Crisis Management

Planning a Crisis Management Strategy

By BNET Editorial published on BNET.com 11/02/2007

When companies experience a major problem that threatens their business, they need to react quickly and effectively to protect their reputations. Providing clear information to customers and the media can build support and help the company to recover quickly. An important part of the process is having a crisis management strategy in place before problems occur.

What You Need to Know

Why is crisis management important?

Any company can find itself thrown into a crisis at any time, usually without warning. Because news, especially bad news, travels so quickly across 24-hour media, it is vital to be prepared. The way your company communicates, especially in the crucial early hours and days, can have an enormous impact on your reputation, brands, and your long-term profitability.

Who should handle crisis communications?

It is essential to have a single nominated spokesperson who is thoroughly briefed on the crisis and familiar with the crisis management plan. This gives the media a point of contact and ensures that your company speaks with a consistent voice.

What to Do

Recognize the Risks

A crisis is an unforeseen event or series of events that creates public interest and may threaten your company’s ability to continue operating. These events can include product recalls, takeovers, layoffs, work-related accidents, strikes, plant closures, regulatory investigations, and environmental issues, as well as poor business or financial performance. The best way to stop a crisis is to recognize when one is coming. The process of planning for crisis management can help you identify potential risks and, perhaps, make changes that actually prevent a crisis. Planning for crisis management therefore has three preliminary objectives: • Identify potential problems that might cause a crisis.

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• Assess the potential negative effects on the company or the brand. • Take...