Crisis Communications Archives - Wellons Communications

Why you need to think about crisis communications now (and how to start)

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Wellons team

With everything 2020 has thrown at businesses, it’s probably not too hard to imagine why your business might need a crisis communications plan.

There have been countless lessons over the past few months of businesses tackling crisis head on, and many cautionary tales of businesses falling on their faces.

Even so, it’s easy to see why it doesn’t get checked off your to-do list. In the day-to-day hubbub, while you’re just trying to stay afloat, devoting the time to developing a crisis plan might not seem like a priority. Maybe you think you can’t fully craft a plan until you know what you’re facing. Or maybe you don’t even know where to start at all.

But whatever the reason, there are so many more that you should take the time to walk through your crisis communications plan…NOW.

If you don’t have a plan, you’re just reacting. Imagine driving down a dark, curvy road at night. With your headlights on, you can only see a few feet in front of you. You don’t know what’s lurking up ahead. Now turn on the brights. Suddenly, you can see a lot more.

Crisis happens fast. Having a plan means you can see further up the road. Without one, you’re just reacting to whatever pops up.

Social media means crisis is even faster. With so many different platforms, social media can mean you feel a crisis even more. You have a more direct platform to communicate with your guests or customers, and they have a more direct platform to communicate with you. If you don’t have a plan, the chatter on social media can be deafening…and devastating.

Having a plan forces you to define your brand. As you craft a crisis communications plan, you’re going to have to further evaluate who you are as a company. What do you value? What is your brand voice, and what do you say with it? Any time you look internally—to determine your best-selling products, to identify sales opportunities, to find new verticals, to form new positions—you strengthen your company because you can more clearly articulate these things.

You show employees you care. Just like when you put new HR policies in place, having a crisis communications plan helps your employees. It shows that you take your company seriously and value what you’re building together. It shows that you care about concerns and are the kind of company that works proactively to protect staff.

You show your customers you care. No one likes to deal with a crisis, but when you do—and when you’re prepared—you show your customers how seriously you take your brand. You show you are taking action, and you show you value their trust in you.

Have we convinced you?

Getting started doesn’t have to be intimidating. First, take some time to brainstorm a variety of situations your company might face. Think about how you might handle those situations. What might you say (or not say) and what platforms might you use to spread (or monitor) that message?

Next, designate a crisis team with a point person or spokesperson. This might also be a great time to engage an agency (hi!). Together, come up with an action plan. You might even start to draft some communications that can be quickly and easily customized and deployed.

Still need a little help? Wellons Communications has helped clients weather all kinds of storms. We’ve been helping clients prepare for more than a decade, and we’d be happy to lend a third-party perspective to your business.

Give us a call at (407) 462-2718 or email will@wellonscommunications.com for a free consultation.

Facing coronavirus: How to craft business communications during crisis

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Wellons team

Like many of you, we at Wellons Communications have been closely following the developments related to COVID-19, or coronavirus, over the last week. We have been in constant contact with our clients through this time, helping them craft communications to employees and customers and take the right steps for them to share their messages.

Truly, none of us have faced such a widespread, global challenge before. Even so, as businesses craft essential communications during this time, general crisis communications cornerstones still hold true. If you’re a business that knows it needs to communicate but doesn’t know what, exactly, to say during this time, follow these guidelines that can be used in many crisis situations.

Be honest and direct with your customers and employees. Honesty is definitely the best policy when crisis hits. You have thought long and hard about what to do at your business to keep your customers safe, and you have put procedures into place. Telling your customers and employees about those plans in a clear way is the best thing you can do to reassure them when times get tough.

Show your support. It’s pretty simple—do the right thing. You care about your customers and your employees. Show them that you’re standing with them and doing everything you can to meet their needs and keep them safe.

Don’t be afraid to overcommunicate. At times like these, you really can’t overcommunicate. COVID-19, particularly, is a fluid situation. Where we are today with this crisis is worlds away from where we were a week ago, and a week from now might be even more different. Provide updates as things change with your business, and be timely about those communications.

Be consistent. When you have drafted a message that conveys the above points, don’t forget to carry it across all platforms. If you’ve drafted a letter or eblast, create a social media response plan that picks up the main points. If you have a social post, think about a suggested reply for employees answering phone calls or emails, as well. Make sure your messaging is aligned.

Be careful about making light of the situation. When we’ve reached a crisis level, the situation is serious. Look at your communications through a different lens, ensuring all your messaging conveys the gravity of the situation. You should also be wary about any messaging that comes off as trying to sell something. You don’t want to appear to be taking advantage of a serious situation.

Few of us were likely prepared for a situation like what we now face with COVID-19, but all businesses should have a crisis communications plan for situations like this. Whether you and your business are facing a natural disaster like a hurricane, an accident or tragedy or a global health crisis, the steps are generally the same—and you should have a plan.

If you need help getting started, don’t hesitate to reach out. We have extensive experience in crisis communications and messaging, and we’re here to help.

Crisis communications: How prepared is your business?

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Wellons team

When you hear “crisis communications,” your first reaction might be “It won’t happen to me.” After all, you’re just a business—not the target of something you’d see on the news.

And you’re right—mostly. While you probably won’t suffer some kind of incident that will make major headlines, the rise of social media has made it much more likely that your business will face some kind of crisis situation.

Because there is a possibility, you need to have a crisis communications plan in place now.

What kinds of crises are we talking about?

There are different degrees and types of “crises.”

Any one of them could have an enormous impact your business. Indeed, any of these types of crises could happen to you and they don’t have to make headlines to have a meaningful, negative, effect on your business. Here are some examples of impactful, but often unseen, kinds of crises that affect businesses with more regularity than you might suspect.

• Negative actions by a former employee. These can range from someone sending harmful emails to your key client database to someone going to the local media and spreading negative misinformation, creating a false image of your organization.

• Criminal activity involving an employee. What would you do if you discovered that one of your employees had been arrested for embezzling organizational funds? Or had been arrested for sexual abuse against children? How would you respond if an ex-spouse showed up at your business and took threatening action against their ex?

• Negative spotlight on your business category. How well prepared are you to respond to client or media inquiries about a sharp sales downturn in your product or service category? What about some kind of inquiry about the safety or reliability of products or services in your particular category?

It doesn’t have to be your fault to call attention to your business. Media often call on anyone in a particular industry to add context to a story.

Need specific examples? How about the safety of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder? Or the recurrence of E. coli or salmonella in Chipotle’s restaurants? If you market a product related to parents or operate a restaurant, there’s a good possibility you can get caught in the news fallout, even if it is someone else’s problem.

Need examples closer to home? How about the shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub? Or the disappearance of the 2-year old who was attacked by an alligator at Walt Disney World? What about the impact of hurricanes on Central Florida and their disruption of normal working cycles on businesses?

How to handle a public relations crisis

Thanks to the interrelationship of social media and mainstream media, an incident can morph into a full-blown crisis in just a few hours.

If you have a well-constructed crisis management strategy, backed-up by a regularly-conducted rehearsal program to test it out, you are in position to deal with the crisis.

Such a plan will enable to you quickly interact with your clients, the leaders and influencers in your category, media, and any other audiences that are important to you. Even a short, basic plan identifying your key audiences (along with their contact information) will position you to address an unseen crisis in a businesslike, responsible manner.

How do you create a crisis plan?

You can create your own plan.

Or you can call on the seasoned professionals at Wellons Communications to create a plan for you.

Our team members have served both sides of crisis management (the media side and the client side) and have first-hand knowledge of how effective a good plan can be. They have also seen the disastrous results that inevitably occur when a business lacks crisis planning.

We will be happy to provide you specific examples of the kinds of crises we have addressed in the past. More importantly, we will listen to you, learn about your business and better understand what kind of readiness you need to have to address a crisis situation.

Let’s discuss how we can ready your business to be prepared to address a crisis situation effectively and professionally—and before it ever happens.

Call us (407-339-0879) or email us at will@wellonscommunications.com to start on your crisis communications planning.

Crisis PR: When the storm hits, how will you respond?

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Wellons team

Late August and early September 2017 will be remembered in history because of the enormous impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

But how are you going to be remembered for how you responded to the needs of your clients during these two natural disasters?

In a crisis, you demonstrate what you really can do for your clients

Ask yourself:

Crisis Communication Did I contact my clients and ask what I could do for them?

Did I identify actions or situations where I could offer assistance?

Did I think about my client’s clients or customers? Specifically, did I point out actions or communications that would let my client’s clients and customers know they were thinking about them?

Did I make any recommendations that would benefit my client?

Did I identify any threats to my client’s business from the hurricanes?

The point is: those in the PR and communications field can underscore their usefulness and compassion for their clients by simply acknowledging they are thinking about them and their needs.

What can you do to help clients during a crisis?

Put yourself in your client’s shoes for a moment. They may be without power. They may have power, but no access to Internet, television, or telephones.

Can you make your communications facilities available to your client?

Can you relay messages to their clients or customers?

Can you access the Internet and post communications that will let your client’s clients know what is going on?

Take a cue from power companies and news organizations

Power companies are, by and large, doing a fabulous job of keeping people notified about when and where power will be restored. Their spokespeople and their employees have worked tirelessly to ensure that power company personnel are working around the clock to restore power in an orderly and timely manner and to communicate how the power restoration is progressing.

News organizations, particularly in radio, have tapped into spokespeople who can inform listeners, readers, and viewers (for those who have been able to keep their television running) what is happening.

And remember, companies that get the news out to the media first are those that will be remembered.

Look for follow up situations that can help your client

The impact of the two hurricanes, like many other disasters, will be long-term. Disasters and crises will always pose a threat to people and businesses.

Because of that, people will want to see and read about how you—and your clients—responded to the event. These are stories that have positive meaning and can illustrate your responsiveness and utility to those who can benefit from your services.

These stories deserve a place in your history—and on your website. Better yet, illustrate the stories with photos or graphics that help make the story come to life.

We are already communicating … and looking for opportunities to further communicate your story during challenging times

The Wellons Communication team has been hard at work for our clients throughout the duration of these two natural disasters.

We have identified stories that are newsworthy, and more importantly, useful to the well-being of our clients (and their clients and customers). We have moved with a sense of urgency that is demanded by the media and are continuing to serve as a source of accurate, reliable information.

To add Wellons Communications to your team and demonstrate how capably your organization addresses crisis management, call me at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com and put us to work for you.

What companies can learn about crisis PR from the United Airlines leggings incident

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Wellons team

On Sunday morning, a United Airlines gate attendant barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis because they were wearing leggings. News of the leggings incident went viral, and within hours, United Airlines had a PR crisis on its hands.

The incident started when Shannon Watts, political activist and founder of Moms Demand Action, overheard the exchange and tweeted about the incident to her followers.

1) 3 girls inspected for wearing perfectly acceptable leggings. 2 not allowed to board. I don’t care what kind of passengers they were. https://t.co/9VwGKgvWys

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

2) This behavior is sexist and sexualizes young girls. Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconveninced. — Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

3) As the mother of 4 daughters who live and travel in yoga pants, I’d like to know how many boys @United has penalized for the same reason.

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

The airline responded to the public backlash with its own tweets to explain the incident.

The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel. — United (@united) March 26, 2017

The company also issued a release explaining customers are welcome to wear leggings on its flights. The release explains that United views employee pass riders as representatives of the company and expects them to be appropriately dressed for flights.

To our customers…your leggings are welcome! Learn more about our company’s pass travel privilege: https://t.co/5e3euG1H9G.

— United (@united) March 27, 2017

Though United responded quickly to the crisis, customers, activists and even celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen and Patricia Arquette have expressed anger about the incident.

Jonathan Guerin, a United spokesperson, said himself the airline should have done a better job of responding to the situation. According to Reuters, Guerin said, “We’ll definitely take something away from today, but we’ll continue to engage with our customers (on social media).”

So what can other companies take away from this viral situation when facing their own crisis?

First, never underestimate the power of social media. Incidents today don’t stay contained, and with Facebook and Twitter, angry customers have an easy—and potentially viral—outlet.

Second, be sincere. Many considered United’s response to the issue stilted or unsympathetic. As per the Reuters article, Guerin said the company could have been more clear in its initial response to the issue.

Finally, have a plan for your social media outlets. United did a great job of responding to a potential issue quickly and telling its side of the story, but because the initial response was bungled, it backfired. Know what kinds of feedback you need to respond to, what you’ll say, and in what format you will respond.

After all, the best way to handle a crisis is to prepare for it before you’re facing it. If you need help crafting your plan, give us a call. At Wellons Communications, we have experience in social media and in handling crisis situations, and we can help you put your best foot forward. Give us a call today at 407-339-0879.

“There is a permanent record today and it is called the Internet”

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Wellons team

Privacy is a commodity. In today’s world dominated by the Internet, anything and everything can be posted instantaneously and shared with millions in mere seconds. David from “David After Dentist” would agree. However, privacy concerns are no laughing matter. Vigilance should be taken to ensure that the next breaking news scandal that hits the front page of Yahoo does not revolve around you, which is why we’re shaking our heads at Mitt Romney this week.

After secretly recorded comments from a private Boca Raton fundraiser leaked of Mitt Romney saying that 47% of Americans are victims dependent on the government, we can’t help but wonder why the aspiring President would vocally disparage almost half of his country. Here’s a tip for you Mitt Romney: if you are running for President, everything you say and do WILL be held against you in the court of public opinion, thanks to the Internet. The video was leaked to the press, and now everyone from Jon Stewart to Diane Sawyer is spreading the remarks to their audiences; meanwhile the Mitt Romney campaign has spun its gears to full-on damage control.

Another unfortunate recent example of the royal lack of privacy today comes from an Italian magazine publishing topless photos of Kate Middleton. The Duchess of Cambridge was simply enjoying a sunbathing session on a secluded French chateau getaway when a paparazzi photographer captured the scene. Now, the British royal family is taking the matter to court with hopes to stop further publications from printing the photos, but you can’t take back what has already been done. Amazing what a zoom lens and internet connection can do to the public image of a Princess.

Even the common person is not immune to the repercussions of online activity. Everything that you post, from Facebook cover photos to the latest Tweet about what you had for dinner, becomes fair game when you click “publish.” Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor and lawyer for high-profile defendants, says that young people nowadays don’t seem to value privacy. “They put stuff on Facebook that 15 years from now will prevent them from getting the jobs they want,” he said. “They don’t understand that they are mortgaging their future for a quick laugh from a friend.”

And that’s nothing to laugh about.

Crisis Communications: preparing to deal with Swine Flu

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Wellons team

We’ve all heard the swine flu warnings, but what have you done to prepare your business to deal with a possible outbreak of swine flu? Do you have a public relations plan in place? Take this simple quiz to measure your readiness. Are you:

A. Crossing your fingers and hoping that you won’t be affected?
B. Buying some of these anti-swine flu suits from Japan? (looks great, kills germs!)
C. Coming up with a comprehensive plan to deal with a worst-case scenario?

We developed a comprehensive public relations and employee relations plan for a client who wants to be ready. Their crisis communications plan includes:

• Paying for flu shots for their employees
• Educating employees on symptoms to look for
• Implementing CDC guidelines on dealing with sick employees
• Coordinating an operating plan in case of a major outbreak
• Preparing to deal with media inquiries

So far the impacts of swine flu have been isolated, but major outbreaks are a real possibility.

What will you do if one of your employees is diagnosed with swine flu? If you don’t deal with the public, your only responsibility is to your employees. Will you tell them “Bob’s under the weather,” or will you be up front and tell your employees what they need to know? Do you have a business continuity plan in place? Are you ready to stagger shifts or allow people to work from home?

If you deal with the public, you have another set of concerns. Do you let them know that some of your employees have swine flu? Do you close for a few days for disinfecting? Sure, you’ll lose some revenue, but you have to weigh that against the implications of infecting some of your customers?

What will you tell the media? There’s the phone call you dread. Or worse – the TV station live truck parks out front at 4:30 pm.

There’s no one-plan-fits-for-everyone solution. What everyone has in common is that they need a plan in place – before it’s too late.

Besides, those Japanese suits cost $650 and they don’t even make them for women.