crisis Communications
When you hear thunder, it's too late to build an ark.
Regardless of your business, crisis is inevitable. The question is not whether a crisis will hit, but rather when will it, what forms will it take, and how can you best prepare for it today.
smart USA's president turned to Stratacomm for crisis communications counsel. When it was over, he wrote,
I would like to thank you for your tremendous efforts these past few weeks in the development and execution of our [crisis plan]… Because of this, we were able to mitigate the magnitude of sensational reporting that could have occurred with a story of this nature… Much of this work was accomplished at night and on weekends, including Easter weekend. You went above and beyond to help create and execute an effective strategy.”
Any number of unexpected and rapidly developing situations could threaten your reputation, product, customers, employees and even the very existence of your business:
- Illegal, unethical or immoral acts by company representatives
- Negative media coverage, online criticism or rumors
- Data breaches
- Litigation
- Financial losses or stock downturns
- Plant closings, employee layoffs or leadership transitions
- Product defects, recalls, tampering or discontented customers
- Labor strife, work stoppage or workplace violence
- Natural disasters, environmental accidents or damage
- Terrorist acts
Regardless of how these situations arise, the way you handle them can quickly help make things better -- or make matters much worse. We routinely work with our clients to plan for crises before they arise, and we help them successfully manage crises when they do hit.
Phases in Crisis Management
Inoculate:
- Build advance good will.
- Ensure a strong reputation now to help your organization be more resilient during a crisis.
- Forging strong relationships in good times pays dividends in bad times.
Prepare:
- Pre-select your team and identify roles. You must get buy-in from the top and engage all facets of the organization in pre-crisis planning.
- What keeps you up at night? Plan for the these worst-case scenarios so you will be better prepared.
- Drill, drill, drill. Practice as if your livelihood depends upon it…it just might.
Respond:
- Lead. Project leadership, engagement, empathy, trust and composure.
- Engage. Make swift, informed decisions. Communicate, adapt and communicate again.
- Act ethically. The ethical thing to do is always the smart PR thing to do. Period.
Recover:
- Act like a Monday morning quarterback. Ask the hard questions to determine if the plan was effective and how your people responded.
- Refine procedures.Take action to learn from the mistakes and highlight the successes. Consider how to publicize the changes.
- Don’t get comfortable. Start planning for the next storm.
