What keeps you awake at night? Or causes cold sweats when you do fall asleep?
For business owners, the causes are many. None are pretty.
Let’s examine a few of the issues and what you can do to protect your reputation. Do they sound familiar? Do you know what you would do? How would you reassure your customers in particular and the public in general?
Your sensitive or confidential information is leaked.
This can range from romantic texts to your confidential client roster. Loss of faith by clients and customers could be crippling because they have the option of spending their money elsewhere.
The storm you and your clients may encounter could be extremely disruptive because you don’t have the deep pockets or command of a market like Bezos, Facebook, Marriott, and DLA Piper.
An employment dispute goes from bad to worse.
The odds of this happening are especially great in California. It could range from allegations of a hostile work environment to unpaid overtime and even pay stubs that fail to list all requisite information. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Even if you win, it could cost you six figures in legal fees. If you lose, the penalties could add hundreds of thousands more, especially if it qualifies as a class action. What’s more, it can create a serious blemish on your reputation.
For more tips like these, check out A Business Owner’s Guide to Crisis PR: Protecting You & Your Business’ Reputation.
Litigation.
The most convincing lies are formed around nuggets of truth that can make even a fantastical story sound believable.
When confronting a lawsuit, your goal is to protect your good name. The less publicity the better, but you can’t let the allegations go unchallenged. Choose your battles and your words carefully as you tell your side of the story.
The challenge is finding and maintaining the delicate balance of admitting certain parts of a story (the “nuggets”) are true, while simultaneously pointing out the falsehoods.
All of these issues share an overarching goal: Communicating quickly and effectively. You must know what to say (and not say), and ensure the tone is just right.
You can reach Roger Gillott and Eden Gillott directly at 310-396-8696.
Also, check out A Board Member’s Guide to Crisis PR and A Lawyer’s Guide to Crisis PR (Second Edition) on Amazon.
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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