HOW TO GET HELP

For the most immediate needs, call getpress.com at 1-800-433-0233, and our experienced counselors will help guide you through an immediate response and also recommend some of the support tools below.

For longer range projects, we recommend either an initial phone call or e-mail to info@getpress.com. Tell us what you need, and we will develop a questionnaire for you to fill out that will allow us to get started immediately.

We also can help you set up a basic crisis strategy, a highly recommended preparation that will help tremendously when disaster strikes. Feel free to use our basic strategy to get going, and give us a call at 1-800-433-0233 or e-mail us at info@getpress.com and we will help you refine it into a tool of priceless importance.

Crisis Communications Support

• Statement: This is usually a clear and concise press release that highlights a company or organization's position in a particular situation. Within this statement, a series of messages clearly articulating that position are highlighted.
• Media Q&A: This includes a series of questions most likely to be asked by members of the media, customers and employees regarding the issue/crisis at hand. This document includes direct answers reflecting the company's position and key messages addressing the situation. This is usually the first document that we provide to clients in a crisis situation.
• Employee Communication: Recognizing that your employees can be your best spokespeople, clearly articulating the company's position or statement regarding the crisis at hand is instrumental to any well-managed crisis communication plan. Our internal communications professionals at getpress.com will work with you as well as your director of HR to ensure that all communication to employees is consistent and effective.
• Regulatory Communication: Depending upon the size and scope of the crisis at hand, communication with various governmental regulators such as the EPA, SEC and FCC may be required. The professionals of getpress.com will work with your legal counsel to ensure that the correct positioning is included in all communication with regulators.
• Customer Service Phone Scripts: In times of crisis, customers call. To ensure that your customer service representatives are well equipped to handle incoming calls, getpress.com will provide your staff with a complete Q&A that addresses and answers anticipated questions.

Crisis Communications: A Basic Strategy

Preparation Steps

1. Prepare a response team to coordinate communications with each of your various publics in the event a crisis arises.
   a. Select an executive who will head an in-house team to communicate with employees. Have workers from across your organization represented on the team.
   b. Select an executive and team to deal with the media. One or more people should be trained and assigned as media contact(s).
   c. Select individual executives and teams to communicate with customers, shareholders and your key government and law enforcement agencies in your communities.
   d. If you have a Web site, select a lead executive and team to keep it current throughout the crisis.
2. Arrange a central site and phone number where all team members should check in when a crisis arises. Also select a secondary site and phone number.
3. Plan and share internally how you will communicate quickly and effectively with each group. Make sure the teams know how to contact one another at all times, i.e., business and home telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, etc.
4. Be prepared to establish separate points of contact for employees, media, customers and others to call for information on the situation.
5. Determine who will make final decisions on the release of sensitive information.
6. Have each team begin now to review previous communications involving their publics. Look for strengths, weaknesses and ways that relations can be improved. Begin now to work on making those improvements.
7. Be sure the crisis teams know how to reach their key contacts at all times. For example, know how to reach the night desk of your local media outlets. Get night and day telephone numbers for both primary and secondary contacts.
8. Keep all contact lists current.

Some Basic Crisis Communications Guidelines:

1. Communicate. If you try to hide behind a "no comment" response, you immediately lose control. Even if you can only say that you don't know, say so and why. Reporters look favorably on people who are trying to be helpful.
2. Never lie or speculate. Provide only factual, confirmed information.
3. Assist the people most affected by the crisis. In the case of accidents, remember to deal with victims' families before any other group and, if they desire, intercede on their behalf with the news media.
4. Communicate your concern about the victims.
5. Be available at all times to respond to your various publics. Be aware of media deadlines and try not to rely solely on news conferences.
6. Don't appear defensive. Be prepared for aggressive questioning and realize you might have to provide several answers to the same question.
7. Don't ramble. Especially when broadcast outlets are on the scene, provide brief, precise answers. The short answers also help alleviate nervousness.
8. Take reporters slowly through difficult issues.
9. Monitor media accounts and quickly correct errors by contacting the source of the report.
10. Do not attempt to do legal battle in the media. Express assurances that matters of litigation or potential litigation will be investigated thoroughly.
11. If you have a key point you want to make, prepare it beforehand. Make it short and to the point. Try to repeat it at least once in the news conference or interview.
12. Stay with the crisis throughout its duration.
13. Instigate follow-ups with the news media to update them about what preventive actions have been taken after the crisis ended.