The sooner you start, the sooner it ends.
When your reputation is on the line, time isn’t your friend. You must be ready to respond — and the message and tone must be just right — in minutes. Not hours or days.
It’s not uncommon for clients to give a quick overview — maybe 15 minutes — and then insist, “OK, how are you going to fix this?”
By contrast, the head of an educational non-profit sat down and patiently laid out the issues in detail for 2 1/2 hours. That provided the insight to turn a media firestorm into positive stories about the organization’s vision for the future.
At the other end of the spectrum is paralysis. The Board of a real estate company had a single hold-out on whether the negative press and protests were a threat. That left them vulnerable, and they suffered serious damage to the company and board’s reputation as the undesirable press and protests dragged on.
For more tips like these, check out A Board Member’s Guide to Crisis PR: Protecting You & Your Organization’s Reputation.
What are the most likely outcomes you can expect?
Once in a while, an issue can be squashed with a quick phone call. Most take a few days or weeks. Some persist for months. But there is one immutable rule: The longer you wait, the fewer options you have.
- 1st Place: Stopping an issue dead in its tracks. Prudent management knows that bad things happen and that some organizations and industries are more susceptible to crises than others. They prepare them for the worst, just in case. The best time to do damage control is before damage happens. If your gut tells you something’s wrong, it probably is. Deal with it fast before it festers. And as far as the rest of the world knows, it will never have happened.
- Runner-Up: You’re in the middle of the storm. You need to assess the situation. Fast. If the media’s involved, you have two options: sidetracking or killing a story, or refocusing it.
- Last Place: The worst is when you’ve already been pummeled in public. Damage to your reputation is deep, the tide is flowing against you, and your options are limited. Cleaning up a mess after the fact is triage, and that’s always more intensive and time-consuming.
If you’re ready to fix a media crisis or refocus the situation, give us a call at (310) 396-8696 for a free 15-minute consultation.
Gillott Communications is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that specializes in high-stakes Crisis & Reputation Management with more than 50 years of expertise in strategic communications, corporate public relations, and working with the media.
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