Crisis Communications for Small Business Owners 2012

Crisis Communications for Small Businesses

So you’ve done everything you can to publicize your company in a positive light. But despite all your hard work, someone takes a negative sentence out of context and runs with it. A customer complains on Facebook. The press misunderstands one comment you’ve said and takes it out of context. An animal rights group attacks your brand. Although unfortunate, these situations can potentially destroy all you’ve worked for unless you do something. But what is the right response?

Having a crisis management plan in place for just such an occasion will help to mitigate the negative press and limit the damage. It is the key to alleviating worry and preventing further discussion by the media. Small businesses have just as much at stake as larger ones. One negative comment by the media has the potential to bring your whole business down if you don’t have a plan in place to respond.

That’s why it’s a good idea to have a crisis communications manager in your pocket that will help you navigate through difficult press. You don’t have to hire someone full time, just an expert that you can consult with from time to time that will build a crisis communication plan for you and be ready should the worst happen. A crisis communications specialist in Chicago will assess each crisis and develop an appropriate response. In some cases a prepared statement is used only reactively. In others, the crisis communication manager will prepare you for televised interviews, web statements, and more. As needed, the crisis communication manager will draft appropriate press releases to address the situation. In effect, the job of the crisis communication manager is to protect your brand from negative press and help you get through bad publicity with your company image intact.

Great crisis communication managers can also help you head off internal situations by helping you with policies, setting up crisis channels in advance, and helping you assess the mindset of your employees. Keeping your employees well informed and making sure there is good communication will reduce the chances that an employee will negatively comment on a social media site or other places about your company and cause a public relations problem.

With a little advanced planning, with the help of a crisis communication manager, you can protect your brand and company image from negative press and comments.