Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
As a PR Consultant, I love sharing good news.
Seventeen years on, I still get a huge buzz from spotting my clients in the press, hearing them on the radio or watching them on TV. I’ve been known to get up at the crack of dawn to scour the papers and the web. It’s undoubtedly the best bit of my job.
However, with the good comes the bad. As with life generally, challenges arise, often with little or no notice.
Over the years, I’ve woken up to an anthrax hoax (addressed to me), a right royal mess or two, an international media storm around gender, redundancies and business closures.
And I can categorically say that, regardless of the scale or nature of the incident, the damage a crisis can do is much less when you’ve planned for it.
As much as I love the positives of my job, I also gain immense satisfaction from helping clients prepare for the worst, whether that’s an HR scandal, catastrophic fire or health and safety breach.
A Crisis Communications Plan outlines the chain of command and a finely-tuned process outlining who you will communicate with, when and how.
The plan will help you pre-empt the social media comments that will start to pop up as the situation unfolds and clarify how you will communicate with your team, customers and suppliers as the crisis peaks and fades.
And, working alongside one of the top media trainers in the country, Colin Kelly from Comsteria, I’ll help you build the confidence and skills to deal with the inevitable press and media scrutiny. Let’s drill down into your crisis before it happens, to predict their questions, consider your responses and understand their role in communicating your crisis.
Colin explained, “It’s widely accepted that a cyber security incident is the most likely crisis your business will encounter, closely followed by a fire. Just as it’s sensible to take steps to prevent these from happening, it’s worth practicing how you would communicate if they did. Keeping in mind, you might not have immediate access to your regular communications channels.
“Getting it right from the beginning keeps you in control of the story and goes a long way to maintaining trust and credibility among your customers and staff. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst is a nice rule of thumb. Claire and I will be your biggest fans and harshest critics and help you identify areas of your crisis communications strategy that need attention.”
Fail to plan. Plan to fail.
It’s that simple.
Saying ‘it won’t happen to us’ is short-sighted and naïve and could make your crisis a LOT worse, with longer-lasting effects.
Call me to discuss your needs – 07912 324 264 or email claire@graingerpr.co.uk.
ENDS