If disaster strikes your business,
how you respond, and how the public perceives this response, can have a
significant and lasting impact. A poorly handled reaction will damage your reputation,
lead to lost customers and sales, and even trigger litigation – while an
effective response can help mitigate those threats. Planning makes all the
difference.
Two trends make catastrophe planning more crucial and complex than
ever: the growth of foreign investment and the explosion of social media. More
U.S. companies now have operations abroad or are considering investing
overseas. When a catastrophe occurs, the global reach of the Internet and
social media means that news and images can spread around the world in seconds.
An ineffective response will bring a drumbeat of negative media stories until
the issue finally fades from public view. By that time, the damage might be
irreparable.
On the other hand, a response that
engages the public and highlights your efforts to resolve the situation can turn
a negative story into a positive one. For example, when a group of miners was
trapped in a Chilean mine, video footage from inside the mine showed that the
men were safe and helped to focus attention on the highly innovative, and
ultimately successful, plan to rescue them.
Although you can’t predict when or
where a catastrophe will strike, you can
prepare ahead of time. Then, when disaster strikes, you’ll be ready to deploy a
robust catastrophe and reputation management plan for handling the incident and
dealing with media coverage. Effective pre-planning should include these steps:
1.
monitor trends while thinking
outside the box;
2.
implement internal and external response
procedures, and;
3.
practice these responses.
For more information, please get in
touch with us.