A crisis communication plan before you need one can be daunting—everything from when to write one and how to get engagement on it. But it doesn’t have to be, so today; I run through a quick ten-point checklist you can use to get going, however small or big your business is.

I cover:

  • What to do before you start

  • My ten-point checklist

  • My biggest tip

  • Share lots of links and my free download so make sure you check the show notes

Let’s dive in!

Listen to episode 72 of the podcast for how to work with stakeholders for brand advocacy.

Links for this episode:

View or listen to my free summary guide: https://mailchi.mp/811ad97adf7a/doyouneeedacrisisplan

Listen to Episode 72 on stakeholders: https://henbe.co.uk/2022/04/28/ep-72-why-you-need-stakeholders-and-advocacy-to-be-an-integral-part-of-your-pr-strategy/

Amanda Coleman is the author of Effective Communication Strategies – get her book

Andy Barr is an expert in handling crises, especially with the media – get in touch

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

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Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Whether that’s support with a one-off comms project or an entire strategy for your business, drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor – emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you’d like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas, and lots of accountability and up-skilling, then email me at emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Full transcript (unedited)

Potential crises can come from anywhere in your business. Things like product recall of any type of products that you make. A life-threatening incident if you manufacture a product or are in construction maybe. 

Maybe an IT failure if you’re an online business. This is hugely significant for you if your entire business falls down.

And fraud is a big one. So if one of your business partners, supply chain, or even a staff member commits fraud, that’s a huge thing.

So in its simplest form, a crisis plan is an awareness and understanding of what you need to say and do, who you need to contact, and who’s in charge should a situation happen that halts your business or could cause reputation brand damage to your business. 

You write one before you need it because crisis mode is a red light. You are in the moment, fighting fire, and you have little to no time to prepare if you’re unaware of that issue.

So whilst I’m not a big fan of big manuals and procedures that go out of date or can go out of date, having an understanding of and a regular review of what happens in your business should things go wrong is critical if you want to protect your growing reputation.

I’ve worked in and for businesses and organizations where there have been hugely complex systems and procedures that need regular updating, and these have their place; they do. 

Big companies and organizations with many people are involved. Still, it isn’t necessary and shouldn’t put you off developing your own plan if you’re a start-up or growing business, for example.

Ten-point checklist:

  1. Develop a list of potential reputation issues.  Categorise them and filter them into areas such as; IT, financial, People
  2. Work out who would be affected by each issue; Who needs to know about the crisis if it happens?
  3. Think about how you would talk to or reach each of these audiences quickly and effectively.
  4. Avoid an information vacuum – this may change how you communicate.
  5. Establish one point of contact for who will be in charge if the plan is executed.
  6. Consider whether you need to dedicate a person or a phone line to this issue if it’s of major consumer interest.
  7. Create a template for your social media posts, press releases / internal news channels, etc., so everything is consistent when it goes out.
  8. Ensure you have an online resource or page you can use on your website to keep up to date and direct everyone to one source of information – this can also help mitigate the spread of misinformation on the topic.
  9. Get help. There are a number of consultants that specialise both in training and executing this particular topic. From Media training to setting up systems and processes to simulations. This extra input will all helps you when the chips are down.
  10. Take time to review this simple plan every so often and ensure you have the right plan in place.

Top tip:

Audience research is everything

If you’ve listened to my podcasts before, you know it pays to be specific about your audience and understand where they will most likely engage with your content and take action.

In a crisis, you need to tell people fast and furious.  

But be mindful when putting email down as the main form of communication as this can easily and quickly be forwarded outside of your business, taken out of context and shared easily. We have seen many examples of where that has gone wrong for business.

So, for example, some of the people you may need to call, you may need to pick up the phone to people, and you need to know that they’re the people you need to pick up the phone too. 

Some people you may have a WhatsApp group set up with. And some people may be online or maybe not be online. Depends on what sort of business you’re running.

A syndicated news release can also be useful if you have to get something out to many media outlets quickly and are not used to working with the media.

Bigger companies often hold press conferences or briefings. That is where they’re trying to exercise an element of control over the message and make sure that everyone gets the same information in the same way at the same time.