7 Situations that Call for Crisis Communications

In your line of work, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Its terror inducing qualities aside, this central question animates many over-arching crisis communications strategies to profound effect. In lieu of a crystal ball, catastrophizing and putting plans beneath glass that reads: “Break in case of a crisis,” are how companies of all valuations maintain their course when disaster strikes. But where fire extinguishers manage their duty with little modification, crisis communications require a nuanced approach, careful story craft, and measured delivery to quell a blaze. 

Identifying a crisis as it emerges and getting ahead of the fallout with timely communications requires a proactive and reactive posture. However, underpinning every nimble thought and action are essential skills that every crisis communicator should have to help guide their organization to calmer waters. In a climate of always-on news and customer reviews in the form of rankings, ratings, and social media callouts, the pressure to respond quickly and thoroughly has never been greater.  

To put the gravity of crisis communications into perspective, it helps to consider the many ways a crisis can manifest, and what it might take to set it right.  Here’s where having an uninhibited, if catastrophic, imagination can come in handy. Even serious militaries have plans in place for alien and zombie invasions. If there’s no bad ideas in a brainstorm, then there’s no contingency too wild for a prepared crisis communicator. Even the stickiest situations can be smoothed over with the proper tools and training brought about by well-placed foresight. By anticipating the scope and impact of potential events, crisis communication plans can lay essential groundwork to reset the conversation.

Types of Events that Warrant Crisis Communications  

At its core, crisis communications are about reclaiming a narrative that’s spinning out of control. Oftentimes, it centers something breaking in the press or becoming known to the public that portrays your company in a negative light. Whether the event is self-inflicted or the product of outside forces, every instance requires a response to save face and limit the potential for damage. With that in mind, speculate on seven situations below that call for crisis communications and try to envision whether you and your team have what it takes to meet the moment.

A Data Breach 

What was once relegated to state secrets and first-wave tech companies has become the water in which every company swims. To some degree, if you have customers, you have customer data. And this makes your company vulnerable to a data breach. Think of the 2017 Equifax data breach. Or Yahoo! between 2013 and 2016. These were monumental hacks that compromised the sensitive information of billions. Regardless of what’s behind a data breach, it’s important to address the issue and work to restore customer confidence as quickly as possible. 

Think of a crisis communication plan as a ripcord to pull if a data breach occurs. Much like a parachute, a well-constructed protocol can help avoid customer fury and media inquiries to ensure a soft landing. At a time when customers are seeking measured guidance, it’s important to remember empathy. But tread carefully: fill-in-the-blank, one-size-fits-all responses will likely read insensitive. Rather, consider a set of protocols for swift decision-making to gather all the facts and assess customer needs as the situation develops. Despite the very real anger some customers may be feeling, tactfully assert that your company is also a victim.  

That’s where telling a compelling, empathetic story that reasserts company values and privacy commitments can serve as a helpful reminder. By centering the customer experience, you may manage to earn some empathy in return through genuine, honest effort. To this end, thoughtful crisis communication and measured delivery are the first steps toward rebuilding trust and charting a new path forward in a post-data breach environment. 

Executive Scandal

Embezzlement. Fraud. #Me-Too. There are untold reasons why a C-suite member could find themselves in legal hot water. Or worse. In such moments, the gravity of the situation will likely dictate the tone of your messaging. Thankfully, preparing a host of contingencies can aid whoever’s tasked with cleaning up the mess. To help streamline a response and avoid any last-minute scrambles, consider the many ways someone in a leadership position could impact the reputational health of your company, and plan accordingly.  

Evaluate how the chain-of-command could fracture in various scenarios and determine who assumes the mantle. With any luck, keeping a tidy house and alerting the proper authorities as soon as wrongdoing is revealed will help control the narrative from its onset. Here, planning ahead and shoring up a proper crisis communications skillset is better to have and not need than to cultivate in real time when the heat is on. 

Legal Action

Whether your organization is getting hit with a class-action lawsuit or accusations of copyright infringement, court room appearances are rarely pretty. No one wants a “controversies” tab on their Wikipedia page, and businesses are no exception. The harsh eye of legal scrutiny can damage your company’s brand, reputation, and standing among customers and competitors. Not to mention the costs of putting up a defense or reaching a settlement. However, a surefire way to make a dire situation worse is to message poorly around its unfolding.  

Obviously, your legal team should be working closely with any crisis communicators to ensure messaging doesn’t exacerbate the proceedings. At the very least, it’s essential to remain professional. There’s no staying clean with the mud starts flying. And even worse is saying something patently false that customers can refute with their own eyes and ears. Think Vanilla Ice defending (irrefutable) claims that “Ice Ice Baby” ripped off Queen’s “Under Pressure.” That defense aged like milk as soon as the cameras stopped rolling. These are the types of legacies you want to avoid before and after a ruling. Even if you manage to reach a settlement, or sway a judge or jury, the public can be more discerning than you think. 

Government Intervention

For no reason whatsoever, imagine a set of steep tariffs were suddenly levied against key components in your supply chain. Or a regulatory body that say, maintained food quality or product safety, was abruptly shuttered, leaving no clear path to oversight. Such moments could require a firm hand on the rudder to lend assurances about your company’s goods and services. With no regulations in place, how do you reassure customers the commodities they once relied on are indeed safe? Anyone who passed through high school history likely knows the horrors that can befoul food in service of the bottom line thanks to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. And that’s just one example of cost- and corner-cutting that haunts our collective consciousness. 

To this end, staying abreast of major sea changes and staking a clear position before negative impressions can foment is an essential function of crisis communications. In an environment where information can rip through social media platforms like lightning, there’s no time for a sluggish response. Adjusting to major realignments in government policy will no doubt take time, but acknowledging customer anxieties and placating 

concerns can secure trust when it’s in short supply. However, without a commitment to following through, you run the risk of sowing the seeds of a future crisis. When the pressure is on, it’s important to differentiate between messaging and bending the truth to score a quick point.

Legal Action

Preventative and reactive recalls each set the stage for vastly different crisis communications. Which would you prefer: discovering a design flaw internally or after an airbag fails to deploy? While getting ahead of anything that puts a customer in danger is obviously preferred, mistakes do happen. It’s how those mistakes are addressed and mitigated that makes the difference for a crisis communicator. Downstream of the above regulatory examples, just one video of a fiery crash or reports of a salmonella outbreak can make customers squeamish about your offerings. Ultimately, your company will be remembered for how it takes ownership of its shortcomings in the wake of a crisis. 

Rather than calculating how a recall will affect your financials, let empathy take the wheel. Causing physical or emotional harm to customers in service of shareholder value is not what’s meant by fiduciary responsibility. Especially when long-term reputational damage is factored in. That’s why getting ahead of crisis as best as possible with honest, empathetic messaging that takes ownership of the situation is always the best course of action. 

Unflattering Press

P. T. Barnum is often credited with the phrase “there’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Then again, Barnum also famously surrounded himself with clowns. To avoid having your business sink to the status of circus, mitigating bad press requires being responsive to the problem. As with many crisis situations, determining the degree of reputational risk is essential to applying the appropriate counter messaging. Going immediately to DEFCON 1 over meager rumblings could attract greater scrutiny. But a true whistleblower bombshell could trigger an all-hand-on-deck response. That’s why it’s crucial to have leadership prepared for all manner of outcomes and ready to defuse or redirect attention with a preferred narrative.

While it’s categorically better to avoid nefarious conduct, re-anchoring emerging narratives back to core values and principles can help steer eyes away from unflattering stories. If you’re behind on the launch of a product or service, elaborate on the challenging work that goes into taking a new idea to market. Or if a release is lackluster, address the many ways you hope to improve your offerings without conjuring to mind the phrase “fail forward.” Despite the harmful connotations of a circus, a crisis communicator can look to the trapeze artist for inspiration while acknowledging that in business, grit and gumption are your only safety nets.

Global Events

Global pandemics. Supply chain shocks. Major weather catastrophes. Where globalization made the Earth feel smaller and more connected, it also opened the door to events reverberating from around the world. When new viruses can stowaway on international flights and barges can shutter canals by veering slightly off course, it’s no wonder communications teams are watching news tickers with bated breath. But as the drumbeat of headline-worthy happenings continues to march on, each crisis shares a clear commonality from the rear-view: strategic communication can prevent bad situations from getting worse. 

Financial tremors are a fitting example. The eventual collapse of Silvergate Bank in 2023 precipitated snowballing uncertainty that was more or less contained through careful messaging. Even though Silvergate (and FTX) were radically restructured, assurances from regulators and government entities spared other institutions from meeting a similar fate. Think Jimmy Stewart’s impassioned plea to halt the run on Mr. Potter’s Building and Loan in It’s a Wonderful Life, and you’re not far off from grasping how well-timed, well-articulated crisis communications can calm our most basic impulses.

Why Contingencies and Training Matter for Crisis Communications 

Once you acknowledge that even the best laid plans can still blow up in your face, the question of what to do with that sobering reality is the task of a crisis communicator. Thankfully, the playbook for addressing aggrieved customers is well in place through years of careful calibration. Duarte’s public speaking and storytelling training workshops offer time-tested methods for crafting and delivering heartfelt narratives capable of navigating even the harshest currents. 

Our Illuminate training is tailor made for leaders looking to communicate thoughtful strategic change through the use of stories, speeches, ceremonies, and symbols that speak to the hardships of planned and unplanned shake-ups. In turn, Captivate can fine-tune your delivery and on-screen or on-stage presence to meet any moment with grace and aplomb. Duarte DataStory® can also help serve as your divining rod for identifying emerging trends and telling compelling stories about the risks and opportunities that may arise as they manifest. These are just some of the workshops and free resources Duarte has to offer communications looking to cut through the noise of during a crisis. 

At a time where much of what holds the fabric of society together is norms and, increasingly, vibes, knowing how to interpret unfolding situations and respond accordingly can mean the difference between out-of-control calamity and a calculated, coordinated response. To this end, preparing a series of contingency plans for if and when such outcomes arise can keep your organization one step ahead of any crisis.  

To learn more about how Duarte can get your crisis communicators battle-ready for any eventuality, book a call with a training concierge. Alongside well-planned contingencies, an empathetic story and meaningful delivery can work wonders when situations take a turn for the worse.