Why do I need crisis PR planning?

It’s the service you never thought you needed…until one day, you need it fast.

Crisis PR is about actively planning for the 1% of things that can happen when the shit truly hits the fan and your reputation is at stake.

You’d be surprised how quickly a situation can escalate without warning & audience or customer sentiment turns.

It could be a major leak of private member data, negative stories circulating about a CEO, or simply a tone-deaf post published on a Friday afternoon when your social guru has gone on leave for the weekend.

Suddenly, you have a journalist’s deadline looming in 30mins, anxious staff wondering what to do and no consensus from the CEO or board on a way forward.

Whether the criticism is justified or not, you can control how you respond and communicate your response, both externally and internally.

What can happen when you don’t consider and manage fall-out effectively:

·       Unbalanced & negative media coverage;
·       Sponsors/advertisers turn elsewhere;
·       Online threats/negative reviews;
·       Loss of customers/client base;
·       Staff feel unsupported and consider leaving;
·       Tone-deaf messaging, which further stokes the fire;
·       En-masse Board departures;
·       Legal action, resulting from online commentary.

Good crisis PR planning takes into account the individualities of your business or organisation.

Most importantly, it also protects your staff when they’re upset, have dealt with a week of negative online commentary and are considering handing in their notice.

It may never happen, but if it does, I guarantee having your crisis PR processes, structure and hierarchy in place will help you sleep a lot better at night.

So get proactive about getting plans in place for your business or organisation, long before it happens.

Rhetorica offers crisis PR planning and on-demand advice services - get in touch.