Crisis communications is something that most startups are spectacularly bad at. Look at Reddit's response to their recent backlash. It took them days to get it right.
It does not need to be this way. Crisis communications is one of the most straight-forward PR programs to implement; it just requires planning and execution. Every Fortune 500 company has a PR playbook to address every possible crisis. As a startup, you should create plans for a number of contingencies. Here's two very basic crisis communications checklists:
**Before a crisis hits**
1. Understand that a crisis can happen anytime and prepare in advance
2. Create a list of potential crisis scenarios
3. Develop response statements for each crisis scenario
**When a crisis hits**
1. Assess situation and find out all information
2. Provide appropriate response in timely manner
3. Be open and transparent
To demonstrate what a sample crisis communication playbook could look like, we developed a lightweight web-based one. Have fun!
Pitch Drone