Anti-crisis pr technologies in the organization. Anti-crisis PR. Anti-crisis PR: ways to respond

  • 13.11.2019

It can happen (and this often happens!) that some extraordinary event or a series of incidents most adversely affects the reputation and, as a result, the financial stability of the enterprise. And, as you understand, not a single media will miss the chance to "dance on your bones", especially if you are still "alive". We have such a time - “push the falling one!”. This raises three main questions:
1. What happened?
2. Who is responsible?
3. What do you intend to do?

Answers to the questions "what happened" and "who is to blame" may actually be a statement of the causes and consequences of the crisis. These "facts", however, must be "irrefutable" so that the likelihood of their further transformation is reduced to zero. The correct interpretation of the information naturally leads to the answer to the third question.

PR-specialists (both a department in a company and a specialized agency) can play an important role in finding out the causes of the crisis and, of course, in successfully overcoming it by competently using anti-crisis PR. When a plan to restore the image comes into play, then with a successful combination of circumstances and reasonable work, this can bring not only positive results, but even more strengthen the stability and trust in the PR object in society.

Therefore, we will devote some time to anti-crisis PR strategies.

Anti-crisis PR strategies
So, apparently, the cause of the crisis has already been determined, and the answers to the first two questions of the three necessary ones have been given. And consequently, it is necessary to answer the third, sacramental: "What to do?" The most important thing is to know the strategies with which you can "save face" in the current situation. This can be a demonstration of regret, ignoring, counterattacking, etc. The choice should be made carefully, because saving the company's reputation often depends on the right strategy. Below are some very effective strategies that have been used by PR agencies to save the reputation of well-known companies.

We ignore
That is, do not explain anything and do not apologize.
This is what Nord did when customers encountered problems (accidental, from the company's point of view) in one of the first versions of Nord two-chamber refrigerators. And the real problem turned out to be numerous calls to the manufacturer for help and assistance. At first, the buyers did not achieve any reaction at all. Then they were told that there were indeed difficulties, but the reason was not in the refrigerators themselves, but in the voltage drop in the network (several more reasons were given). Nevertheless, Nord began to carry out an action of selective replacements. In the end, the issue of replacements was resolved, refrigerators were changed without hindrance. Thus, the Nord communication strategy (first “ignore”, then “reproach, concealment, denial” and, finally, “do not lose heart”) recreated the face of the Nord leader and the general corporate culture.

We don't stick out
This approach involves saying as little as possible, being as quiet as possible, waiting and trusting that the media attention will switch to something else. Another move of this anti-crisis PR strategy may be to turn to an "arbitrator", that is, to involve third parties to establish the degree of guilt in the situation, for example, organize an open commission of inquiry or go to court. The main thing is to do without comments. The less the company will catch the eye in connection with the crisis, the less damage will be done to its reputation. However, if the crisis is more severe and the journalists get caught up in the subject of human error, then the firm will be sensitive to media negativity, especially when victims begin to seek redress. In addition, you should appeal to an independent expert only if you are sure of a positive review (report on the results of the investigation). Otherwise, the media may once again criticize the firm for being responsible for the crisis and urge the company to publicly announce the amount of compensation, require public self-flagellation and other unpleasant things.

Under the protection of the law
Anti-crisis PR in this case is sometimes used when the company is faced with aggressive third parties. This method is especially applicable when important secret information is leaked. This is what lawyers are needed for at the enterprise (well, of course, not only for this, but such actions make them valuable employees) to seek injunctions against certain actions of journalists or other ill-wishers - for example, the publication of materials in the media that can render negative impact for business.

Blaming, threatening, denying
This strategy of anti-crisis PR is not without a degree of risk, and even more so not without aggression, but sometimes it brings amazing results. Let's clarify the situation.

Suppose your company (or client firm) has been accused of something, and the situation has received wide publicity and threatens to get out of your control. What are you doing?

First, you loudly deny all accusations, exposing, in turn, your enemies or government services in the dirty intentions, in the person of which you can see a temporary enemy.

Secondly, you take the move "throw down the gauntlet" - an open challenge to the enemy. It could be statement of claim to the court (the process should be widely covered in the press), pickets in crowded places (near the office of the "enemy", near the buildings public services, in the central square of the city, etc.). You can invite the opponent to a debate on television, while the “challenge” must be done a day or two before the proposed TV program so that the opponent does not have time to properly prepare. He may not come, evade the debate, and then you take up television time with a diatribe on the air, emphasizing that the cowardly enemy by his absence confirmed the groundlessness of dirty slander.

As a rule, at this stage a “miracle” occurs - such an offensive makes people hesitate and doubt the truth of any facts. In addition, this puts the accusing party in front of the need to moderate their ardor. Nevertheless, in any case, many people, and not least those whom you called your enemy, will remain offended, and the company's reputation will have to be corrected. But this is nothing compared to the consequences that can arise if the charges are strong enough.

Find another culprit
Often, the actions of other people, companies or local authorities play a fatal role in a crisis situation. This means that PR should be appropriate, preferably with names, facts, real causes and perpetrators of the crisis. For example, a company makes the following statements: "The true cause of the crisis was the actions of such and such citizens (or organizations) who have nothing to do with the company." Or: “It is the victims of the incident who are to blame for finding themselves in a situation in which they suffered.” The risk of using this strategy is that it often generates a violent reaction from the opposite side. In addition, if the accusations are unsubstantiated, then the publicity of the true facts can undermine the credibility of the company.

Disarm the enemy
If the enemy and his secrets are known to you, use them to defend your point of view, refute the accusations and put forward your own. By the way, many large corporations successfully use this technique, especially if the crisis becomes protracted.

This business is dangerous!
Many industries are potentially dangerous, you can't argue with that. And therefore, according to the law of "large numbers", accidents are inevitable. Of course, the consequences of this type of crisis have a negative impact on the reputation of other, similar professions and enterprises. For example, the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant radically undermined the reputation of the entire nuclear power industry of the USSR. The crash of the Exxon Valdez tanker in Alaska led to a decrease in the rating of confidence in oil companies, no matter how serious preventive measures they have not undertaken.

Often, to implement this strategy, you need to seek support from an industry union, a government department, an authoritative scientist or other well-known personalities who would talk about the risks associated with production, would ask society to morally support the company in a difficult moment for it.

"We're just unlucky"
Chance, a fatal combination of circumstances or bad luck - often they forget about such factors. This technique is designed to remind society of fate, fate, things that take place and that a person, in principle, cannot influence. For example, the crash of an airliner near Donetsk in 2006 is explained not so much human factor how much extremely adverse weather conditions. The Leningrad Airlines company involved an independent meteorological service in the examination (applied to higher authorities). Published expert reports cited extreme weather conditions as the cause of the disaster.

In such situations, you can give examples of similar cases that occurred in the industry, in the field of activity of another company or region. It is necessary to convince people that there are areas of activity that society cannot do without, even if high degree risk.

Sacrifice
The public dismissal of prime ministers, the trial of the only person responsible (!) for a gas explosion that caused a building to collapse and people died - there are many examples of this strategy. The bottom line: there is one "villain" on whom all sins are written off, which saves the reputation of those concerned.

Credit of trust
Anti-crisis PR in this case goes approximately as follows. The head of the enterprise "with all the honest people" takes on the entire burden of responsibility for the crisis and asks to give the company another chance. This statement, in some cases, is accompanied by the resignation of the head. This strategy is often used political parties where a member of the Cabinet of Ministers takes responsibility for errors. interesting psychological aspect underlying this strategy. The "height" of the post of a person who takes responsibility for problems directly depends on the scale of the crisis. The crowd so often needs a victim! Actually, 8 resignations of governments out of 10 occur precisely on the basis of the principles of this method.

At large enterprises, the following is practiced: the manager is not aware of the “little things”, he cannot be responsible for the work or, conversely, the inactivity of people who do not directly report to him. And then from the head and bribes are smooth. And then (see above) the strategy is "Find another culprit". The leader, on the other hand, shows extreme concern for the situation and guarantees that the necessary reforms will be made, “just give us one more chance!”

All of the above strategies do not eliminate the cause of the crisis, but, in fact, there were no intentions to talk about it. The task of anti-crisis PR is to minimize the losses that arise as a result of the crisis and help the company cope with temporary troubles without the “hoo-lu” accompanying the situation.

And, of course, these strategies are not an exhaustive list. These are just semi-finished products, and it is up to you what you invent with them. In addition, you must form an anti-crisis team, isolate the crisis and limit its scope, develop a crisis exit policy, and do a lot of other things. But for information policy it is useful to conduct a detailed briefing for the PR support team or company official, who can (and should!) ensure that the public and the media are sympathetic to your problems.

Traditional areas of application of the results marketing research.

Analysis of competitors and assessment of the competitiveness of the agency in the field of public relations

Learning the basic methods of PR and major groups

Identify success factors for public relations campaigns. The general concept of the PR product - campaigns: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, pre-testability, visibility.

Study of relations with the media, consumers, employees, with the state and the local community, investors.

Attractiveness of the industry and competition within it. Identification of priority competitors and determination of the strength of their positions. Competitive agency competitiveness research and evaluation.

Determining the position of your own agency in the competition. The role of PR in strengthening the competitiveness of the company.

Studying new products. General concept. Product development and development. Forecasting demand for new products.

Study of the price level and their movement in the market. Predictive pricing models in the services market. billing methods.

Distribution and promotion of the product to the market. Evaluation of the possible level of sales of products. Efficiency mark mass communication. A study of consumer response to a firm's public relations efforts. Evaluation of changes in the company's image.

Research of crisis communications. Development of a crisis communications management program.

AT modern world At the turn of the new millennium, business is becoming a global enterprise, and the business environment is changing at an explosive rate: it is complex and fluid. Each enterprise, like any biological organism, grows, develops, ages and is exposed to many dangers during its existence.

The instability of the socio-political situation in Russia leads to frequent failures in the work of both large and small enterprises, entails an increased likelihood of crises in one or another area of ​​their activity. Dictionary modern concepts and terms defines a crisis as "a difficult, difficult situation, an acute shortage, a lack of something; a painful, transitional period; a sharp, abrupt change."

Practice shows that every organization faces critical periods sooner or later. Crises are an indispensable component of our life, in which much is unpredictable, and most importantly, no one is immune from trouble. But it must be admitted that in Russia the rapid progress of many firms in most cases outstrips the growth in the qualifications of their employees and managers. As a result, only the most talented of them survive, acting in an original, non-standard way, creatively using the potential of Western management.



The public relations literature presents numerous approaches to classifying crises. The authors of the book "This is PR" - one of the most popular in the United States in this specialty - D. Newsom, A. Scott and J. Turk, for example, offer the following typology of crises, based on their division depending on the origin and consequences (see table .one).

Typology of crises Table 1

Types of crises destructive Catastrophic - sudden loss of life and destruction non-destructive Unexpected threats, but losses, if they happen, are delayed
Natural Earthquakes, forest fires, hurricanes, etc. Droughts, epidemics, etc.
Deliberate Acts of terrorism, including the deliberate spoiling of products resulting in loss of life or damage to property Threats of using explosives, food poisoning, forced seizures, divulging secrets, deliberate rumors and other malicious acts
unintentional Explosions, fires, poisoning, other accidents Late production problems, stock market crashes, bankruptcies

The above typology, especially the allocation of crises that go beyond natural origin, provides for a variety of strategies and tactics for dealing with them and applying certain methods of managing them. In other words, depending on the causes of crisis situations, factors affecting the dynamics of their deployment, each organization is able to foresee the most probable types of crises of social origin in which it may find itself. And this means that their anticipation can be planned in advance in some way.

A slightly different approach to the typology of crises is offered by S. Cutlip, A. Senter and G. Broom. Based on the duration of the development of crises, they identify the following possible scenarios:

Unexpected Crises. This is the most terrible type of crises that occur so suddenly and unexpectedly that there is little or no time for preparation and planning. These include plane crashes, food spoilage, the death of a leading leader, earthquakes, panic. Such crises require a plan of action to be agreed in advance among key leaders to avoid misunderstandings, bickering and slow response.

Growing crises. They allow more time for study and planning, but can break out immediately after a long fermentation. Such crises include dissatisfaction of employees and an unfavorable moral climate in the team, significant abuse and resentment during work, excessive hopes for government orders. In this case, the task is to convince top management to take corrective steps before the crisis reaches the destructive phase.

Continuous Crises. They can last for months or years, despite management's efforts to stop them. Outside the control of public relations, for example, there may be gossip or speculation reported by the media or passed on by word of mouth. No amount of denial or countermeasures seems to be able to stop rumors or clear the news feed of misinformation, as journalists in their pursuit of news will always stumble upon previous publications, repeating misinformation over and over again.

An attempt to approach the typology of crises in terms of their duration provides the peers with additional features prepare for various scenarios of their deployment and act more purposefully and thoroughly in order to neutralize the consequences that are dangerous for the organization. In the conditions of any crisis, the time factor always remains the key. Therefore, the classification of crisis situations precisely on this basis transfers crisis management from a state of shock from a landslide development of events into the plane of some possibility of developing a plan for consistent logical actions for peers, taking into account the different duration of crises.

English public relations specialist Sam Black offers another approach to the typology of crises, taking into account the troubles that they can cause to a particular organization. To a certain extent, he makes an attempt to move from a general typology of crises on a generic basis to such a classification that is directly close to the content and scope of the organization. S. Black divides crises into "known unknown" and "unknown unknown".

Speaking of the first type of crisis, he emphasizes that if a company, for example, produces cars or technical equipment, it may at any time be faced with the need to recall products. In the chemical industry and the production of radioactive substances, there is a constant risk of leakage of chemical or radioactive elements. Maritime, rail and air transport have their own specific and well-known forms of potential danger. S. Black concludes: “In all these and many similar cases known that an accident could happen, but unknown Will it happen, and if so, when?

As for the second type of crises, there are catastrophes and accidents that no one is able to foresee. This may be damage to products, a violation of technology, which carries the threat of poisoning and human casualties. But basically “our work,” writes S. Black, “is predictable and amenable to planning. Extreme PR is quite rare and most of us will never encounter such situations at all, but if you work in a potentially dangerous area, you need to have a contingency plan for such situations.

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  5. Anti-crisis PR (crisis PR, crisis management, crisis management) a special communication management technology aimed at preserving the publicity capital of an organization or individual, which is being destroyed due to a crisis.
    A crisis - an event due to which the organization falls into the center of not always benevolent attention of the media and other target audiences who, for one reason or another, are interested in the actions of the organization.

    Main characteristics of the crisis :

    • suddenness
    • Information hunger
    • Exacerbation of the situation. The company does not have time to respond to all the "fronts" of the crisis.
    • Loss of regulation information
    • The close attention of external audiences - the media, the target audience, legislatures
    • Loss of the ability to act freely - the company feels an impending threat and excessive attention to its problems; the organization begins to perceive everyone as ill-wishers.
    • Panic

    3 components of the crisis :

    Organization Existence Risk Factor

    Lack of time: all actions must be carried out quickly and efficiently

    A state of tension in people responsible for crisis management and looking for ways out of this situation.

    Characteristically: incomplete certainty of causes, results, ways of resolution, the need for a quick decision.

    There are quite a few classifications of crises, in which the authors focus on the components of crisis situations that are more important from their point of view. Let's take a look at some of them.
    Classification of crises :

    1) Sam Black

    Known unknown, which means: it is known that an accident can occur, but it is not known whether it will occur, and if so, when;

    The unknown unknown is catastrophes and accidents that no one can prevent.

    2) American "bible"

    A sudden crisis in which there is no time for research and planning. Ex: plane crash, earthquake.

    An emerging crisis that allows time for research and planning. Pr: dissatisfaction with the work of employees.

    Constant crises that can last for years and months regardless of efforts to resolve them. PR: Rumors.

    3) Otto Lerbinger

    Technological crises, such as Chernobyl;

    Confrontational crises, when certain groups criticize corporations, which can sometimes lead to a boycott of their products;

    Crises of malicious behavior such as terrorist bombings in residential areas;

    Management crises, when groups within the organization do not work effectively enough;

    Crises involving other threats to the organization.

    In its development, the crisis passes several stages life cycle : maturation of prerequisites, discovery, development, maturity, decline, attenuation.

    To characterize the maturity stage of the crisis, some authors use the so-called "banana indicator": green (immature) - new problems; yellow - an existing and continuing certain period, a "mature" crisis; brown - an old, moldy, fading crisis.

    In general, the company must prepare in advance not only for the upcoming crisis (if its onset is obvious), but also in general for possible crisis situations.

    Preliminary preparation for a possible crisis:

    1) Identification of possible crises - find the weakest points in the company, which are more vulnerable to a crisis;
    2) Formation of an anti-crisis team of managers;
    3) Develop exemplary anti-crisis programs in advance - compile a set of possible questions and likely answers to them for all possible crisis situations;
    4) Determine the two main tasks that will need to be solved in the first hours of the crisis.

    The company's reputation and image for the coming years depend on the organization's ability to overcome the crisis. The crisis situation is also very indicative for the general public - very often people evaluate the company based on its actions during the crisis.

    Steps to overcome the crisis:

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