Written by: Maria Cantisano, Summer Intern ’19
Earlier this month, Target stores, experienced a two-hour register outage that shut down all credit card transactions across the country. Target immediately released a statement explaining the details about the incident and apologizing for the outage and the disappointing customer experience. While the financial impact on Target is still unknown, their handling of the situation is a good reminder to companies of the importance to be prepared and respond quickly. Target’s rapid response was the result of learning from past mistakes and adherence to a carefully prepared crisis plan.
Benjamin Franklin said: “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” CommCore has a few tips before the next crisis hits.
Audit & Write Crisis Plans: An effective crisis communications plan will identify the role of communications in crisis readiness and management, and can help mitigate costs, liability, and reputation damage.
Develop effective crisis communications response plans when a crisis hits that communicate appropriately and promptly to internal and external audiences.
Apply the 3 R’s Rule after the crisis is over:
- REPAIR: Ensure that the immediate problems have been fixed.
- REASSESS: Review procedures, plans, and checklists used during the crisis. Make necessary changes based on a gap analysis of the organization’s communications activities.
- REPUTATION: CommCore can develop a proactive, positive communications strategy that enables your organization to pivot to the future once the crisis is over.
Take our Crisis Assessment to help assess your crisis preparedness. For more information on how CommCore can help you prepare for the unexpected, please contact us at: 202-659-4177