At some point, most businesses will face a crisis in today’s fast-paced, constantly changing and social-media-driven world. When an organization is in the midst of one, it’s essential to provide stakeholders, employees and customers with a clear, heartfelt message. How quickly — and how sincerely — you respond can make the difference between rebuilding trust and spending months trying to repair your reputation.
Planning your crisis communications in advance can help any organization navigate a PR nightmare. Like preparing for a storm, equipping leadership teams and employees for a downturn can reduce anxiety and build confidence. We’ll highlight six crisis communication strategies and share mistakes to avoid.
Effective strategies for crisis communication
Whether your crisis stems from natural disasters, financial setbacks, personnel issues, organizational failures or technology breakdowns, the following crisis communication strategies can help lessen the blow, steady the ship and set you on a path toward recovery.
1. Prepare a crisis communication plan.
Crises often happen unexpectedly, but having a crisis communication plan and team in place can save valuable time when trouble hits. Although your organization’s unique situation will determine the precise steps in your crisis communication plan, you should include the following elements.
- Appoint a crisis management team: You can designate a crisis management team ahead of time, although certain people may need to take on larger roles depending on which departments are most affected by the crisis. These people will work together to analyze the situation, identify possible solutions and communicate with key audiences. You should appoint one spokesperson, such as a public relations representative or the company CEO, to communicate on behalf of the organization.
- Assess the problem: Your team should be ready to evaluate and diagnose the crisis when it occurs. It’s essential to have a unified understanding and response. “A company or organization cannot be transparent when there is internal dissent on what caused the crisis in the first place,” cautioned Terry Neal, EVP of earned and strategic media at DDC Public Affairs.
- Determine your goals: What are the company’s immediate and long-term goals? For example, you may need to regain the public’s trust after a data breach or prioritize reopening after a natural disaster.
- Establish an internal communication process: Your crisis communication plan should include clear internal communication procedures. Neal stressed that it’s crucial to inform your internal teams first and work from the inside out. “It is extremely important for the most senior leaders to communicate back down through the organization,” Neal said. “The need for transparency and to be involved with setting the parameters for external communication is a must.”
- Identify your target audience: Determine who needs to hear your message. Your target audience will depend on the issue at hand. For example, it may be all of your customers, specific customers or the public.
- Craft your messaging: Ensure that your message is simple, concise and truthful. Be transparent about what happened, how you’re addressing it and how you’ll prevent future issues, if applicable. In certain situations, you may need to address disaster preparedness issues.
- Decide how you’ll share your message: Depending on the situation, you may communicate your crisis messaging via social media, published content, official statements and other channels.
2. Prioritize transparent customer communication.
Depending on the crisis, you may have to deal with unhappy customers who feel let down. Their experience may lead them to leave bad customer reviews that, along with negative press, can hurt your business.
While it’s natural to feel defensive, avoid the critical mistake of being less than truthful to protect your business’s image. “Don’t lie, obfuscate or shade the truth,” Neal stressed. “If you don’t know the answer, or you’re still investigating to find the answer, say so.”
Managing customer reactions and public sentiment during a crisis can be tricky. You want to prioritize the customer experience while accepting responsibility for the business’s role in the situation (if appropriate). To give your business the best chance of rebuilding trust, resist the urge to deflect or assign blame. Instead, foster a supportive and collaborative attitude in all customer-facing interactions — on the phone, across social media platforms, on the company blog and in the press.
Depending on the situation, you can use the following strategies to appease unhappy customers:
- Offer discounts for a future purchase of your products or services.
- Contact the customer directly to apologize.
- Change the policy that caused the issue.
- Offer a refund.
- Communicate with the customers to determine what can make it right.
Putting customers first and owning your role in the situation can go a long way toward limiting reputational damage and rebuilding trust.
3. Address the crisis promptly and openly.
Taking ownership of the story can help your business regain trust sooner. A quick response shows that you’re tackling the situation head-on. “Get as much of the story out upfront as possible, even if it’s painful,” Neal advised.
It’s best for all of the details — no matter how uncomfortable they may be — to come from you. “Don’t leave out important details for reporters to continue to chase, leading to the proverbial ‘death by a thousand cuts,'” Neal warned. Being forthcoming also helps prevent inaccurate information from spreading and causing unnecessary panic among your audience. Make sure that any public responses you post on your website or social media — or provide to journalists — are accurate, honest and consistent.
4. Utilize all appropriate communication channels.
Depending on the crisis, you may need to communicate changes in your business’s operating hours, online options, available services and more. To reach your customers, use multiple channels, including email, text and social media.
Consider implementing a toll-free customer service phone number to provide frequent updates and assistance. Your business’s voicemail is also an effective way for customers to leave specific questions so you can get back to them as quickly as possible. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, clear door signage can help keep in-person visitors informed.
Monitor all available channels to ensure customers’ needs are being addressed, and respond as best you can, even if your operations are temporarily closed.
Match your communication channels to the crisis at hand. A weather emergency may call for text alerts and social media updates, while a service outage may require email, phone support and website notices.
5. Use social media as a crisis communication tool.
Social media platforms — including X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube — can be excellent crisis communication tools. For example, many organizations already use X as a customer support channel and leverage other platforms to monitor customer sentiment and online conversations. During a crisis, these channels can help you provide timely updates and maintain an open line of communication with customers.
Your business blog can also be a valuable communication tool during a crisis because it gives you space to share more context, address concerns directly and provide updates in greater detail.
6. Conduct post-crisis evaluation and follow-up communication.
Crisis intensity typically diminishes over time. When things have cooled off, take a step back and evaluate your company’s crisis response. Ask the following questions:
- What strengths did we demonstrate?
- What weaknesses were exposed?
- How has our business, team and reputation been affected?
- What could we do differently next time we’re in a crisis?
Neal emphasized the importance of learning from the experience and preparing for future challenges. “What have we learned? What are we going to do to fix the problem and make sure it never happens again?” Neal said.
Once the immediate crisis has passed, reputation management and follow-up communication may be appropriate. For example, if you promised continuous updates to customers or the media, ensure that you deliver.
Business insurance can help organizations navigate crises more effectively and provide the necessary support to continue operations.
Crisis communication mistakes to avoid
Consider the following crisis communication mistakes and how to avoid them.
Being untruthful
Mistakes happen. However, avoiding the truth is one of the quickest ways for a bad situation to get worse. Misdirecting, deflecting or not taking responsibility for a crisis can be catastrophic for a business. Instead, prioritize your customers’ trust and lead with business transparency at all times.
“Being transparent and showing contrition are standard pieces of advice given by crisis counselors,” Neal said.
Having unprepared leadership
Even effective business leaders may not understand how to navigate a crisis. Their inexperience and unpreparedness can make things worse. Neal emphasized the importance of media training.
“Depending on the nature of the crisis, [media training] can, and should, be done at different levels,” Neal said. “Identify potential spokespeople who will play an official role in responding to the crisis. Have them trained by a PR professional, preferably one with either media experience or campaign or crisis experience.”
Not listening to customer feedback
Some businesses don’t proactively seek customer feedback, so they never build a clear picture of what matters most to their customers. When a crisis hits, that lack of insight can make it harder to understand customer reactions and respond effectively. To be better prepared, collect survey data regularly so you understand your customers’ expectations and can address their concerns more confidently during a crisis.
Losing sight of your employees’ needs
Companies often focus on external communication during a crisis, addressing stakeholder and customer needs — and rightly so. However, don’t forget about your own team. Employees, especially those on the front lines, need to be fully briefed so they can answer questions, reassure customers and communicate clearly about what’s happening.
Beyond keeping staff informed, remember that crises can be stressful for employees too. Check in regularly, ask what support they need and recognize the extra effort many people put in during difficult periods. Supporting your workforce helps maintain trust internally, reinforces a strong company culture and gives your business a steadier foundation as it works through the crisis.
Being inconsistent
Multiple team members are likely doing their best to manage the fallout. However, if they’re not on the same page, mixed messages can create confusion and make an already difficult situation harder to contain. Instead, make sure transparent, genuine and consistent communication flows throughout your organization.
Not communicating
A lack of communication often makes an already difficult situation worse by weakening trust and pushing customers away. Make every effort to communicate openly with consumers and stakeholders throughout the crisis. Appoint a designated contact person or department to ensure accountability, and create a central online hub where people can find current news, updates and key information.
Andrew Cuneo contributed to this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
