Imagine this: It’s a regular day at the well-known telecommunications provider you work for when your servers crash unexpectedly, resulting in a nationwide outage impacting millions of people. What do you do?
Crisis can, and does, strike when you least expect it. What matters is whether your business is prepared. Are you ready for the “what if” to strike?
Here’s the key point: You can do everything right in terms of business opportunity, market fit and growth for your company, but one mishandled crisis and everything can come crashing down. Take, for example, a U.S. fintech company that lost a whopping $440 million in less than an hour some years ago. The cause was a small but fatal software error that couldn’t be stopped because both of the decision-makers were unreachable. The company went bankrupt that day and a week later was sliced up and sold for IP and clients. It sounds like—and is—every CEO’s worst nightmare.
Often, companies you think have it together don’t, especially in times of a crisis. That’s because their crisis communication plans tend to be an inflexible list of do’s and don’ts, instead of well-thought-out, strategic and comprehensive details on scenarios, contacts and procedures.
At the risk of sounding dramatic, crisis management can be a matter of life and death for a business. Being prepared is half the battle. It’s in times like these that efficient, timely and authentic communication becomes key to a company’s survival. Take it from someone who has been in the business for over 25 years and has dealt with all sorts of PR crises—from bus crashes to unfortunate deaths and, of course, the pandemic: You need a plan for when you don’t have a plan.
Communicating Crises Collaboratively
Collaborative brainstorming is the best way to kick off your crisis communication plan. At The Agency, whenever we start working on a crisis plan with a client, we write down all the things that could possibly go wrong. It sounds a bit macabre, but it ends up as a long and daunting list of worst-case scenarios. That’s the point: We want to cover all imaginable bases, from all angles, so that we’re ready, no matter what.
It’s important to work together and bring people in as needed because diverse perspectives make for bulletproof plans. When people from different backgrounds, ethnicities and experiences contribute to your list of worst-case scenarios, it allows you to become smarter and more prepared for any crisis that may come your way. You don’t want to find out during a crisis that the plan you drafted alone is full of loopholes because you didn’t think to include what then seemed like an “extremely unlikely” scenario.
Venturing Beyond Do’s And Don’ts
Your overall crisis communication plan should always be guided by the basic principles of good communication:
- First, honesty is always the best approach. Tell the truth. Trust me, your audience can read between the lines and will probably assume the worst, so don’t give misinformation and rumors a chance to run rampant.
- If you follow the rule about being honest, transparency will follow. Be clear and concise and don’t withhold information that could potentially help someone.
- Time is of the essence, so make sure you are efficient. Don’t over-communicate (or over-complicate). Yes, there’s such a thing as too much information and, no, it does not help your case.
- Finally, tone of voice is important. Be authentic. Admit when you’re wrong! Learn how to apologize genuinely and empathetically, and actually do it. Audiences always see through the fake-sorry messages.
Ultimately, PR is a high-stakes game that requires strategic thinking and timely action. Band-Aid solutions and lousy apologies never sit well with the audience and cause more harm than good. A well-thought-out crisis management plan, on the other hand, can help you reduce the noise around the situation and take control of the narrative.
In a sea of crisis communication do’s and don’ts, be the strategic lifeboat. Build a comprehensive plan so the next time a wave of crisis crashes into your business—and it will—you can get back to solid ground as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Need help developing your organization’s crisis communications plan? Drop us a line and let’s get started!
This article originally appeared in the September 7, 2022 issue of Forbes.
