Ten  Tips  to  Manage  a  Crisis  

A presentation for HRANET By Mary Ellen Miller, MBA

MarketingMel April 9, 2015

Why  are  we  here?  

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“In  preparing  for  battle,  I  have  always  found  that  plans  are  

useless  but  planning  is  indispensable.”  

 

General Dwight D. Eisenhower Quoted in Six Crises

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 So  what  defines  a  crisis?  

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     Crisis:  

“An extremely dangerous or difficult situation” American English Dictionary

“A business crisis can be anything that can negatively effect a company’s reputation or

bottom line.” Michael Nayor, Attorney & Crisis Consultant

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Ten  Tips  to  Manage  a  Crisis  

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1.  Call  in  a  Crisis  Communications  Expert  

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Help  you  Craft  Key  Messages    

Assess the Situation Quickly Communicate Well and FAST

Media Response Ready Media Savvy

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2.  Employees  Will  Call  the  Media.  Count  on  it:    

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Media  Training,  Press  Release    

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3.  Consider  Internal  Publics:    

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What  is  the  best  way  to  communicate  with  your  

employees?    

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4.  Remember  External  Publics:    

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External  Publics  

Who are they? Where are they?

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Customers Vendors Patients

Stakeholders/Stockholders

Followers Regulators

Web site Social Media

Email In your office

5.  Monitor  the  Online  Conversation:    

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Feel  the  pulse  beat  of  social  media  

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6.  Be  Authentic:  

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MarketingMel  says:  NEVER  say  “No  

Comment”  

“Don’t say what you don’t know-

If you don’t know, tell them so.”

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7.  Be  Careful  Not  to  Implicate  Others:  

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You  have  no  idea  of  future  legal  status.  Don’t  throw  others  under  the  bus.    

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8.  Get  it  Right  the  First  Time.    

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The press release you issue will be picked up and repeated over and over and over again by other media!

9.  Time  is  of  the  essence.  

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Construct  a  Timeline  MarketingMel’s Recent Case Studies: Case 1, Brought in Friday afternoon. Key messages developed through weekend. Issued press release Monday morning. Results: Gained valuable news coverage for client’s position. Case 2, Brought in at 2:30 PM to respond to media inquiry. Key messages, press release developed. Story aired on 5 PM news. Results: Matter was kept fairly low profile because client was proactive with media.

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10.  Be  prepared:    

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Practice,  Practice!  

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Have a Plan Rehearse Scenarios Have emergency numbers and contact list Know who is the designated company spokesperson/backup Have those persons media trained

Your  Turn  

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Your  Crisis  Scenario    You are HR Director for Lara See Bakery, one of the

country’s largest producers of cupcakes, based in Johnson City. Your IT person informs you that several consumers contracted salmonella after eating Lara See cupcakes. He first heard about it from his social media monitoring. You think the vanilla supplied by one of your vendors may be the culprit. The media called after an employee gave them a tip that people are getting sick from Lara See cupcakes. A message was just handed to you with a local TV news reporter’s phone number. It is 2:30 PM. News airs at 6 pm. What do you do?

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To  Review:    

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www.marketingmel.com  

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