As oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico, environmentalists and government officials are struggling to determine the extent of the damage to the ocean, its marine life, and to the health of beaches and shores that run from Florida to Texas.

But just as important – and difficult to gauge – is how the oil spill will affect BP as a corporation and how it will impact important industries such as tourism, seafood and aquaculture that depend on healthy waters.

From restaurants and surf shops to condo rentals and hotels, everyone is keeping a keen eye as the oil story – much like the spill – continues to grow. The challenge for businesses that depend on the beaches and beach communities, and for BP as it faces a host of lawsuits, is to move quickly and strategically to manage their image and reassure their customers.

The Moore Consulting Group team has been working closely with the fishermen and other industry members to represent their interests and ensure national and local media outlets have all of the facts surrounding the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States. 

A crisis, by definition, catches us off guard. Emotions run high. Reputations—to say nothing of profit margins—can be at stake. The greatest aid any organization can provide to itself is a detailed communications plan that outlines steps for responding to a crisis.

By being prepared, honest and proactive, you can not only effectively manage the crisis but maintain and even enhance your business’s image among the media and the general public.

And like most things that truly work, it is important to conduct follow up after the crisis is over: What was effective? What wasn’t? Preparing for a disaster might help you wade through it, but avoiding disasters in the future comes by learning from the experience.

Whether large or small, crisis management for businesses boils down to dealing with a pressing problem or issue immediately by identifying the level of response that is needed. In instances like these, education and awareness-building are often the best cure.

A communications firm that offers a strong reputation in crisis communications can provide businesses with critical counsel, an objective viewpoint and assistance with the implementation of a response plan.

For the businesses along the Gulf Coast impacted by this catastrophe, here are tips for effective crisis management:

•  Start work on a potential crisis before it becomes public. Plan out key messages, identify a spokesperson, and implement steps to resolve the situation. Refer to your pre-approved crisis plan.
• Speak in plain English. Make sure people understand your message; avoid industry-specific jargon that can confuse the general population.
• Convey your sympathy. While addressing key issues, be sure to let the audience know you understand the feelings of the parties involved.
• Keep everyone informed. The media, the general public, stakeholders, neighbors., etc. Update every target audience regularly with what you know, what you don’t know, and what you’re doing.
• When asked a high-emotion question, respond with Compassion, Conviction and Optimism.
• When asked a “what if” question, repeat the question, state the actual situation, and state what you know factually.
• The triple positive: When breaking adverse news or stating a negative, balance the bad news with at least three more positive, constructive or solution-oriented messages.

I am not sure how it was when you grew up, but my father believed that duct tape was a solution to most problems.  Of course, he was right most of the time.  However, these days, I see many folks wanting do what I call “duct tape public relations.”  That is when they say to me, “Karen, just do a little of your ‘PR stuff’”—as if that will just wrap up the problem and it will go away! 

Public relations efforts need to be strategic, integrated and cohesive.  PR is not just fluff and stuff.  Duct tape may have worked when Dad fixed the leaky faucet, but crisis communication problems need senior PR counsel.  You should look for guidance from those professionals who have years of experience and expertise to resolve your issue, not just create a short term fix.     

If you want duct tape, try Home Depot. For communications solutions that will really stick, go with an expert.

June 1 began the 2009 hurricane season.  Each year at this time, I look to my colleagues at Moore Consulting Group to see if we—and our clients–are ready for a potential disaster.  As one of the top crisis communication firms in the country, I have seen firsthand what a natural disaster or human error can do to a company—from disrupting the lives of its employees to completely destroying the business—if they are not prepared to respond to an emergency.

You need an up-to-date plan for how to handle your business during a crisis.  Besides evacuation, HR, and fiscal concerns, your plan must include a communication section.  It can be very simple.  You should be able to answer who, what, when, where, why and how questions for internal and external audiences. Internal communication is vital—no employee wants to hear good or bad news from the media before they hear it from their boss! 

What and where is your plan?  Is it gathering dust on the shelf, or ready and available for implementation?  Sometimes communication efforts during a crisis have contributed to a business barely surviving; others have emerged from a crisis with an improved image and new opportunities. We all know which category we want to be in, but the only way to have the chips fall in your favor is to prepare.  

Too many times, clients contact us after a crisis has already consumed them.  Believe me, addressing a potential crisis before it snowballs is much easier and cost effective.  No matter what type of crisis you or your business may face, your first step should be to pull out your plan and implement it.  If you don’t have a plan, write one and then share it with everyone in your organization. 

And, since hurricane season is here, make sure you take advantage of the free resources that can assist you in developing your weather disaster plan:  

• FloridaDiaster.org provides helpful information to best prepare you, your family, and businesses in the event of a disaster.
• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention provides important information about hurricane readiness and recovery.
• The National Hurricane Center provides up-to-date maps and projections of hurricanes as well as advisories and alerts.
• The National Weather Service provides county-specific weather warning and alerts for Florida.

If your business is like most, the employee discussion around the water cooler today is probably about the H1N1 or “swine flu” epidemic. So are you ready to deal with the issue if it should appear in your community or business? 

I believe every company should have an internal crisis communication plan. A recent Ragan survey found that 38 percent of 314 communicators polled didn’t use a crisis communications plan to speak with employees and the public about swine flu. For many, they just did not know what to say.  

So, if you are not sure what to say about H1N1 to your employees, it’s not too late to communicate.  Here are some suggestions from the CDC that can be quickly and easily disseminated to your staff:

1. Stay informed. The CDC website will be updated regularly as information becomes available.
2. Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.  Take everyday actions to stay healthy.
3. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
4. Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
6. Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
7. Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
8. Call 1-800-CDC-INFO for more information.

Please be sensitive to the situation. Your employees need to know that you care about them and their families.  Let them know that their health is important to you and the business, not just in a crisis, but year round.     

Finally, if you don’t already have a crisis communications plan, develop one. If you have one, make sure that it is updated and everyone in your leadership team has a copy and that you have communicated it to your staff.

Presidential politics in Florida is always making news – sometimes for months after Presidential elections and most recently before we even get to Primary Election Day with delegates being cast aside. Living in Tallahassee we are used to politics ruling the day, hey we are now having movies about the Presidential elections shot here…not even Arnold can claim that.

Within the last five days I have had the opportunity to have lunch meetings with senior campaign team members for Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney. I have to say it was not surprising to hear the party line and perspective spoken from both sides. What I did find most interesting to hear was the manner in which these representatives from both parties shared their opinions about the elimination of their opponents from various factors; which would ultimately lead to their candidate receiving the party nomination. Candidly I was not swayed by hearing the party line or opponent elimination opinions from either camp.

As for this Florida voter I have my personal presidential candidate of choice, but my undecided vote is on Amendment 1 – the Florida Property Tax Amendment. Lots of money has been spent by those for and against Amendment 1 and I sense many Florida voters also remain undecided. Party lines don’t seem matter when comes to property tax. Will the very slight lowering of property tax drastically affect the provision of civic services, I really don’t know. One thing I do know for sure, I will vote…who knows in Florida it might get me a role in a movie.

With all due respect to Cirque Du Soleil, the magnificent stage show that take fantasy dreams and turns them into reality, I have now become accustomed to the Cirque Du Jour. This is the daily circus of what might be staged events of strangeness “Don’t Tase me Bro” or strangeness just being played out in real life, like the R-rated soundtrack of OJ retrieving his sports memorabilia, and all of which are almost immediately posted on YouTube.

f Britney’s life isn’t bizarre enough, literally out of nowhere ESPN Sports announcer Mike Patrick asks viewers watching the Alabama – Georgia football game in tense overtime on national TV, “What is Britney doing with her life.” If you really want to know about Britney just watch the Cirque Du Jour productions of the “Leave Britney Alone” guy or the multiple counterparts such the “Leave OJ Alone” guy. I noticed a video link on CNN (Cirque News Network) that the Leave Britney Alone guy now thinks he is star material – well maybe a falling star.
When every bizarre incident is now instantaneously immortalized on YouTube, and then is promptly satirized it leads to me to exclaim “Don’t Tube me Bro.” I am beginning to realize that a day without OJ (and Britney) is like a day without…the Cirque Du Jour.

In the PR businesses, we need to realize that the old adage of “any press is good press” may not be true anymore. What’s painfully obvious with Britney, OJ, and the internet characters they spawn, is that all of them lack ANY sense of self-awareness, assuming that everyone’s laughing with them when we’re all actually laughing at them. How is your audience connecting with your message? Are you just excited to have people talking ABOUT you, or are you actually aware enough to engage your audience in the conversation about your brand and help shape their perceptions?

Greetings! I hope you’ve had a chance to read my recent column on crisis communications in the Tallahassee Democrat. Here are some of my tips for effective crisis communications management:

• Start work on a potential crisis before it becomes public. Plan out key messages, identify a spokesperson, and implement steps to resolve the situation. Refer to your pre-approved crisis plan.
• Speak in plain English. Make sure people understand your message; avoid industry-specific jargon that can confuse the general population.
• Convey your sympathy. While addressing key issues, be sure to let the audience know you understand the feelings of the parties involved.
• Keep everyone informed. The media, the general public, stakeholders, neighbors., etc. Update every target audience regularly with what you know, what you don’t know, and what you’re doing.

What to say…

• When asked a high-emotion question, respond with Compassion, Conviction and Optimism.
• When asked a “what if” question, repeat the question, state the actual situation, and state what you know factually.
• The triple positive: When breaking adverse news or stating a negative, balance the bad news with at least three more positive, constructive or solution-oriented messages.

Download the full article here. (PDF)