The ten biggest mistakes in crisis PR
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Saving money on an early-warning system, sticking their heads in the sand and not listening to people's fears - these and other mistakes should definitely be avoided by communication managers when their company gets into a crisis situation. sda subsidiary news aktuell and Faktenkontor have compiled a chart showing the ten greatest deadly sins in crisis PR.
Companies can do a lot of things wrong in crisis management. One of the widespread mistakes is not to carry out any crisis prevention. A professional set of tools that detects potential flashpoints in good time can prevent escalation. Other mistakes in crisis PR include hiding away, lying and ignoring the emotions of the people affected. This type of behaviour achieves precisely the opposite effect: the communication crisis grows more acute. For de-escalation you need the public to be given prompt, transparent and comprehensive information that responds to people's emotions. A new chart produced by news aktuell and Faktenkontor shows the biggest pitfalls in crisis PR.
The ten biggest mistakes in detail:
#1: Skimp on the early warning system Crisis prevention costs money, with no measurable returns. It's not worth it!
#2: Bury your head in the sand Just lay low and don't think about it. The crisis will fizzle out on its own.
#3: Ignore the emotions We're not psychiatrists, after all! We can totally ignore any worries, fears and needs people might have.
#4: Lie, scheme and manipulate Truth and clarity don't help in a crisis. Better to re-read your Machiavelli.
#5: Consider yourself infallible We don't make mistakes, no matter what's being said now. We don't need insight, and we certainly have no need of learning from mistakes.
#6: Only tell the truth when you have to ...and if the truth has to come to light, only do it in little pieces.
#7: Do it yourself Only wimps need help. Don't call on allies or external crisis consultants.
#8: Neglect social media I'm not on social media, and hardly anyone I know is either. How could a crisis turn up there?
#9: Send in the lawyers first The Kill Team from legal will stamp out any crisis with media, criminal and trademark law. Especially in social media.
#10: Be sure to save your own skin Obey rules 1 to 9 carefully. If things go wrong anyway, make sure someone else gets the blame.
Based on the book "Thought leaders in crisis communications - 10 recipes for success for (communications) managers" (http://ots.ch/UIa3z) by Jörg Forthmann and Roland Heintze, published in May 2015.
Contact:
news aktuell
Kai Gerwig
General Manager
Phone: +41 43 960 68 01
gerwig@newsaktuell.ch