All of the Details You Need to Know About Crisis Communication
Crisis is something that is inevitable and happens as the world continues to revolve around us. Although it isn’t ideal for companies, it is something that they constantly have to prepare for. But what is the exact importance behind a crisis plan? Let’s talk about it!
The Importance of a Crisis Plan
According to Why Do You Need a Crisis Communication Plan?, there are many reasons why a plan is important. The article first explains that crisis communication plans are designed to provide guidance and easy-to-follow steps to support clients in preparation for management of after-effects of proper crisis communications.
It then explains that crisis communication is an integral in the protection of people, assets and brands. Organizations that wait to respond or hesitate with their responses cause their audience to lose trust in their brand. The client image will positively or negatively be impacted by by public perceptions and the handling of an incident from a leadership, strategy or communications standpoint.
With this being said, without a crisis plan, the brand or company can easily go downhill or lose business. The way a brand responds is key to how they are viewed, and impacts their image heavily. With a crisis communication plan, they are able to plan ahead and prepare the best response possible, therefore making it easier for their public to support them.
Now that we’ve discussed the importance of a crisis communication plan, let’s dive into its key parts.
Key Parts of Crisis Communication
In 8 Tips for Effective Crisis Communications in the Workplace, key parts are discussed in regards to crisis communication. One of the main tips discussed is to identify your crisis communications team. These are the people who will most likely handle responses in case of a crisis. Although it is important to note that the people who respond in the company depend on its size and how they handle things. If it is larger, then oftentimes senior executives, public relations professionals and legal experts are in charge of crisis. Other times, companies will work with an agency or independent consultant that specializes in crisis.
The article then speaks of other steps for crisis communication such as: training your crisis communication team, developing a crisis communication plan, not sacrificing accuracy for efficiency, being honest and following through and sharing these changes with your internal team.
More specifically, it discusses the process in detail, such as what to do and what not to do in case of emergency. It also goes into detail on the importance of honesty and keeping all employees updated.
There have been many companies that have dealt with a specific crisis in good ways, just as there are many companies that have dealt with things in a negative manner. Let’s talk about two brands that handled their crisis in a great manner.
Good Examples
According to Social Media Crisis Management 3 Examples Done Right, one crisis that was handled correctly was the situation with Nike and Zion Williamson. The article explained that on the 20th of February, Zion Williamson a star player from Duke University suffered a knee injury after his malfunctioning Nike shoe fell apart. As a result, media outlets immediately began talking about Nike, and ESPN broadcasted the game nationally.
Nike handled the situation by releasing a statement expressing its concern and well wishes for Williamson. Additionally, Nike sent a team to Durham, North Carolina (where the game took place). The team then visited Nike’s manufacturing site in China and included many different suggestions.
They then gave Williamson a pair of custom shoes, of which he described as “incredible” to the media. The Nike situation was certainly handled correctly. They responded in a timely manner and made sure to check up on the injured athlete. Nike truly could not have handled the situation better, as both parties became content in the end.
Another example of a crisis handled correctly was the situation with the Southwest Flight 345 that landed nose first in La Guardia, as mentioned in 3 Great Examples of Crisis Management on Social Media.
According to the article, Southwest responded very quickly to the incident and took its response to both Facebook and Twitter. They posted within minutes after the accident, which was very timely compared to most companies. One of Southwest’s responses are included down below.
The article explained that Southwest has a history of knowing how to respond quickly to incidents, and seems to always have a crisis plan in place.
Additionally, it is important to note that there are a variety of different crises that can occur. 5 Examples of Crisis Communication and What You Can Learn From Them includes examples such as: a financial crisis, personnel crisis, organizational crisis, technological crisis and natural crisis.
Now that we have discussed crisis communication, hopefully you have a better idea of how it works!
