Remember when United Airlines dragged a passenger off an overbooked flight in 2017? The video went viral in minutes. United’s CEO initially defended the employees instead of apologizing to the customer. The company lost $1.4 billion in market value within 24 hours.
The whole mess could’ve been avoided with a solid crisis communication plan.
Here’s the thing: bad stuff happens to every company. The difference between a small problem and a company-ending disaster is how you handle it.
What is a Crisis Communication Plan?
It’s a simple document that tells everyone what to do when things go wrong.
You know how airplanes have those cards showing you where the exits are? A crisis communication plan works the same way. When panic hits, people need clear instructions, not confusion.
The plan covers three basic things: what to say, who should say it, and where to say it. It keeps everyone on the same page so your company doesn’t accidentally make things worse (which happens more than you’d think).
Crisis Communication Strategies
1. Speaking Through the Right Person
Someone needs to be the face of your company during tough times. Pick someone people trust, not just whoever has the fanciest job title.
I’ve seen companies mess this up by putting lawyers or PR folks in front of cameras. Bad move. People want to hear from a real human who gets why they’re upset.
Your spokesperson needs to sound genuine. If they come across as robotic or rehearsed, people will assume you’re hiding something. Train them to talk like a normal person, not a corporate press release.
2. Stopping Problems Before They Start
You can’t predict every crisis, but you can prevent some of them. Basic stuff like strong passwords, regular backups, and employee training stops most disasters before they begin.
I worked at a company that got hacked because someone clicked a fake email. One click cost us three weeks of headaches and thousands of dollars.
We now run practice drills where fake phishing emails are used to test if people are paying attention.
3. Fixing Small Problems Fast
Not every complaint needs a full crisis response. Sometimes you catch things early and fix them before they explode.
Set up a system where customer service teams can flag serious issues immediately. Give them the power to solve problems without waiting for approvals. The faster you act, the less likely a frustrated customer turns into a viral Twitter thread.
We have watched small complaints turn into PR nightmares because nobody took them seriously at first. Don’t be that company.
4. Managing Social Media Chaos
Social media changes everything. A random person with a smartphone can create a crisis for your company in seconds.
The scary part? You can’t control what people post about you. But you can control how you respond. Ignore angry customers online, and they’ll get louder. Respond too defensively and you look guilty.
Your plan needs specific rules for social media. Who monitors it? How fast should you respond? What tone should you use? (Hint: corporate speak makes things worse.) Decide all this before a crisis hits.
Crisis Communication Plan Examples
Target’s Data Breach (2013)
The hacking occurred at the time of Christmas shopping. Some credit card data of 40 million customers was stolen by hackers. The company’s response? Silence for weeks.
By the time Target appeared to say anything, people had been told about it on the news. The CEO later regretted but it was already too late. The company has paid settlements worth $18.5 million and have lost their customer trust over the years.
What went wrong: Holding back before informing customers made Target look guilty as though they had something to hide. The news reports enabled people to know rather than the company.
Better solution: Communicate with customers instantly, even without having answers to all questions. State what you are aware of, what you are working on to rectify it, and at what time you will update them. Silence leaves individuals to fantasize on the most worst possible scenario.
Food Safety Crisis at Chipotle’s (2015)
Chipotle experienced several outbreaks of E. coli across several states. Individuals became sick, and the media reported it all the time. The company temporarily shut down stores, employed food safety professionals, and changed its whole process of handling food.
The CEO appeared on TV to apologize and clarify the changes. Chipotle posted information concerning new safety measures in detail. They were honest on what had gone wrong and how they would ensure that they did not occur in future.
What was successful: Chipotle did not blame anyone. They also confessed the issue, demonstrated what they were fixing, and kept their customers informed as they did so. The first effect was the decline in sales but the company was later recovered after it seemed that it was a serious issue.
How to Write Your Own Crisis Communication Plan
Step 1: List Possible Crises
Get your team together on everything that might go wrong. Breach of data, malfunctioning of products, scandals by employees, natural calamities, and supply chain breakdowns. Skipping the uncomfortable stuff is not a good idea.
Make a simple chart rating each crisis by likelihood and potential damage. Focus your planning on the high-risk scenarios first.
Step 2: Build Your Crisis Team
Choose certain individuals to occupy certain positions. You require someone who will act as the spokesperson, someone who will be on social media, someone who will be responding to customers, and someone who will be having to communicating with the inside.
Write down everyone’s phone numbers and backup contacts. During a crisis, people might be traveling or unreachable. Have a backup plan for your backup plan.
Step 3: Create Message Templates
Write basic response templates for different crisis types. You’ll customize them later, but having a starting point saves precious time.
Keep them short and simple. “We’re aware of [problem]. We are in the process of researching and will update by [timeframe]. The safety of customers is our core value.
Step 4: Set Up Communication Channels
Decide where you’ll communicate during a crisis. Your website? Social media? Email? All of them ensure that you are able to make updates fast and do not require the approval of three people.
Place a crisis page on your site that can be activated immediately. Keep your social media passwords in reach (but secure). Pre-test everything when you do not need it.
Step 5: Practice and Update
Carry out practice drills at least once every six months. Artificially have a crisis and observe the reaction of your team. You will find loopholes in your plan that should be corrected.
Revise your plan after every drill (or actual crisis) according to your learnt experience. Due to technology and customer demands, crisis communication is dynamic.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Saying “no comment”: This gives an impression of guilt even when you are not. Make some sort of statement, whether it is simply an acceptance of the situation and commitment to communicate.
- Blaming others: Accusing other people: No one is interested in whose fault it is. They wish to get to know that you are fixing it. Save the blame game for internal meetings.
- Using corporate jargon: Speak like a normal human being. We are working on this problem is better than we are implementing for global solution plan.
- Responding only once: Crises don’t end with one statement. The team should keep the people informed even with the message that we are working on it.
- Fighting with critics online: You won’t win. Respond professionally or don’t respond at all. Making a defense of it is even worse.
Final Thoughts
In every company, there is a period when a crisis arises. Small enterprises, giant companies, nonprofit organizations.
It is all about preparation that determines the difference between the companies that are surviving the crises and those that are not. You do not know precisely what will go wrong, yet you can be ready for how to deal with it.
Write down who does what during a crisis. Develop standard message templates. Share phone numbers. That’s already better than most companies have.
Then build from there. Add detail as you go. Test your plan. Get to know the mistakes and successes of other companies.Your crisis communications strategy is not going to stop all mishaps. But it will make you deal with issues like a professional rather than scrambling like everyone else.
