Crisis communications 101

Crisis communications is something that most startups are spectacularly bad at. It does not need to be this way. Crisis communications is one of the most straightforward PR programs to implement; it just requires planning and execution. Every Fortune 500 company has a PR playbook to address every possible crisis. As a startup, you should create plans for a number of contingencies. Here are two very basic crisis-communications checklists.

Before a crisis hits

1. Understand that a crisis can happen anytime, and prepare in advance.
2. Create a list of potential crisis scenarios.
3. Develop response statements for each crisis scenario.

When a crisis hits

1. Assess the situation and find out all the information.
2. Provide an appropriate response in a timely manner.
3. Be open and transparent.

A little planning ahead of time turns a potential disaster into something you can handle calmly and on-message. If you'd like help building a lightweight crisis-communications playbook for your company, just contact us.