There’s nothing that stresses a company out more than having to handle a crisis in our increasingly social world. People don’t miss a beat in 2017.

A reputation is a delicate thing, which can take years to build up and mere moments to sully.

And the way a company communicates with stakeholders and the general public during a crisis can be pivotal in determining whether it bounces back stronger than ever or is irrevocably tarnished by its response to the situation.

In this post, we'll take a look at some of the best and worst examples of crisis communication and discover valuable lessons that these responses can impart.

Crises are a reality for any business, but thankfully few ever make the light of day. 

While public-facing crises are few and far between – when they do arise they can do incalculable damage to a reputation that's taken years to build. And in cases like these, the strength of a crisis communication response can make or break a company. 

In this guide, we'll explore some high-profile examples of crisis communication responses – both good and bad – and discuss why choosing the right person to represent an organisation can make all the difference.

 

With residential house sales showing a strong start in the New Year, house builders are swiftly moving ahead with plans for further development and, according to a recent RICS report, the UK aims to bring up to 5,000 new homes to the market in 2014.

In this guide, we'll take a look at how some of the big names handle crisis communications and provide some suggestions on how to tackle complaints in a way that reflects well on your brand.

 

PR for professional services – a “nice to have” or something you have to consider when either you or your client makes a faux-pas?  Although many firms have a retained PR agency on hand for any crisis, few engage with them, yet are surprised when they don’t get the column inches they expected.

With the latest statistics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority highlighting that 30 of the UK’s top 200 law firms are in serious financial difficulty, with reports of a further 160 firms at risk of failure,  ensuring that you are getting the best return on investment has never been more important.

So what can you do? We’ve identified some of the areas where many organisations struggle when making their first forays into collaborating with a PR agency: 

With the healthcare sector under ever-increasing scrutiny, we investigate the best ways for NHS CEOs and Trusts to properly prepare and plan for negative press and media fallouts. 

Over the last few months, both the red and blue sides of Manchester have lost a celebrated manager, but that's where the similarity ends.

BP, reputation management and crisis communications

Crisis communications strategies are a must for high-profile organisations, but even the big players sometimes slip up. In this article, we’ll take a look at the lessons that can be learned from the errors made by BP in the wake of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill and other, more recent, negative press.