Many businesses inevitably undergo some sort of mishap or crisis that requires professional handling. This could be as simple as an unhappy customer or as large as a massive product recall.

Crisis communication is an aspect of doing business that many find uncomfortable, but it’s something that must have a defined protocol in order to effectively employ it.

The modern-day news cycle means that industry stories don’t stay under wraps for long, and for many brands, it is only a matter of time before they find themselves dealing with one form of PR crisis or another. But wouldn’t it be better to avoid them in the first place?

With the right preparation and planning, there are a number of ways to minimize the likelihood that your brand will be forced to tackle a PR crisis head-on. Here are a few suggestions for keeping your business on the right side of publicity.

In business, you may be down, but that doesn’t mean you’re out. Plenty of brands have been in trouble, then fought their way back to prominence with a combination of ingenuity and clever, well-planned messaging. Here are some standout examples of businesses who “made it back” and the lessons their journeys can teach us.

It really wasn’t that long ago that one of the Big 3 automakers in the United States was looking liked a stalled-out shell on the side of the highway. A bankruptcy filing in the late 2000s and a massive layoff has even die-hard GM customers looking for other options. Then, insult to injury. A huge government bailout to keep GM in business earned the company the derisive moniker Government Motors… Quite a fall from the union darling and first choice of millions of “buy American” focused consumers. Then, a combination of smart business moves and some prominent PR campaigns, including a star turn in the blockbuster Transformer movies, put GM back in the fast lane. When faced with customer apathy, look for ways to generate excitement and restore faith in your brand.

Yes, there can be a lot of flash and redirection in the course of a public relations campaign, but, at the heart of every campaign, there should be a fundamental sense of authenticity. Your audience should understand that you are coming from a place of honesty and commitment to your core message.

Sure, you might be starting from a place of pain. You may even be in a PR crisis unlike anything you have ever experienced. You may have made a big mistake, or you make be the victim of someone else’s big mistake. Whatever your starting point is, your PR response should feel authentic, connective, and relational.

Landing an important interview with a popular industry publication can be an exciting part of a company’s PR strategy. However, while good interviews have the potential to improve a firm’s credibility, deliver stronger results from their marketing campaign, and even strengthen their reputation, a bad interview can have the opposite effect.

No matter how prepared the spokesperson for a brand feels they are, some interviews can go south very quickly. People in the middle of an interview that goes in the wrong direction need to know how to stay calm under pressure and continue representing their business in a positive light – even in difficult circumstances.

By: Rob Ford, Senior Vice President

The new state of our media is creating a landscape proving ever more difficult for businesses and the communications professionals that represent them. The traits stamping the media apparatus increasingly dictating the behavior of those participating in it are breakneck speed, loud volume, disappearance of long-form, social media (micro journalism), and an emphasis on being first (or not being last) instead of being right.

Before talking about building trust after a crisis, let’s at least mention the need to build trust with your clients and customers on an ongoing basis. Part of that will be in friendly and helpful service and part will be in integrity and honesty. If you have those components going for you, if that crisis (or maybe “when” is better since with social media it’s almost impossible not to meltdown with something or other) comes, those people who have done business with you are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt. Or if not, more likely to forgive faster.

Nature of the Crisis

There are many ways to prepare for when your business faces a nightmare about company products, services, or maybe somebody in the organization just happened to say the wrong thing when people were listening. Here are some ways to prepare before the crisis hits.

If by any chance you imagine social media is not all that important, then wake up and join the real world. It’s here, billions of people worldwide use it frequently, and if you are not using it effectively, you’re losing business.