When a crisis strikes, the way you communicate can determine how your organisation is perceived, trusted, and remembered. In fact, your response is so important that it has the potential to eclipse the original issue and make its own impact on your reputation – for better or worse.
Whether it’s a product issue, cyber incident, staffing problem, or public backlash, crisis communication is not just about managing headlines. It’s about protecting relationships, providing reassurance, and guiding people through uncertainty. At Pure Public Relations, we help organisations develop communication strategies that not only respond to crises but lead through them.
What is crisis communication?
Crisis communication is a strategic approach that helps brands, organisations, or individuals communicate effectively during a disruptive or high-stakes event. When faced with an issue or story that has the potential to reflect poorly on your organisation, a well-crafted crisis communications strategy will ensure your message is delivered accurately, calmly, and consistently to the people who matter most: clients, staff, stakeholders, the media, and the general public. It will also govern your approach so that each audience is well taken care of, while safeguarding your brand.
An effective crisis communication strategy helps you:
- Control misinformation before it spreads
- Reassure stakeholders and maintain transparency
- Minimise reputational and operational harm
- Establish trust by acting quickly and responsibly
- Demonstrate leadership
- Do the right thing
Rather than trying to ‘spin’ a crisis, the focus of a crisis communications strategy is on showing responsibility, composure, and leadership.
Why planning ahead matters
The worst time to figure out how to handle a crisis is when you’re already in one.
Having a clear, practical crisis communication plan in place helps ensure that:
- Messages are approved and delivered swiftly
- Teams know who is responsible for what
- Spokespeople are prepared and confident
- External and internal audiences receive accurate, timely information
- You can be in control of your response and can be proactive
With preparation, even the most unexpected situations can be managed with purpose and clarity.
What should a crisis communication plan include?
A strong crisis communication plan will be tailored to your specific risks, structure, and audience. It should include:
- Likely crisis scenarios: Identify common risks such as offensive comments or behaviour, data breaches, product faults, staff failings, worksite injuries, outages, accusations, or public criticism.
- Response plan: A tested plan for responding to an issue, including who is responsible for which task, the communications roadmap, response times, and contingencies.
- Key messages and templates: Draft messaging frameworks that can be adapted quickly.
- Audience mapping: Know who needs to be informed and how they prefer to receive communication. You should also, the tone and language used, and the timing and frequency of communication.
- Media protocols: Define who will speak to the media and how statements are approved.
- Media training: Having a spokesperson who is trained to handle tricky questions and communicate key messages well and in a reassuring, compassionate and confident way is important to minimise risk but also to demonstrate leadership.
- Social media and website responses: Prepare responses for high-visibility platforms, ensuring consistency across channels.
- Internal communications plan: Staff should hear updates directly from leadership, not from the media.
Downloadable checklists or templates can help teams rehearse and review their roles before a crisis occurs.
Common mistakes in crisis communication
Even well-intentioned teams can struggle under pressure. Avoid these common pitfalls:
- Silence or delay: Failing to quickly address the situation can cause communication gaps, which leave space for speculation.
- Mixed messaging: Conflicting information undermines credibility.
- Ignoring internal teams: Your employees are brand advocates; keep them informed.
- Over-apologising or downplaying the issue: Stick to the facts and show accountability and a people-first approach.
Clear planning and role clarity can help avoid these avoidable missteps.
Ready to build your crisis communication plan?
Crisis communication isn’t just about damage control. It’s about showing leadership when people are looking for direction.
If your current plan is out of date or you don’t yet have one, now is the right time to prepare. At Pure Public Relations, we work with you to develop tailored, practical crisis communication strategies designed to be implemented under pressure.
Speak with us about getting your crisis plan in place before you need it.
FAQs
Q: What’s the difference between crisis management and crisis communication? A: Crisis management refers to the broader response to a high-impact event. Crisis communication focuses specifically on how you speak to your audiences during that time, both internally and externally.
Q: What is the difference between issues management and crisis management? A: The difference between issues management and crisis management is generally the severity. An issue may not be an urgent or serious problem, but if allowed to develop, it can become a full-blown crisis.
Q: Do small and medium-sized businesses need crisis communication plans? A: Yes. Smaller businesses often have more at stake when it comes to public trust. A single crisis can have a lasting impact and severe consequences. A crisis communication plan helps ensure you’re not caught off guard.
Q: How often should we update our crisis communication plan? A: At least twice a year, or whenever there are major structural or operational changes in your business.
Q: What if we don’t have a trained media spokesperson? A: Pure Public Relations provides media training, including preparing you for potential hairy questions, so your spokesperson is confident, composed, and ready to deliver clear messaging under pressure.
