Bad Reviews, Layoffs, Data Breaches: A Crisis Communications Checklist for Marketers [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Roses are red. Violets are blue. Do you know what to do when a crisis finds you?

By definition, a crisis is a time of intense difficulty, trouble or danger. Often, it’s also when a difficult or important decision must be made, and made quickly. Intense, right?

When you or I think of a “crisis,” we typically think of something front-page newsworthy such as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or Target’s massive data breach. It’s easy to think, “That will never happen to us.” Or, “Crisis? We’ll cross that bridge if/when we get there.” However, in today’s fast-moving digital world, reputations can change in a heartbeat. It’s important for all companies to be prepared to address crises and critics.

Negative product reviews. Layoffs. Data breaches. Software bugs. Bad press. These are just some of the realistic crises B2B businesses face every day. Too often, we see businesses mismanage a crisis. But when handled correctly, many companies can recover from an unfortunate situation. How you handle a crisis, in fact, can even shine a positive light on your business and help you to build (or rebuild) trust with your current and future customers, employees, media and the general public.

Preplanning is crucial to minimizing—and sometimes even preventing—a crisis. Acting with strategy and forethought can keep you from making a hole that’s been dug even deeper. All companies need to have a crisis communications plan in place so they’re ready for the unthinkable.

To make sure you’re ready, we’ve pulled together a checklist to help you prepare. Our checklist will help you:

Develop a plan so that you’re not caught off guard in the face of a crisis
Consider the types of crisis scenarios that could impact your brand
Build credibility for your organization by responding the right way
Know what tools to use during a crisis to get your story out
Understand the importance of critical path templates so you’ll have a running start should a crisis hit

Download our free Crisis Communications Checklist for Marketers.

Need help with a crisis communications plan or just a general PR/marketing plan? Our expert team is available and happy to help.

Peter Baron

Although Peter began his career with a large PR agency in NYC, he ultimately found his way to the warm and sunny South and made it home. True to our agency name, he is one connected guy—some folks think he knows pretty much everyone in the Atlanta tech community.