If you're thinking about a crisis management plan, because your company is in the midst of crisis, you're probably too late. The time to develop such a plan is before trouble strikes.

As the name implies, a crisis management plan simply states the steps you will take if your business finds itself in the middle of a crisis situation. What is a crisis? That may vary from business to business. It could be product tampering, the death of an employee or customer or alleged discrimination or lawsuits. If it's something that threatens to affect your company reputation, image or credibility in a negative way, particularly if the media is calling about it, consider it a crisis.

You'll handle the situation with much greater success, if you have an action plan in place -- a plan you developed when you were clear-headed and had plenty of time to think.

Communication in a Crisis

• Include a communication strategy as part of your crisis management plan. Start with key audiences, those people who need to be notified first, such as directors, management or owners. Designate one of these people as the primary contact, and one as backup, to start the chain of communication. I typically ask the primary and secondary contacts to keep a copy of the crisis management plan at home as well, in case tragedy strikes in the middle of the night.
• Within your crisis management plan, keep a list of key people who should be notified first, including their home and cell phone numbers. Update this list regularly. Note who will call whom, to ensure everyone is notified before they are blindsided by a media call or hear about the situation on the evening news.
• Top management or other key decision makers should be on call and make any crisis situation a priority. If possible, key people should report to a central location quickly to make any needed decisions and begin damage control.
• Continue on down the chain, designating who will notify other employees or audiences. These other audiences may include customers, vendors, the media or government agencies.
• Appoint a media spokesperson and a backup. These individuals should be on call to deal with a crisis situation at any time. Also, educate employees ahead of time not to speak to the media, but to direct all questions to the designated primary contact or media spokesperson.

Procedures in a Crisis

• Respond as quickly as possible. Tomorrow may be too late. How quickly you make decisions and communicate to victims, the press or others determines in large part how well your company will emerge from the situation. Resolving a crisis swiftly and getting the information out to the media can actually strengthen your image and customer loyalty.
• Don't avoid the press. Each day that you "hide" only increases the chances for bad press. Return all media calls promptly. If you haven't had time to gather facts and assess the situation, do take media calls and tell them you will call back with an official statement. When you are prepared, keep your promise and call them. Remember, the media may actually give you an opportunity to tell your story.
• In some cases, legal issues may prevent you from sharing information with the media or others. Never say "No Comment," which can create the appearance you have something to hide. Instead, explain that legal issues, or privacy issues or an ongoing investigation prevent you from discussing the details.
• While there may be information you can't share, whenever possible be as forthright as you can. Never be misleading or dishonest. If you are, it will eventually catch up with you and cause even more damage to your business reputation.
• If your company is at fault, admit it. Apologize and explain how you are going to correct the situation. Then do what you promised. The sooner you act, the better. You will come across as a responsible company, instead of one who "got caught" and is acting under pressure.

The most important tip I can give, is to show your company's sincere care and concern. Never create the perception that your company lacks integrity or doesn't care about the people involved. Often, companies that seem uncaring in a crisis situation aren't around long enough to get a second chance.

Other Helpful Tips

• For the fastest communication in a crisis, use an online press room, as described on the Email Press Releases page of this site.
• After a crisis has passed, review your company's handling of the situation. Is there something that could have been handled better? If so, now is the time to make changes to your crisis management plan.

A crisis management plan isn't just for large companies. In fact, having a plan may be more important to small businesses who don't employ a full-time public relations person. The Sample Crisis Management Plan I provide will make it easy to create one for your own small business.