crisis communication

Marketing and public relations (PR) are tightly linked, and while marketing is defined as any form of activity that helps promote and sell products or services, PR is the delicate relationship between the public and your company. The two forms of communication are essential to any business being successful. Another simple way to look at…

Even in this age of virtual connections, snappy social posts, and loads of visual and audio marketing through videos and podcasts, there is still a real need for business owners to invest in developing a media kit. Sometimes referred to as a press kit, a thoroughly prepared media kit will assist your company in its…

Whether your company is open or closed, it’s still important to communicate with your customers, employees and vendors. But before you do that, you should be asking yourself: What does your audience really need to know about your organization right now? There is too much information coming out every day; it’s overwhelming and people are…

Let’s focus on everything that happens behind the scenes before you ever even receive a crisis communication. In other words, the communication itself didn’t just appear (like some viruses); it is transmitted only after careful thought and assistance from professional communicators. Understand that for companies large and small who are trying to manage a crisis,…

I’ve written about crisis communications on several occasions, even publishing an e-book just over a year ago. Today, I just want to remind you that a business crisis can take many forms, including: Fire, flood, natural disaster Environmental/industrial accident Inappropriate/criminal behavior by an employee Injury/death of an employee Violence or criminal activity at a workplace…

Here’s a true story. A reporter wants to interview two experts for a story he is writing. He knows which organizations he wants to contact for those experts, so he finds them online and searches their website for either an online press room or information so he can make contact. He cannot easily find a…

It’s been said: To err is human. In fact, there was even a song from the 1980s titled, “I’m only human” by a band called The Human League, no less. Well, it turns out, we’re only human. Some of you looking at last month’s newsletter on your mobile device noticed that the photo was turned…

It’s no secret that corporate communications is now a 24/7 endeavor. Through social media, your customers are talking all the time. The question is: are you listening? If you read Sales Encounters of a Different Kind, you learned like I did that it pays to ask more questions when interviewing prospects. In Maybe DIY Isn’t…

In today’s reality-TV, social media connected, 24/7 news reported, text-ready, always-on world, it can feel like everybody’s watching everyone else all the time. In a crisis scenario, people are watching you, your company, and your employees. Your professional reputation is under a microscope and the pressure is intense. It’s what you do next that matters….

An employee who was fired for embezzlement starts circulating emails that inform people you are about to go out of business. A contractor is using your company email to send out solicitations to people to visit a fundraising campaign she has created. You are selling your business to a long-time, trusted employee and want to…