BMC blog: How to manage a media crisis

05 Jun BMC blog: How to manage a media crisis

Most businesses believe they’re Teflon when it comes to a crisis. Not so.

If your company’s reputation suffers a blow, statistics show that your survival chances are slim.

The stone-cold fact is that 80 per cent of businesses that suffer a crisis fold within two years. That figure rises nearer to 90 per cent if a loss of data or security breach is involved.

Why? Because your reputation lies in tatters – and in today’s volatile world of social media news travels fast and weaknesses are readily exposed in seconds.

Oh, and if you think you’re too small or too young a business to count, micro businesses and sole traders suffer most as they lack historical credibility. 

So how come fewer than half of UK businesses have a crisis plan in place and most that do see it as an operational requirement rather than something they need to readily embrace?

The trouble is too many folks think they can ‘wing it’. Others simply don’t know what to do and don’t see protecting their reputation as a first rather the last option.

Returning to the stats, and with Pareto’s 80/20 rule in mind, 80 per cent of what needs to be done to avoid a crisis should happen in advance. The remaining 20 per cent is acting on it.

The more proactive you are at communicating positively with your audience(s) the greater chance you have of surviving a crisis.

It’s about putting the quality of your message first and managing the methods of delivery last – something we always promote at Chris Green Media and a key facet of our Soul Business ethos.

That way, you never view ‘no comment’ as an acceptable option as it is easily interpreted as signifying that you don’t care, aren’t bothered or have something to hide.

You’ll also appreciate that different groups of people have differing value to your business so need to know what is happening in priority order.

Forget the ‘customer comes first’ mantra, try delivering a catch-all holding statement without communicating with key partners, staff, suppliers, investors etc in advance.

Oh, and when it comes to appearing in the media, blaming journalists for only being interested in grubbing around for bad news won’t cut it, either. It wouldn’t be there unless it wasn’t newsworthy.

Same goes for being all ostrich-like and ignoring the problem in the hope it will go away. Reality is, it will probably get worse.

But if you handle these varying folks well you can turn a crisis to your advantage. Communicating positively and treating people with respect is just one way to do this.

Learning to say sorry is also important.

Of course, this requires thought, planning and careful management of your communications – and seeing the protection of your reputation as the most valuable and cherished aspect of your business.

How to manage a (social) media crisis is the theme of our next Business Media Club meeting at CGM Media Centre in Worcester on Friday, June 28 from 9.45am to 12.30pm.

For more details about the club and to book your place, visit our Business Media Club page.