Crisis Averted

Your seemingly perfect client just made a major faux pas. What do you do now?  Although there are many ways to address the situation, I have found three basic steps that I feel are a great way to make sure the situation is taken care of properly.  So put on your wind breaker pants and *NSYNC t-shirt and think back to those days in elementary school when you were taught to stop, drop, and roll if you were ever on fire. These same steps can be applied to a PR crisis to help you put the “fire” out and salvage whatever career your client may have left.

Stop. Take a minute to get yourself and your facts together.  You don’t want to go into an interview or a press conference unprepared. Make sure you have all of the information and when asked a question make sure you follow any yes, no, or maybe answers with an explanation.  One of the biggest things to keep in mind is to never answer a question you do not know the answer to, adding one wrong comment to the disaster will only fuel the fire. To ensure that everyone gets the correct story, make sure that all the information given is consistent and correct.  To help achieve this it would be wise to elect a spokesperson, in most cases this will be you, and make sure that no one else gives any information regarding the crisis other than you. Lastly, to make sure you can handle any questions that may be asked, brainstorm any questions you may be given at the press conference and the answers you will give in response.

Drop. Drop the first statement to public of the information regarding the crisis before the media gets their hands on it. The media is out there to do one thing and that is to sell magazines and to get viewers to tune in to their TV shows.  In order to achieve these goals, they will manipulate any information they get any way they want with no regard to how it may impact your clients career.  Giving the first statement can also reassure the public that your client is taking responsibility for their actions and admitting to what they have done wrong.  It is important that when you or your client is making an apology or statement to not just say I’m sorry. Jason Mudd, a PR expert at AXIA, has developed a model that will help you or your client address the situation properly.

• Confess. State what you did. Own up to it. Be clear and candid. Give enough details.

• Apologize. Say, “I apologize” — not just I’m sorry — for whatever it is you did. 

• Rectify. How will you make the current situation better? What are the short-term/reactive measures?

• Prevention/Reformation. What are the long-term/preemptive steps that will assure this doesn’t happen again — ever?

• Seek forgiveness. This is important. Don’t forget to ask for forgiveness from your employees, shareholders, customers, community and other stakeholders and those impacted.

Roll. Roll with whatever happens from here on out. Although you may seek forgiveness you may not always get it. It is important though to make sure that you have a plan as to how you are going to handle any future problems. It is always better to have a strategy and solution drafted up rather than to be surprised and unprepared.

Stop, drop, and roll can be effective if you are on fire, but it may not be as straight forward and effective when it comes to PR disasters.  However, if you use the tips I have given above you may be left with first degree burns rather than third, and a career that can be salvaged rather than one that has burned to ashes.  

Sources:

http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-to-productively-handle-a-pr-crisis/

http://www.ehow.com/how_4582621_handle-public-relations-crisis.html
Images:

http://www.miamiduiattorneyblog.com/2009/09/
http://www.fire-extinguisher101.com/tips.html