Crisis Communications Plan

Brand Public Relations

Crisis Communications Plan

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A Crisis Communications Plan is key to securing your business’s reputation

A damaged reputation is detrimental to any business, and while there is no guarantee you will avoid a crisis, there are steps you can take to be prepared with a comprehensive crisis communications plan.

Businesses of all sizes should incorporate a crisis plan into their overarching PR strategy to ensure systems are in place should the unthinkable happen.

Crisis planning can be a long and arduous task, which is why many businesses put it on the back burner, but it is the one thing that is going to save your reputation if a crisis occurs.

There are so many variables when it comes to planning for crises, and while you can’t predict every scenario that could occur, you can identify potential issues with a higher risk factor.

Crisis Communications Plan
Crisis Communications Plan

Crisis Communications Plan: Are you prepared?

When a crisis occurs, you have very little time to get accurate information from stakeholders and create a response. In today’s fast-paced digital era, media seek information almost instantly, and not being timely could cost you dearly with the potential for you to come across as being unprepared or uncaring, in turn damaging your reputation.

Make sure you are prepared with…

  • A communications matrix outlining who is responsible for what actions
  • An approval process
  • Communications templates focusing on potential crisis scenarios and appropriate responses
  • Important contact information
  • An agreed spokesperson with media training
  • A room with resources such as laptops, chargers, stationary and a print-out of the plan

What crises should I create a Crisis Communications Plan for?

Some examples of crises that your business needs to be prepared for include…

  • Accidental disasters such as injury or death of customers or staff members
  • IT breaches such as data theft and cybercrime
  • Natural disasters impacting your business, such as floods or fires
  • An outbreak of disease or infection in your workplace which could impact staff or customers
  • Food poisoning issues involving hospitality venues


  • Fallout between business owners which damages a business’s reputation and reliability
  • Product or service sabotage involving the spreading of false rumours and defamation
  • Serious crimes involving staff members, including murder or assault/harassment

While some of these scenarios seem impossible, it is important to remember anything can happen when you least expect it.

Crisis Management

Crisis Management

Managing media in a crisis

Can you be proactive?

Once your crisis communications plan is developed, this will put you in a position to be ready to respond proactively to any issues that arise.

Ensure you respond to media requests in a timely manner, even if it is to say that you are looking into the matter and working on a response as a priority. This is not the time to give them “no comment”. A holding statement, at the least, is crucial.

A delayed response or no response at all can be detrimental to your business’s reputation, giving room for people to speculate and, in turn, losing credibility within the community, which could have long-lasting impacts on your business.

Are you being accurate and truthful?

While it’s important to be proactive and timely, you also need to ensure all details you are sharing are accurate and truthful.



Don’t share information with the media until you have followed your plan process and sought all relevant approvals.

Fact-check the information you are providing, and if in doubt, don’t be scared to double and triple-check with relevant stakeholders.

Make sure that if it is a police matter involving individuals, the police have informed any family members before releasing personal details. Police matters should always be led by the police.

Never lie about the situation you are in or downplay it. This is another way to create long-term reputation damage to your business.

Ready for a Crisis?

Examples of Crisis Management

The good…

Sustainable Marketing Services assisted a medical centre that had its patient list stolen by disgruntled doctors who had left the practice and wanted to poach their patients. These doctors were spreading misinformation about the practice, which impacted the medical centre’s reputation within the local community.

To reverse any reputational damage, a positive news campaign was implemented, combating the misinformation being spread about the medical centre.

The offending doctors were not referenced in any way. Instead, the campaign focused on the existing doctors at the medical centre and their credentials. The communications included advertising and editorials in the local newspaper, which proved to be successful.

Instead of focusing on the negative situation, the medical centre focused on its strengths in a proactive way while being transparent and truthful to patients.

And the bad…

The incident that saw four people die at Dreamworld in 2016 was labelled the biggest PR disaster of the year for several reasons, which appeared to come down to being unprepared and not being truthful.

There did not appear to be an adequate communications plan in place which would have been crucial given theme parks are dealing with the safety of people every day.

There also didn’t appear to be any preparation for the process, with one spokesperson stating they had spoken to the families of the victims which was proven incorrect by a journalist.

Management attempted to open the park shortly after the incident while police were still investigating, hence taking away any focus on people and safety and not being prepared for the police investigation.

Once a crisis communications agency was recruited, these errors were corrected, and the creation of heartfelt and honest communication, along with investigations into improvements that needed to be made, finally saw the owner company start to make a profit again.

Why work with Sustainable Marketing Services

Sustainable Marketing Services has worked with several clients to create crisis communications and change management plans, including small businesses, medical centres, sports aviation, automotive, clubs, churches and much more.

Our team of experts can help you create a plan for your organisation. We can also help you manage the media in the event you are faced with a crisis.


Sustainable Marketing Services is an award-winning Brisbane digital marketing agency with a long history of delivering sustainable success for our clients.

Book a complimentary meeting on 07 3446 5837 or via email us here to discuss creating a plan to protect your organisation's future.