Preparations Can Avert PR Nightmare During Crisis.

No matter what your line of business, you are likely to someday run into a crisis that becomes public knowledge.

May be your firm has designed the tunnel that's under review for possible safety violations. An employee could do something that focuses negative light on your business, or a natural disaster might put you in crisis mode.

In order to weather the problem, you'll need a comprehensive plan that addresses the issues of crisis communication, reputation management and damage control. The key word here is "plan." Don't wait until the problem hits to think about how and to whom you'll communicate.

The first step in creating your crisis communication plan is to identify your target audiences. These groups will vary from one organization to another but might include employees, vendors, suppliers, investors, customers and key individuals in the community at large.

Don't wait until the crisis hits to find out that your contact lists for these key audiences are five or 10 years old. Now is the time to make sure they're all in a clean, up-to-date database that is compatible with your current word processing software as well as any other pertinent software. Be sure you have accurate street and e-mail addresses and phone and fax numbers.

Also make sure you have clearly identified the group or groups where each entry belongs (employee, vendor, customer, etc.).

Next, pull together a crisis response team made up of employees who represent the major functions of your company. Make sure someone from your public relations/marketing area is involved. This team should meet regularly to anticipate scenarios and outline your responses.

It is also critical to assign specific tasks to each member of the team so he or she knows exactly how to respond when the crisis comes up. Set up a phone tree that delineates who should be called and when, and outline the action steps for your various scenarios.

Consider, too, the kind of support you might need from the outside, such as legal assistance and public relations consultation. Check out these sources now to make sure they'll be able and willing to help in the event of a crisis. If not, they might refer you to a colleague who specializes in crisis management.

Now is also the time to decide who in the top management of your organization will be your spokesperson in the event of a crisis. Reporters will want to talk with someone in charge of your company, not your lawyer or your public relations consultant. Having a member of top management as your spokesperson lends credibility.

If your markets encompass more than one language, you will need to identify spokespeople who are competent speakers of each language.

It is absolutely critical for every spokesperson to receive media training in advance. Nothing is more embarrassing and potentially disastrous in a time of crisis than a spokesperson who comes off as lacking confidence and knowledge of the situation. Make sure the trainer throws in some "curve ball" questions to prepare your spokespeople for the time when all eyes are focused on your company.

The news media will be one of the most important audiences during your crisis. It will determine, in a large part, how most of your other audiences view you during and after the crisis. Thus you cannot under estimate or over-prepare your crisis media relations plan.

If you have not already identified one person in your organization who will coordinate responses to all media calls, it is important to do so now. Also assign someone to assist in tasks such as gathering updated crisis information and taking the names, numbers and deadline information from media callers when the phones are particularly busy.

You should not wait until a crisis hits to try to establish a relationship with your local media. Start now, when you can begin building a relationship of trust and respect. The time you invest in media relations now will be well rewarded in the heat of your crisis. This is the time, too, to make sure your media contact list is updated.

When reporters call during the crisis, be as responsive and cooperative as possible. Be sure to return all media calls, even if you don't have anything new to report. Offer any information or story ideas that might make a reporter's job easier.

Finally, put mechanisms in place so you can immediately communicate with employees -- an extremely important audience. As knowledgeable "insiders," they can create a positive front for your organization in both their work and private lives. If they don't have accurate and timely information, they can just as readily relay a sense of chaos, which can have a negative impact on your business.

One idea to keep employees current is to create a hotline or electronic bulletin board that's updated on a regular basis.

Make it clear to your employees that, no matter what the situation, your strategy is to deal with it straightforwardly and decisively. Show them a spirit of strength and good faith, and they will usually respond with support and confidence.

No one wants to go through a crisis. However, "just say no" doesn't work when it comes to crisis management. The key to survival is to prepare -- and prepare now. Tomorrow may be the day you face a crisis that threatens your company's survival.

Sharon Berman is principal of Berbay Corp., a marketing consultancy. She can be reached at [e-mail].

Entrepreneur's Notebook is a regular column contributed by EC2, The Annenberg Incubator Project, a center for multimedia and electronic communications at the University of Southern California. Contact James Klein at [phone] with feedback and topic suggestions.