The recent coronavirus outbreak has led to a major crisis in the global economy. The sudden disruption of the normal flow of business and economic activities, education, sports, and entertainment makes the situation difficult for many companies looking for ways to keep operating.
In such time of uncertainty and different economic reality, crisis management has never been more critical for businesses, small and large, to wisely adapt their operation strategies to the current conditions so as to protect their business from the potential economic impacts.
How to get your business ready for an unexpected crisis? Here I share a few essential tips for effective crisis management.
1. Anticipate crises
It’s very important to prepare your business for the possibility of all the unplanned events and circumstances. For this, you’ll need to have a plan which anticipates all the possible scenarios that may come your way.
2. Identify crisis communication team
Create a team to be responsible for communications under emergency situations, to execute relevant plans, and provide a quick and correct response during the crisis. This stage involves updating all the company information and keep everyone notified about the current situation.
3. Have a spokesperson
Make sure to assign authorized and trained spokespersons with the right skills to speak for your organization and represent it to media.
4. Develop notification systems
Regularly keep your stakeholders informed about the progress you’re making to recover during the crisis. With so many different types of communication at hand, such as social media, email, SMS, or instant messenger apps, choose the one that works best to stay connected.
5. Establish communication with customers
In times of emergency, effective communication is important not only within the organization but also out to the public, especially with your customers. Be open to bring all the important information to them, announce all the changes and impacts of the situation, and your next steps.
6. Finalize key messages
Prepare the most important crisis-specific messages you will need to send. Try to tailor the statements to fit the needs of your target audience. Keep them clear and simple, and make sure to adapt your messaging to be delivered to multiple media channels.
7. Analyze the post-crisis phase
In this phase, try to evaluate how effectively you were able to deal with the crisis, what worked, and what needs improvement to better prepare for crisis and respond to it. This may be a learning experience for companies to seek ways to recover and move forward with a renewed approach to crisis management.
Arevik is the COO at SmartClick with 15+ years of experience in business planning, operations, brand management, marketing, and web development. In this role, she is leading and managing large-scale international projects.
