Crisis Communication

Crisis is an unexpected event and something that is not anticipated by the company. Crisis may occur either naturally or a result of human error. Natural crisis is unavoidable while human error is avoidable. In crisis by human error a company is directly responsible and the constituencies will look to the organization response to the crisis before making final judgment

Characters of crisis:.
1. Element of surprise
2. Insufficient information
3. Quick pace of events
4. Intense scrutiny.

Before crisis occurring it is important to take necessary steps such as develop a crisis communication plan, create a crisis communication team.

How to communicate during crisis situation:

Management should take control of the situation. This involves defining the problem with the use of reliable information and then setting communication objectives accordingly. The Management should gather as much information as possible to understand the problem. Then the management should set up crisis management center .The managers should address the constituencies about the crisis and should take corrective steps.
At the time of crisis, communication goals should contribute to end the crisis, so that they can protect organization reputation, reducing tension, demonstrating commitment to values. To effectively cope with the crisis the media relations of the company plays a vital role. The media can be helpful for the company to revive its image that is disrupted during crisis.

Example- Coca Cola Company was accused of having traces of pesticides more than the specified levels in the colas. The company faced a severe crisis situation as sales went down drastically; disrupted reputation and finally consumers were loosing trust in the company. The company crisis communication strategy was in place quickly to educate various constituencies that the product is still safe for consumption.

http://www1.economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1415051,prtpage-1.cms