Role of PR in Crisis Management

Crisis takes place every now and then. It occurs even in the most idyllic settings. The only way to deal effectively with the crisis is to be prepared. Crisis management plan is necessary because of news and information, travelling faster than ever. Companies must be able to answer questions and allegations about looming crisis quickly. As far as we know, most of the PR Firms in Delhi and rest of the country do pretty well with dealing with an unwanted/unexpected crisis (except for maybe a glitch here and there).

However there are times when crisis strikes, most companies are unprepared and poorly handle the situation. Organizations might try stonewalling the situation, toughing it out or pretending the crisis will pass, but they only make the situation worse. Organizations who waste valuable time at the beginning of a crisis can expect to see a loss in revenue and plummeting stock prices. It is useless to conceal the truth from the public because eventually, someone will blow the whistle.

Companies and organizations often make the mistake of waiting for a public relations crisis to happen and then responding to it. No matter how much damage control a company does, it’s hard to overcome an embarrassing situation. A better approach is what many of us in the PR industry call “crisis prevention.”

Nowadays many companies hire professional hackers to uncover potential security breaches of their networks and servers. Why not do the same for public relations? Protecting a company’s image is just as vital as protecting its physical plant. Most of the PR agencies in Delhi are well equipped regarding this matter.  But it’s not always easy to see one’s own faults. That’s why your company should hire an outside consultant to “hack into” your company’s image and assess where potential PR problems may arise. Correct the problems you can and, if something can’t be fixed, have a good reason why things are the way they are. Don’t be afraid to admit that your company isn’t perfect and needs to improve things. The public likely will respect your candour.

There have been countless public relations crises in the past, and there are five steps that should be executed to manage a crisis properly. First, the corporation in crisis should be prompt, addressing the public right after finding itself in the crisis. Second, the corporation in question should maintain honesty because the public is more willing to forgive an honest mistake than a calculated lie. Third, it is important to be informative because the media, as well as the public, will create their own rumors if no information is given to them by the corporation in crisis. Rumors can cause significantly more damage to the corporation than the truth. Next, it is important to be concerned and show the public you care because people will be more forgiving if it is clear that the corporation cares about the victims of the crisis. Finally, maintain two-way relationships. This is important because the corporation can learn a lot about the status of public opinion by listening. These five steps are necessary to manage any crisis public relations situation. However, we must not forget that each crisis is unique and requires a tailored response. Communicating with the public openly and honestly helps to deal with as little damage as possible.

If you like to know more, there are way too many startup PR that had taken place in the past such at the Diet Pepsi case and the Tylenol case. Some are successful PR crisis situations whereas others are poor examples of crisis management, the Ford case and the Firestone case are some of the most quoted examples in this context.

No matter how much planning goes into preventing crises, there are always crisis situations that can not be planned for.Crisis public relations is changing. With new media, such as MySpace and Facebook, crisis situations have occurred on the web. While products and services expand to new media, there are new ways for crises to emerge. At the same time, new media can be used to communicate with the public. Corporations can now communicate with customers across the world using a number of different media such as e-mail, websites, podcasts, internet video, and more.

While communication with the public is easier and cheaper than in the past, the original 5 steps to properly manage a crisis, as well as the six types of responses, continue to be the foundation of any crisis public relations plan.