There are three stages of a crisis: pre-crisis, during a crisis, and post-crisis.

The Crisis Life Cycle; Adopted from González-Herrero and Pratt (1996)
Source: Brian Boudreaux, University of Florida, 2005

What the crisis communication plan looks like depends on what stage of the crisis you are in.

Source: Journal of International Humanitarian Action

Most companies don’t take crisis communication seriously until they are already in the middle of one. But that is a mistake.

Why You Should Prepare For a Crisis

1. Time is of the Essence

During a crisis, situations usually escalate quickly. Especially now in the times of social media and hashtags, any crisis to brand reputation would spread like wildfire. According to a study by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer [PDF] on the corporate crisis in the age of social media, 28% of crises spread internationally within one hour.

Hence, quick and clear communication from the top leadership is needed. But in contrast, it actually takes companies an average of 21 hours to respond meaningfully to external stakeholders to defend themselves.

Image and data source: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

It is because putting a crisis communication plan in motion would normally require permissions from several stakeholders that takes time. It also involves monitoring what is being said about your company in the media in order to prepare a response. Also, you would need proper communication channels in place to reach the right stakeholders quickly and efficiently.

Setting all this up takes time. Meanwhile, speculations and rumours take hold of stakeholders like shareholders, board members, customers, media, and employees in the 21 hours.

Hence responding quickly and before the crisis spreads to the media and internationally allows you to control the narrative.

Investing in crisis communication before a crisis hits allows you to respond quickly because it would include setting the permissions, notification systems, and monitoring systems in place well in advance.

2. Fear and Emotional Stress Run High

A crisis situation by definition is an ongoing event that would lead to an unstable or dangerous situation. The instability and fear of the future activate people’s flight or fight response. It is when strategic decisions are not going to be made from the place of calm and critical thinking, but fear.

Two important steps in responding during a crisis include strategically deciding how to respond, and tactically executing that decision. Both these things, if planned and practised pre-crisis, would be better carried out during the crisis.

In the pre-crisis stage, PR firms work on everything from contingency plans and crisis simulations to broadcast and speaker training for the executives. Hence, when the crisis hits, companies are able to come up with important decisions, strategies and sometimes permanent business changes that are thought through and aligned with their company’s purpose.

Contingency plans and pre-crisis communication plans focus more on behaviours and values that would guide the response than the actual response, which would most likely be improvised to fit the crisis.

The pre-crisis training ensures they are also able to explain those actions and decisions in the best light.

Example from the Tylenol Crisis

In 1982, before the times of social media, Tylenol, a leading pain killer, and its parent company Johnson & Johnson had a crisis, the management of which is still considered to be the best case study in crisis management.

They took 3 days to respond, which was deemed a fast response for the times. And according to HBR, the company said of its highly regarded response that its actions had been preordained by its widely heralded corporate credo. Meaning, it was a planned out response based on their long-standing company purpose.

Conclusion

It is better to prepare for a crisis that might not happen than not being prepared for one that might. The importance of investing time and resources in crisis communications before a crisis actually hits is good communication and business strategy. It takes into account the volatile nature of businesses in general and adapts your organisation to be agile and adaptable enough to be able to handle the shocks.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]