Crisis communications strategies
Preparing for and coping in a crisis
Corporate history is littered with memorable crises which have tarnished the reputations of some of the biggest brand names. For example, food retailer Pret a Manger suffered a serious reputation disaster following the death of 15-year-old who died after eating one of their sandwiches. Also, an off the cuff question from a BBC reporter about pay and bonuses, sparked a full-blown PR crisis at house builder, Persimmon.
For most SMEs, the scandals that hit the national and international headlines may seem a distant cry from the everyday realities of running a private enterprise in tough times. But smaller businesses aren’t immune from crises. While the reputational challenges you face may be smaller in scale than those of the big corporates, the negative impact on your worlds may be no less catastrophic, proportionately speaking.