Crisis Communications: Handling Bad News
Posted on September 29, 2007
Filed Under Marketing Articles
In his song, That’s Life, Frank Sinatra sings “You’re ridin’ high in April, shot down in May…†That is life when dealing with the media. One day you’re reading about your great brand, product or business, but it can easily change to negative headlines with one unfortunate incident such as a product recall, tampering incident or fraud.
Working with the press when headlines turn bad is a very different situation than working with the media during good times. It’s important to understand this because handling a negative situation poorly can make matters worse and destroy a business’ reputation and bottom line.
You can’t rely on “No Comment†or stonewalling when working with the media during a crisis communications situation. This will only make you look guilty or force a reporter to dig deeper. Ignoring the problem hoping it will just go away is certainly not an advisable strategy.
Are you ready to handle a crisis situation? Do you have a written plan? Who will be your spokesperson? If you wait for the situation to strike, you are too late.
Working with the media during good times can be a great benefit to a business. When the news turns bad, it is equally important to execute effective media relations efforts in order to lessen the impact of negative exposure. Be prepared, have a plan, and execute it.
Written by Doug Luciani, PRofit from PR – Public Relations & Marketing
Copyright 2007
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