Why it’s Important to Respond Quickly and Effectively During a Crisis
You never know when a crisis situation will hit. It comes, of course, when you least expect it, and every organization, even leaders and executives, can be vulnerable to a crisis.
While planning ahead seems like a logical step, many businesses actually find themselves unprepared when a crisis happens. According to a study by PR News, 62% of companies develop crisis communications plans but these plans are rarely updated and crisis scenarios are not practiced. Despite the chance that businesses will likely suffer some sort of crisis, this study indicates almost 40% are unprepared.
A trending topic in the news about the German sportswear company, Adidas, is a prime example of a business that may need to refresh their crisis communications plan.
After several weeks of Kanye West making antisemitic and controversial remarks, Adidas was one of the last businesses in partnership with the rapper and designer to sever ties. Despite several companies including Balenciaga, talent agency CAA and Hollywood producer MRC, taking action against West, who now goes by Ye, Adidas had been silent about their partnership until this past Tuesday morning.
Adidas had come under increasing pressure to drop Ye after his comments targeting Jewish people, including a tweet that resulted in Twitter suspending his account.
In Los Angeles on Sunday, October 24, a hate group hung a banner on a highway overpass that read, “Honk if you know Kanye is right about the Jews,” while offering Nazi salutes to oncoming traffic. A picture of the incident went viral, prompting celebrities and public figures to call out the sportswear company over its partnership with Ye.
Until the company released a statement on October 25, Adidas representatives had not responded to requests for comment or offered public remarks to other news outlets or on company social media. The delay in response has resulted in a consumer backlash. Jewish groups, noting Adidas’ founders previously having ties to the Nazi Party, said the decision to cut ties and speak on the situation was overdue. Besides LinkedIn, Adidas has yet to post any statements regarding the matter on any other social media platform.
As experts in public relations, we know the swiftness with which a company responds to a crisis has a dramatic impact on their reputation. Consumers remember how you and your company made them feel during a crisis. Knowing how to communicate promptly and effectively in crisis can impact your brand long after trouble has passed.
These days, thanks to the power of social media, news can go viral in milliseconds, and audiences demand transparency and quick responses from corporations during a crisis. When these issues are handled improperly, market share, consumer support, employee engagement and your reputation can all be negatively impacted. Organizations need a communications partner who’s ready in any situation to protect their reputation.
In these types of scenarios, you must communicate consistently with a variety of audiences - from employees and customers to the media. A strong crisis communication plan will minimize damage and risk and ultimately protect your business.
Outlining and preparing a crisis communications plan reduces your response time and improves your approach when responding. The faster you react and take control of the narrative, the better your brand will be in the long term.
The below seven steps are crucial in developing a crisis communication plan:
Build a crisis management team - The people who are going to create and execute your crisis communications plan.
Name a trained spokesperson - The person responsible for representing your organization and who can deliver your organization’s message correctly and unambiguously.
Identify common crisis scenarios/anticipate a crisis - Know your product/service well enough to anticipate possible issues that may arise.
Identify and address stakeholders - The people affected by the crisis or those who need to be informed both internally and externally.
Establish crisis monitoring and alert systems - Be proactive and take necessary preventive steps by using social listening tools.
Anticipate stakeholders’ questions and provide answers - Create talking points and key messages based on predicted questions.
Create a social media action plan - Provides the opportunity to interact with your consumers, humanize your brand and makes you more approachable.
The Bottom Line:
During a time of crisis, it is crucial that an organization’s messaging and actions tie back to their core values. If a crisis happens locally, you need to think about the impact it may have on any other corporate plans. As an organization, you must be able to assess the greater impact beyond the crisis at hand. It all ties back to having a crisis plan in place, knowing your core values and thinking about the organization’s larger goals.
If you or your company is interested in scenario planning and strengthening your crisis communications plan, consider taking Kane’s Reputation Management Preparedness Assessment. Our well-versed team at Kane uses this tool as a starting point with clients, to learn more about the 14 different organizational components that provide a foundation for a strong reputation. We’d love to hear how your assessment turns out, so please reach out if you’d like to discuss it.
