While most people equate public relations with the spotlight of special events including grand openings, galas and the like, it is really in the darkest moments when PR plays its most crucial role.
During the last six months, I have had the opportunity to work on some significant events including the Grand Strand's second Southern Living Showcase Home, one of the country’s first Southern Living weddings, Coastal Carolina University’s Annual Economic Summit, and the list goes on. These are all events that you may have about and perhaps even attended.
What you haven’t heard about is the behind the scenes work that has taken place to restore the reputations of firms, like yours, that have encountered a crisis.
What does a hotel manager do in the middle of a busy tourist season when one of his guests finds bedbugs and decides to release a video that goes viral?
How does a busy medical practice communicate to a patient that another physician will handle their appointment because their doctor has left in the middle of the night? How do you tell them that their trusted physician is embroiled in a scandal that will make headlines any day?
How does an organization handle in-house fraud? How do you communicate with your clients? With your staff? In a high-profile situation, how do you deal with the media?
These are all real-life situations where public relations helped organizations restore credibility to their brands. How? By understanding when and to whom to communicate the facts, and by communicating information in a way that builds trust instead of instilling fear.
While these are local examples, you don’t have to look far to find major brands that have experienced similar situations either through their actions or the actions of others. Regardless of whether your business is a mom and pop or a major player, how you handle the crisis and the role of PR are very similar.
Public relations must be viewed and practiced as a fully integrated brand and reputation management function. Companies must anticipate, plan and rehearse every imaginable scenario that could cause damage or undue attention. It has often been said that it’s not if a communications crisis will occur, it’s when.
When your reputation is on the line, it’s the manner in which you respond to the crisis, the incorporation of all facets of marketing and communication, and the overall strength of your Public Relations that determine whether your brand’s image will recover.
Reputations take years to build but only a moment to destroy.
Denise Blackburn-Gay, APR President & CEO of Marketing Strategies, Inc. is one of only two certified Reputation Management Specialists in the state of South Carolina. She has over thirty years’ experience in Marketing and Public Relations. She may be reached at 843-692-9662 or via email denise@marketingstrategiesinc.com.