Frankie Flack: In a crisis, focus on those affected, not the biz media

Given the events of last week, it seems appropriate to spend some time discussing communications principles in the time of a crisis for a business.

There are a number of ways to define a crisis, and in fact, there are many divergent views on how best to handle a corporate crisis from a PR perspective.

The simplest way to think about a crisis is an event that an organization does not expect and has the potential to cause significant long-term damage if not properly managed.  Properly managed means that after some time an organization and those directly impacted by the crisis are able to get back to some state of normalcy.

As with pretty much every aspect of public relations, speed is a critical component to good crisis communications protocol.  Once a crisis happens, the people directly impacted by it want to know who is responding to their needs.  This is one of the trickiest moments for a communications leader because in the chaos of a crisis there are a lot of people saying what should and shouldn’t be done.  At this time, it is best to focus on figuring out who is most affected and what do they need to hear that will assure them the business is responding.

Details are going to be sparse, but simple phrases that indicate the business is aware of a problem can go a long way in those early moments.

The key focus at this time is toward those most impacted by the crisis.  This means that reporters should not be a primary focus in the immediate aftermath of any crisis.  The challenge in staying focused on this approach is that the influx of media inquiries after a crisis can be crippling for nearly any communications team.

Just like always, all media calls should be returned, but the PR person should not get caught in long conversations with reporters.  It is important to acknowledge the company is addressing the situation and that more detail will follow.

The goal is to project to the media a sense of calm, that the company is focused on the problem and not overwhelmed.  Impacted parties will want to hear directly from the company.  The more personal it can be delivered, the better.

In addition to a staggering amount of incoming inquires, there will inevitably be a similarly sized influx of stories.  This coverage should be closely watched to ensure that in the fog of the immediate fallout damaging misinformation is not gaining traction as fact.

At the appropriate time, a company should address the media and discuss in as much detail as possible what caused the crisis, how it was handled and how the company is moving forward.  This might be considered pulling the Band-Aid off all at once theory.

Media are important vehicle to convey important messages to impacted parties, but they are also focused on addressing the totality of a crisis all at once.

Communications teams are best to squarely focus on responding to the needs of those most impacted, as aiding those groups is not only the right thing to do but will also allow the company to eventually move past a crisis.