Communication plays a vital role in effective public relations. It is very important to communicate effectively so that both parties are on the same page. Those who are in the management spectrum should be held to a higher ethical standard. They need to be held accountable for their actions. Here are a few best practices every business and brand representative should adhere to to prevent a PR crisis:
1. Establish a code of conduct
The first step is to establish a code of conduct. This will outline the responsibilities, proper practices, and expectations of an individual, company or organization. When it comes to a code of conduct, there should be no grey areas. Rules and regulations must be clearly explained and agreed upon. This ensures that everyone is acting in accordance with ethical standards to protect a brand’s reputation.
Brand representatives should receive proper training. This helps them manage stressful situations with customers and appropriately respond to uncomfortable questions from the media.
2. Be proactive
Unfortunately, it only takes one person to ruin the reputation of an entire brand. Trust can take years to build and mere seconds to destroy, companies must be proactive and constantly think ten steps ahead.
Strategic planning and evaluations can mitigate PR disasters. Risk assessments can be performed to measure the potential impact of a marketing campaign. This can also be done for endorsements and before new partnerships are launched.
Additionally, every company should have a trustworthy team in place. Every company needs help from board members to a PR firm to run decisions before they are actioned. Working with partners and staff who are wholeheartedly invested in your brand and business is monumental to success.
3. Prevention is key
The best way the survive a crisis in PR is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Companies should have a code of conduct and a crisis management structure to avoid future mistakes.
As always, social decency and respect for other cultures, religions, genders, and political ideologies is fundamental. This is paramount whether you are the face of a multimillion brand or an intern embarking on your first assignment.
To learn more about how to manage and mitigate crisis in PR, enrol for the CIPR Qualification at Simon Page College of Marketing and get #CIPRQualified
