How To Recover From a PR Disaster: Our Top Tips

Your phone is red hot, journalists are emailing you and your organisation has gone viral on social media. The worst has happened and you’ve got a first class media crisis on your hands! What do you do and how do you recover from a PR disaster?

So, how can you recover from bad PR? The golden rule is to try and avoid a crisis in the first place by having robust processes and a good risk management plan.  But if things do go wrong, stay calm and don’t panic. Often, it’s how you recover from a PR disaster that sticks in people’s memory, not the event or crisis itself.

Read on to find out more about what a PR crisis looks like, and the steps you can take to recover. 

What is a ‘PR Disaster’?

PR disasters come in all shapes and forms. An ill advised social media post, an aggrieved employee going to the media, clumsy data leaks, customer outrage or overt public criticism. There are countless ways in which you or your organisation can become embroiled in a situation which has the potential to adversely affect your reputation. Things do go wrong in business and even with the best planning, accidents happen and are sometimes out of our control. But what is within our control is how we react to incidents. 

• Tescos’s famous PR disaster

When it comes to PR disasters, there are certainly plenty to choose from. One that sticks out, in particular, is the Tesco horse meat scandal.

In 2013 some of Tesco's food products were found to contain traces of horse meat - including their own brand burgers, which were found to contain 29% of horsemeat. Understandably, customers were outraged and demanded an explanation from Tesco.

This is where Tesco's crisis management plan came into effect. Every move they made was under a microscope. They offered a genuine apology to their consumers, acknowledging the seriousness of the problem and communicated with stakeholders. Tesco promised to tighten up their supply chain, source British meat, and be more transparent about the origin of their products, even firing a few people within the supply chain.

While the horse meat scandal was certainly a major crisis for Tesco, they managed to handle the situation better than most. Following the crisis management playbook and taking prompt steps to address the problem helped to restore their reputation.

If you’d like to learn more about popular PR disasters, read one of our recent blogs - ‘What is Crisis Management in PR?’. You’ll also gain access to a FREE crisis management plan!

How Do You Recover From a PR Disaster?

It's impossible to be fully prepared for a PR crisis, but the way you handle the situation can impact your chances of a smooth recovery. Each action should be carefully considered to ensure it's the right move. Think of it like playing a game of chess; one wrong hasty move can lead to dire consequences. Staying calm and focused and developing a clear strategy can increase your chances of success. 

While every crisis is unique, these tips can help guide you towards a path of recovery during a PR crisis:

Tip 1: Acknowledge the Issue

Although it may be tempting to ignore a PR crisis and hope it subsides, this is rarely the correct response. Failing to address the issue at hand could lead to negative consequences for you or your company. It may also impact the morale of your staff and could potentially result in a revolt from shareholders. 

It's important to take a proactive and transparent approach to address the issue head-on. Minimise the negative impact and start rebuilding trust with stakeholders as soon as possible. 

Tip 2: Apologise and Take Responsibility

It's not uncommon for companies to struggle with the idea of apologising fearing that it might further damage reputation, relationships or lead to legal action. However, if your company has made an error in judgement, taking accountability can often be the best course of action. 

A sincere apology and transparent communication with stakeholders will often be met with more forgiveness than if the company denies the issue and it later turns out to be true. 

Tip 3: Develop a Crisis Communication Plan

It's crucial for companies to have a crisis communication plan ready for any unforeseen events. Jumping into action without any plan can worsen the situation. A communication strategy should include everything from a messaging framework to identifying key stakeholders, communication channels, and statement timelines. 

A well-thought-out plan can help manage the crisis effectively and minimise the impact on the company's reputation. 

Tip 4: Respond Swiftly and Transparently

When it comes to managing a crisis, time is of the essence. While it's important to stay calm and composed, keeping your stakeholders informed with timely updates and information is crucial. 

By being transparent and providing updates quickly, you can maintain a certain level of control throughout the crisis. This will also help you to quickly address any false information or rumours that may be circulating.

Tip 5: Identify the best spokesperson 

In the event of a crisis, having a capable spokesperson who can effectively communicate with stakeholders is of the utmost importance. Ideally, this individual should be part of the senior team and have undergone media training. 

If the spokesperson is unable to speak confidently and appears unsure, it could do further damage to your reputation. On the other hand, a confident and capable spokesperson will appear knowledgeable and instil a sense of confidence and trust in stakeholders.

Media training is effective in ensuring that your spokesperson presents the right message, in the right way.

Tip 6: Social media monitoring 

During a crisis, social media can be a crucial tool for monitoring public opinions and responding quickly to comments and statements. By keeping a watchful eye on social media platforms, organisations can stay informed about what people are saying about them and their response efforts. 

Additionally, social media can help to prevent rumours from spreading and enable businesses to set the record straight with timely and accurate information. In this way, social media can be a valuable asset for managing a crisis, allowing companies to engage with stakeholders, control the narrative, and take effective action to address the situation at hand.

Several tools can be used for social media monitoring including Hootsuite and Sprout Social.  

Tip 7: Learn from the experience 

It's crucial to learn from a crisis and communicate that to your stakeholders. After a crisis, take the time to reflect on what happened and figure out how you can prevent similar situations from happening in the future. This demonstrates that you're a trustworthy and committed organisation that's dedicated to improving. 

By acknowledging the crisis and the effects it had, you can let stakeholders know that you're taking responsibility and doing everything you can to make things right. This builds trust and credibility, which is essential for maintaining a positive brand reputation.

Tip 8: Is it a Crisis? 

Before you hit the panic button and jump into crisis mode, it's important to take a step back and assess whether the situation truly warrants that level of response. Sometimes people can blow things out of proportion and cause unnecessary stress and anxiety. Ask yourself if it meets the criteria for a crisis.

Consider the level of impact on your business functions, company values, key stakeholders, and financials. What would happen if you ignored the situation? What is the anticipated outcome? And what is the anticipated life cycle of the crisis (traditional, online, social)?

By taking the time to assess the situation before reacting, you can make a more informed decision about the appropriate level of response. This can help you avoid overreacting to minor issues and conserve your resources for when they're truly needed. So, keep calm and assess the situation before jumping into crisis mode.

What Shouldn’t You Do During a PR Crisis?

It's vital to avoid common mistakes. For instance, it's understandable to feel defensive and want to protect your reputation, but getting defensive can actually make things worse. Instead, try to stay calm and listen to people’s concerns. Address them in a rational way and show that you're taking steps to make things right. Do not get into an argument.

Another mistake to avoid is trying to hide the truth, minimising or misleading your customers. This can cause irreversible damage to your reputation. Always be truthful and transparent, even if it means admitting fault.

Blaming others for the crisis is also not productive. It's important to take responsibility for any mistakes made and focus on finding solutions.; after all, the goal is to resolve the issue, not to point fingers.

Final Thoughts

Dealing with a PR crisis can be a real challenge, but handling it effectively and with the right team in place is crucial. When a crisis strikes, it's important to clearly understand the company's two main perspectives: the operational and communication viewpoints. 

While the operational team is focused on fixing the problem, the communication team is focused on safeguarding the company's reputation while the issue is being resolved.

PR Crisis Management From Altitude PR

Here at Altitude PR, we are communication experts. We know just how serious a crisis can be and have the experience and expertise to help you navigate even the most challenging situations. 

We can work with you to plan and also develop a customised communication plan to help you respond quickly and effectively to the crisis at hand.

Our team of experts has a wealth of crisis communications experience, we know exactly what works and what doesn't. We can help you take the fastest road to recovery and do everything possible to protect your company's reputation.

If you're facing a crisis or need help with your communication strategy, don't hesitate to contact us. 

Please book a free consultation and call on 0114 252 1172, or send an email info@altitudepr.co.uk.