Crisis management public relations can make or break your company during a crisis event. Whether you know it or not, your business is vulnerable to a diverse range of unexpected threats, any one of which can severely damage your reputation and have a potentially devastating effect on revenue, customer acquisition, loyalty, and other important business outcomes.
The key to successfully navigating a crisis is preparation—and that’s where crisis management public relations enters the picture. By working with an experienced PR firm before an event occurs, you can substantially improve your ability to minimize the impact of negative publicity on your business.
The Need for Crisis Management Public Relations
Although PR crises aren’t inevitable, they can be unavoidable. Through no fault of your own, it’s possible that your business will suddenly experience an event that generates negative press, publicity and social media mentions.
At Walker Sands, we specialize in providing crisis management public relations for leading B2B technology firms as well as startups. Some of the types of events that can catalyze a need for crisis management public relations include:
- Lawsuits and Legal Actions
- Community- or Government-Based Challenges
- Product Availability Issues
- Product Flaws
- Recalls and Accidents
- Business Acquisitions
- Key Customer Defections
- Labor Relations Challenges
- Loss of Key Executives
By helping your organization establish a framework for crisis management public relations in advance, Walker Sands can significantly reduce potential damage to your brand and transform a crisis event into an opportunity for the distribution of positive brand messaging.
Components of Effective Crisis Management Public Relations
Savvy PR professionals understand that there is no magic bullet in successful crisis management public relations. Instead, the best public relations strategies leverage a multi-pronged approach that addresses several essential components of effective crisis management public relations.
- Planning.Strong planning is the foundation of good crisis management public relations. By forecasting possible crisis scenarios and proactively designing response plans ahead of time, Walker Sands can equip your company with sophisticated and nuanced responses to a range of crises.
- Training.In a crisis, both internal and external audiences will look to your company’s management team for answers. Crisis management public relations training provides your management team a foundation in crisis management techniques and equips them to intelligently respond in a manner that mitigates damage to your company.
- Execution Assistance.In the event of an actual PR crisis, you needstrategic advice and counsel from experienced PR professionals. The best crisis management public relations firms offer hands-on assistance to guide your business through the event and post-event recovery.
No one expects to experience a PR crisis. But in business, serious events can and do occur.Crisis management public relationsinsulates your company from the negative consequences of these events, allowing you to move past the event as quickly as possible.
