Today, access to information and its management has pushed companies, brands, KOLs, and even public figures to take care of the messages and image they project to society. One false step can unleash a series of unfortunate events that can have a negative impact on their reputation, even to a critical point.
Nothing talks better about an organization than the way it communicates and handles a crisis. An incorrect management of sensitive situations can impact both corporate and personal reputation. On the other hand, an adequate communication can contribute to clear rumours and uncertainty and give a real dimension of what may look like a crisis.
Now, avoid a crisis may follow specific prevention, management, and resolution methodologies, as an organization, is necessary to encourage practices that help to minimize risks in a potential crisis.
Some examples of this practices are:
1. Know your audiences: Knowing what they think of you as an organization is important to identify blind spots in your communication and improve them.
2. Keep an open communication: Your audiences must know your activities in order to build empathy.
3. Media Monitoring: It’s important to know what’s being said about your organization in the media outlets to identify any negative subject.
4. Give dimension to every problem: Generally, we are used to exaggerating simple situations that may be solved if the root of the problem is analyzed, keep calm and focus on the solution.
5. Have a team of experts: It’s important to have a team of consultants specialized in crisis management, that allows you to evaluate potential problems and prevent them from becoming a crisis.
6. Timing: When a crisis happens, time is a decisive factor between being proactive or reactive. Analyze the situation and execute the planned strategy for the specific risk.
7. Prevention is crucial: Have identified risks that may generate a potential crisis, gives us chance to develop a prevention plan and act proactively.
8. Contention messages: Having pre-approved corporate key messages that help you to contain the situation will give you time to focus on the resolution of the incident.
9. Always be prepared for the worst: The resolution of a crisis depends on our capacity to act, so be prepared for the worst case scenario, and keeps every situation covered.
10. Keep a log of your situation: It’s important to keep a record of every critical situation so you can identify every improvement areas, share best practices and decrease future risks.