No One is Safe

It can happen to anyone. No one is safe. And when it does…you better be prepared to face it. I’m talking about crisis, man, crisis (sorry, Allen Iverson moment). No company or organization, big or small, can predict every crisis situation. That is why they need to be prepared. This is a major lesson that David Merman Scott talks about in his book “Real Time Marketing& PR.” I completely agree with him on this point. No matter how creative or thorough your crisis team may be, there will always be something that takes you by surprise. Life is full of curveballs.

So once again being the nice fellow I am, I’ve decided to provide some quality advice for handling crisis when a situation blindsides you.

1. Have an assigned team.

This prevents wasting time figuring out who’s in charge of what and who reports to whom. Every second counts in crisis situations.

2. Quickly gather facts and plan initial comments.

Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better you can provide answers. The initial statement is critical because it can set the tone for all the following statements.

3. Assign primary spokesperson.

Having one person being the “face” of the crisis makes things easier because the public can become familiar with seeing the same person for updates on the situation. This also goes back to who’s in charge of what.

4. DO NOT IGNORE THE SITUATION!

This should be a no brainer. I feel that this should be common knowledge; case in point, United Airlines.

5. Get information out quickly but don’t sacrifice accuracy.

A quick turnaround from the time you figure out the facts to the time you release them to the public is always encouraged. However, make sure the facts are as accurate as possible. Don’t rush information out only to have to turn around and say “Oops, we spoke to soon.”

6. Provide updates (when needed).

Some situations will require multiple statements. So be kind and don’t keep the public in the dark.

7. When responding, go to the media that broke the news and respond there first.

If someone on Facebook broke the news, respond on Facebook first. If Twitter is the source, tweet first; pretty self-explanatory.

I hope that crisis doesn’t happen to you or your company, but if you should suffer some misfortune I hope these tips will come in handy.

Just talking bout crisis man,

Jake