Prepare, acknowledge, apologise and communicate. These are the four main steps that PR specialists, Patria-Kaye Charles and Danielle Terrelonge say businesses must follow when facing a public relations crisis. 

They were speaking on Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds following news that local radio station, Zip FM, lost sponsorship from several major corporations after a controversial interview. 

The panellists said there are many lessons to be learned from the incident. 

Be prepared

Terrelonge, who is the owner and Chief Storyteller at DRT Communications, said that the first step in addressing any PR crisis actually comes before the crisis begins. 

“Every PR specialist is always preparing for fantastic narratives but we also must always prepare for something to go wrong,” she said. 

According to Terrelonge, it is important to be fully aware of all the things that could possibly affect your business or personal brand and be prepared to address them.

Charles cosigned by pointing out that no one wants to create a fire plan during a fire. 

“Have a cheat sheet prepared. What are the things that can go absolutely wrong in this business? How do you respond, what are the tough questions that would be asked and how do you respond from a place of sincerity?” she explained.

“Have a pre-prepared deck with those types of possibilities already thought out. Who is going to speak? Make sure there is a designated person who is trained and prepared to speak,” she added.

Simultaneously, Terrelonge said that it is important to establish early on what your company’s mission is and be consistent in that mission. She said that this will help to build brand advocates and loyalty, which is essential during a time of crisis. 

“Create a consistent brand, a consistent narrative. People will learn to trust you because you are consistent. You are creating brand loyalty and when you have those loyalists, many times it’s them who will defend your company’s reputation,” she explained.

Acknowledge the mistake 

The panellists said that once a crisis occurs, the first step is to acknowledge that something went wrong. 

“Sometimes companies don’t move quickly enough. I think timing is what determines if that publicity will turn good or remain negative,” Terrelonge said.

“A lot of times when we see a financial fallout, it’s because there is no acknowledgement that there is a problem,” Charles agreed.

Apologise sincerely

Charles went on to say that how the issue is addressed is also very important. 

“How you communicate the apology can determine if you save the bottom line or perpetuate the negative publicity,” she said.

“A lot of companies have tried to address a bad issue, and not only is it insincere but they come as spin doctors, they come unprepared and facing the media is a very difficult thing if you don’t anticipate the negative questions and bad becomes worse very quickly,” she added. 

“When there’s a crisis, people are going to look at what caused it and how you react. And that ‘how did you react?’ is going to become the secondary story that’s going to generate that second wave of publicity,” she explained.

Communicate changes 

Terrelonge said that after owning the mistake, the next step is to immediately align with the company’s values. 

“Who exactly are we here? When you are honest and operate in your values as a company, that’s when your audience or customers are going to respect you because you remain diligent to those values,” she said.

Charles said in an age where social media dictates so much of public thinking, companies have to be very careful with the messaging that they portray because “you don’t always get to initiate the narrative that begins to be told about you.”

On the other hand, Terrelonge said that business owners must also be prepared to lose revenue when a crisis happens. 

She said that corporations will try to protect themselves from fallout and as such, may pull their support from a controversial business. 

WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE