The importance of public relations and crisis management planning for your business

They are public relations and crisis management planning important for your business? The answer is simple and straightforward. Public relations and crisis management planning is not only important to the company, which are both crucial to your business, regardless of the type of activity. In the hectic and ever-changing world of today, business is news. Plant closures, mergers and acquisitions, unemployment, strikes, labor disputes, corporate expansions, construction projects, construction-related accidents and disasters are often the main story on the front page or the six o'clock news. However, many organizations are totally unprepared, or at least ill-prepared to handle public relations and crisis management aspects of these events. This lack of preparation can lead to many negative and undesirable to you, your employees, your clients and customers, your business and your business and industry sector.

Many companies have always been and always will be in a location highly visible to the public and the media. For example, the building and construction sector is important for the economy, as well as the general health, safety and welfare of the public. The media are very interested in building and construction industry because of potential "high interest" stories that can generate both positive and negative. To succeed in today's business world, all businesses must learn to manage rapid change and crisis, and work diligently to develop strong public relations and crisis management plans.

A general program of public relations is important for your business to: complement advertising, providing search capabilities for marketing efforts, providing functionality for special events to increase company visibility and industrial monitor non-governmental organizations, to communicate the state-of-the-industry to the public, including views on legislation, regulations, economic conditions and other factors and events that impact your company, and to communicate with existing and past clients. A crisis management plan, including public relations aspects, is absolutely essential to maintain the credibility of a company and the positive image of the face of adversity. The company's customers, employees, financial management, supporters, collaborators in the industry, the public and the media need to hear that you are well organized and have the ability to manage a crisis in a very professional manner. The crisis does not afford the luxury of time to pause and think deeply with the specific problem. Therefore, there is a need to be prepared for any emergency happen.I more likely to believe that many crises in the business world, just like in our daily lives, are often predictable. These crises can be managed and can provide unprecedented opportunities for positive public relations. The majority of enterprises are reluctant to prepare for adversity because they do not want to admit that their organization could never be guilty of poor performance or mistakes.

A society that does not prepare for the possibility that some plan can not work or that the conditions of business may quickly change - including changes outside their control - will soon be able to address a crisis and then suffer serious negative effects on business and its image to the public and its customers.

The most critical time for your company, when it comes to public relations, is when a catastrophe, scandal, or some other negative event occurs that involves your business or industry in general. Things can go wrong and not in the best managed companies and organizations. Therefore, accepting this fact and anticipating some crises, the potential damage that the crisis can be minimized. Emergency preparedness for crisis is not only good management practice in any organization, but, in my opinion, is a mandatory practice for any company.

Many companies today have high-risk, high visibility, high impact on the public and our daily life, and high exposure to potential crises. Because of these characteristics, the potential damage from a crisis can be greatly multiplied. A spokesman for the company unprepared, misinformed, or ill at ease, a disgruntled employee, and a victim of a tragedy at a construction site have the potential to do incalculable damage to your business or industry, their comments to the media. Yet there are countless times when a company representative is pushed into the spotlight as an official "spokesmen" with little or no training in dealing with the media, especially in a crisis situation. In fact, when it comes to dealing with the media, most people prefer to be "exonerated" by the task, because they are ill-prepared psychologically and professionally to deal with the media. In today's world, we must be prepared psychologically and professionally.

Conducting public relations activities without a plan would be the same as someone trying to build a quality building project, without plans and specifications or a business trying to manage the growth of their business with no plans. Conducting crisis communications and public relations during emergencies, without a plan and training may be more or less how to commit suicide or at least "for themselves in the foot," because of the potential damage that may arise for your company the 'image, businesses, employees, management, etc. and for the image and the impact on the sector.

If you do not believe that the potential harm that can result from what I wrote above, consider the effect of poor public relations efforts during the TMI accident, the NASA Challenger tragedy, the EXXON Valdez oil spill event, or during the last building on the main site of the accident and the impact of negative image on businesses and industries. Or think about the effect of good public relations activities during the Tylenol incident, odometer rolled back during the incident at Chrysler, or during the rescue of the last incident happened in a construction site and the impact of the positive image of these companies and industries.

It 's time to truly recognize the importance of public relations and crisis management and their potential impact on business. It 's also the time to do something! There is no better place to start than within your organization and industry and professional associations, developing public relations plans, including plans for crisis management, and key employees training on how to deal with the media. With the high risks as they are in your company, do not let the public relations and crisis management to chance or to a "seat of the pants" approach. Make a commitment and start planning for your future efforts and public relations crisis management today. The future of your company and your industry are at risk. With a strong commitment to good public relations and crisis management planning, the results can be enormous. Without a strong commitment, the results can be disastrous....