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The Capstone team are experts at creating Crisis Communication plans that will help you navigate the complexities of a crisis. If you’re still not convinced your organization needs one, below are a few reasons to consider. And don’t forget, a crisis does not have to be monumental to seriously damage your brand or reputation. Once the damage is done, your organization may never fully recover.
Because a Crisis Will Happen
None of us are immune to crises and they do not even have to be of our own making.
One employee mishandling a situation or one social media professional forgetting which account they are tweeting on can be enough to bring your brand into crisis mode.
But it can be much bigger than that:
- A product malfunction.
- A particularly negative review that went viral.
- Security breaches.
- Tone-deaf advertising.
- Messaging misfires and miscommunications.
- National tragedy.
- A global public health event.
These are all the types of events that are likely outside your organization’s control and not necessarily issues that your leadership could have foreseen.
When these events happen, having a communications plan is critical to come out on top and not become the “What not to do in a crisis” example in future webinars and workshops.
Because Your Employees Are Watching
When your organization is stuck in the middle of a crisis event, whether it is at the epicenter or on the fringes with everyone else, your employees are waiting to see how you respond.
For all the rah-rah that many brands try to achieve in their company culture, nothing screams “We’re actually not a family” like the deafening radio silence of an organization in trouble, particularly when it comes to internal communications.
When your employees are happy, your customers are happy, and your organization can enjoy growth from that.
If your customers can be impacted by whether a team member enjoys their job, it follows that they can also be impacted when employees stop believing in the company, the ethos, or the mission.
No one is asking you to have all the answers.
As crisis events unfold, current information becomes known and details will change and affect your decision-making as an organization, impacting both your internal teams and your customers.
Having a plan means overcommunicating with your teams in a crisis.
Do not make promises you cannot or are not sure you can keep.
Do not keep people in the dark, especially the employees, you need to stay happy and productive and keep the lights on.
If they suffer, your organization suffers. They are watching to see if all that “company culture” you talk about holds true.
Because Customers Need Information
If you think that keeping your employees in the dark is bad, wait until you are staring at a steady, public stream of Twitter mentions from customers (and potential customers) waiting for your response.
When there’s an interruption in the supply chain, your customers don’t care who’s at fault.
They want to know when they can count on receiving your product that they have purchased (or rely on) for a reason.
When there is a security breach and their data has been exposed, they aren’t as interested in how it happened as they are in what you are doing to make things right.
When an employee mishandles a situation with a customer resulting in a viral tweet, the public is staring at your brand on stage wanting to know where you stand and how you plan to make this better.
Remember: overcommunicating, even saying you don’t have all the answers right now, at least keeps your customer aware.
They know they can rely on you to keep them informed, and that makes all the difference.
Because Communication Breeds Trust & Respect
It is commonly understood that, as humans, we prefer knowing what’s happening to being left to our own devices to guess or imagine the worst – especially in times of fear, uncertainty, or panic.
All feelings that accompany crisis events instill a sense of trust in the brand, and the belief that an organization is both competent and confident to deliver on their word.
If you don’t know?
Say that.
If your customers or the public, feel wronged by your actions or how you have handled something?
Say that, too.
Count “apologies” as an effective communication strategy.
When you’re wrong, you’re wrong.
Refusing to say it aloud does not stop the swaths of people who will continue to point it out on a public digital stage.
Consumers are humans, and they know that humans make mistakes, but they do want you to own up to your mistakes when you make them.
Say you’re sorry clearly, loudly, and comprehensively, and you will not suffer while the rest of the world continues to demand an apology.
Because Shutting It All Down or Blocking Every Negative Voice Is Not an Option
There is a right way to handle a serious gaffe.
However, the right way is not closing your social media pages and website to stem the furious tide of people affected by a tone-deaf ad campaign for example.
The right way is not to block anyone on your social media who calls you out.
Locking down your website or social channels in the middle of a crisis because you are facing poor reviews is tantamount to burying your head in the sand or believing that “if you can’t see them, they can’t see you.”
People do see you.
They see the brand’s response.
They see when a brand tries to shut it all down and pretend it never happened.
They see when a brand refuses to take meaningful action to atone for a crisis that happened on their watch.
You can shut things down or block people who don’t like you, but their screenshots live on, and those pictures are worth a thousand words each.
There’s No Excuse for No Plan
It’s not about if you encounter a crisis your brand will need to face head-on, it’s when.
Living in a digital age where everyone has a voice that demands to be heard around the clock, it is imperative for brands to know how to respond swiftly, confidently:
- With information (or at least communication that information is forthcoming).
- With grace or remorse if you caused the crisis.
- With a decisive plan of action that protects your customers and your employees.
Remember - The internet never forgets.
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