What is a Crisis?
A crisis can be anything that interrupts the normal operation of your business with the potential to damage your corporate image and your brand’s reputation. No company is immune to threats, and the magnitude of the crisis will determine what steps you must take to overcome the danger.
A sizable crisis can be caused by something as small as a negative post on social media, or something much larger, such as a product recall or fraud investigation. Whatever the size, if not correctly handled, any crisis can cause immense damage to the company you’ve spent many years building.
How to Prepare
It can be a time-wasting exercise to try and develop a plan to cover every possible eventuality. However, it is dangerous to sit back and do nothing, thinking that nothing of any consequence will happen to your business.
The first step in crisis management is to assemble a crisis communications team with the skills and knowledge to formulate a plan to limit any potential damage. This should include an evaluation of all of the possible crises that may arise and the creation of an effective plan to counter them. Conduct a vulnerability audit to assess the susceptibility of your company to potential threats, and institute a plan of action to minimize damage and risk.
Crisis Management
Your crisis management team should include individuals who are well-spoken and adept at dealing with the media. When a crisis erupts, it doesn’t take long for the news to reach the media and cause damage to your company’s stock. A skilled professional needs to step up to the plate to calm the situation and limit the fallout.
The critical importance of effective crisis management means that you cannot afford to leave it to chance. When a crisis strikes, you need a competent team to avert a catastrophe. If you don’t have suitably skilled employees to handle this, you should appoint an experienced external agency for crisis management. They can also provide an unemotional, objective view of the crisis before suggesting a suitable response.
QualityStocks has many years of experience in crisis management and can provide a range of crisis communication strategies and solutions. When a potentially damaging event occurs, our professionals can step in to analyze the situation, formulate a strategy and execute a plan of action to eliminate the crisis and minimize the damage to your company.
