10 Steps to Developing a Crisis Communications Plan

A company’s response to a crisis will affect its reputation and can cause irreparable harm.  The following ten steps, taken from a presentation I did for the Legal Marketing Association, Orlando City Group, should help you begin preparing a crisis communications plan.  Just remember that anything that even remotely resembles a cover-up will backfire and is certain to destroy a solid reputation.  Transparency is the word.  The first eight steps are meant to be completed long before a crisis erupts. 

1.      Establish Company’s Crisis Management Approach

Your company’s approach should be derived from its vision and values.  Decide up front what you will protect – the company’s reputation? the brand name? current management?

Professional service marketers have long agreed that their mode of marketing is much removed from the work done by most marketing executives.  Let’s face it – people go about choosing a lawyer or accountant much differently than they decide which brand of laundry detergent to throw into the machine. 

In fact, professional associations have sprung up over the years to address the unique needs of the professional service marketer.  The Legal Marketing Association allows marketers to exchange ideas and learn from each other.  And, the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), an association which brings together architectural, engineering, planning, interior design, construction, and specialty consulting firms, has even developed certification for marketing professionals who are “recognized as individuals who have met a rigorous standard of experience and expertise in marketing professional services”.

So – how do we go back to the fundamentals and apply the four P’s of Marketing to professional service marketing? 

Let’s start with Product.  Our core product is our organizations’ talent – hampered in many instances by the personalities they bring with them.  This is where the real challenge lies.  How do you market a truly talented attorney who is resists your efforts?  Relationship management, the cornerstone of professional service business development and a key function of the marketing process, should be an activity in which the marketing department is fully engaged.  Begin by developing a strategic plan that clarifies business objectives and aligns them with customer expectations.  Then, as you implement the plan, constantly measure outcomes and share the stories of your victories. 

Adding to the challenge, specialties are a form of product – an architect might specialize in residential or institutional design.  Marketers must package specialties to appeal to clients.   And then there are the service modules that we as marketers develop in order to increase revenue for our organizations.   This might be payroll services offered by an accounting firm which carries a fixed cost. 

Once we identify our products and the benefits they offer to our clients, we’re off to a good start.  

Price is something that generates a great deal of angst for clients.  How do you assign a value to a professional service?   Prices are all over the map – some professionals who are extremely talented have not established prices that reflect the value they bring to clients, while others are exorbitant in their pricing structure. 

Many in the legal profession are currently evaluating alternate billing in response to corporate counsel that find themselves justifying budgets for outside legal help.  Rather than the traditional billable hour, firms are looking at creative measures such as blended fees.  A couple of bloggers provide us with the most current discourse regarding the subject – Matthew Homann’s “the [non]billable hour” and Tom Kane’s Legal Marketing Blog provide insight into how even the largest firms are approaching the issue.   

When the typical marketer considers placement, they refer to how the product is disbursed to the customer.  The ultimate challenge of the professional service marketer is positioning the professional so that she is in front of potential/current clients in a manner that portrays her expertise, allows her to develop relationships and still leaves time for her to meet client expectations through the delivery of exceptional work.  And, let’s not neglect to take into account her need to balance her lifestyle and have quality family time.    

There are many tools at our disposal – networking events, speaking engagements, articles, books, and expert positioning with the media leading to interviews.  Marketers have to take into account the professional’s work load, their tolerance for extended hours, and their social talent.  Then, strategic plans for each professional need to be developed with a timeline for implementation established.

Promoting a professional service is not as easy as advertising “Buy One – Get One Free”.  Defined as a strategy that stimulates a customer to take action toward a buying decision, Promotion in the professional service sector takes an entirely different approach.  As marketers, we must partner with our professionals to identify client needs and create solutions that help them to achieve their business objectives. 

Client interviews open a new world of possibilities to marketers – getting inside our clients’ heads allows us to mold our services to meet expectations.  We’ll be better positioned to offer essential products, at competitive price lines, that will increase revenues for our firms.  I’m especially impressed with the work of The Wicker Park Group, which has demonstrated the power of client interviews and client growth programs.   

There is another challenge that professional service marketers face which doesn’t fall under the four P’s of Marketing.  Many times we are charged with guiding the professional development of our stable of professionals.   Granted, they first need to learn their business – serving as an associate, learning from more seasoned professionals.  Then, we need to judge when these young professionals are ready to step upon the treadmill of marketing their services.  Some of our students are eager – maybe a little too eager.  Many show great promise, and many are terrified. 

Entering into the realm of professional service marketing is a great challenge.  And, while at times it pays to refer to the basics of marketing, we must recognize that professional service marketers hone specific skills that lead to their companies’ success.  I have nothing but great admiration for those marketers that have chosen a career path with professional service organizations.  Not only is it more difficult to differentiate their organizations, in many instances they are hindered by archaic rulings that limit their efforts.    

A few short months ago, I took a terrible leap of faith and launched my own consulting business.  Included is the word terrible because EnSpire Communication Consultants was born on September 1, 2008 - just days before the financial and business world crumbled around us. 

I've tweeted about the principles that have guided me for many years.  Unfortunately I'm not sure who to attribute these principles to, but they continue to guide me.  Today, I'd like to share with you the seven Ps.   

First - be Positive!  Avoid those things that are negative in our lives.   Focus on the positive attributes and you'll gain momentum.  Only by being positive will you move forward in your goals. 

Passion ...Passion ...Passion - Cultivate the passions that inspire you.  Fold your passion into your business.  Not only should you be passionate about your business, you need to branch out.  If you are passionate about helping disadvantaged children - make it a business objective.  Your business will flourish. 

Persistence is the key to success.  I believe in patient persistence.  It’s more than keeping in touch - it s going the extra step, knowing your client's business, being part of their team.

Oh ... Patience - a true virtue.  It took having children, specifically a special needs child, to teach me the true essence of patience.  The fall-out has proven to be an unexpected blessing upon my business life.  When you've had to make life and death decisions, it puts a whole different perspective upon things.

Being Prayerful is a true challenge.  Being a Catholic since childhood has incited a struggle between convention and conviction.  I manage by being true to my core beliefs. 

POWER  - Being Powerful is a result of having all of the previous P's in place.  Power over your life is so fulfilling that this is the ultimate goal.   This is where you gain spiritual and emotional fulfillment – until you get here, you can’t imagine it.  

Be Prosperous - Don’t think about it.  Being prosperous is a by-product – there is no way you are going to put it at the top of the list.   Being prosperous will only follow your efforts in following the previous set of Ps.

I wish you well –

Susan

As President-Elect Obama prepares to take office, the power of the internet has been leveraged to create a national call to action urging Americans to volunteer within their communities.  The USAService.org site began by encouraging community events and volunteerism to coincide with Martin Luther King's birthday, which is a national day of community service.  However, the goal is to "reignite the American tradition of service and volunteerism and to that end the current call to action is viewed as a starting point”. 

Several non-profit organizations have already tapped into this initiative by posting their events and calls for volunteers on the site - I counted 45 opportunities in my community alone. 

Moving forward, it will be interesting to track non-profit organizations’ experience with USA Service.  Are we on the brink of an explosion in the number of volunteer hours logged by Americans?  Will people just volunteer their time or will donations increase?  Are most volunteers looking for a one-time experience or will they become engaged long-term.  Can the Obama grassroots initiative encourage people to contact their legislators?   How quickly can non-profits implement the USA Service tools and will they have the resources to manage the response? 

The hope Obama encourages could well be the catalyst that social-service organizations need - just as state funding is being cut across the country, especially here in Florida.  Incorporating USA Service into communications plans is worth considering, even though there is currently no data to allow us to anticipate outcomes. 

Despite today’s atmosphere of economic gloom, it is exciting to embrace the possibilities that Obama’s message of hope inspires. 

For several years now, I have followed the ongoing discussion regarding alternative billing in the legal profession.  This has been especially of interest since entering the world of consulting several years ago, as the firm I joined also billed clients by the hour. 

When I launched EnSpire Communication Consultants, I knew that I didn't want to bill clients by the hour, but would prefer to be measured and compensated for the quality of the services we provide and the benefits enjoyed by the client.  I've endured much discussion regarding the inherent risks and have put in place some project management tools that track costs, including time.  

Deciding to embrace alternative billing will benefit clients as their marketing communication budgets become easier to manage.  At the same time, we at EnSpire will be forced to become more efficient in managing client expectations and our time in order to maintain adequate profit margins, all while providing value to the client.   

A recent post by Jim Hassett on his Legal Business Development blog reinforced some of the many reasons that alternative billing appeals to me and should benefit my clients ...

“Simply put, the overreliance on billable hours by the legal profession:
• results in a decline of the collegiality of law firm culture and an increase in associate departures
• discourages taking on pro bono work
• does not encourage project or case planning
• provides no predictability of cost for client
• may not reflect value to the client
• penalizes the efficient and productive lawyer
• discourages communication between lawyer and client
• encourages skipping steps
• fails to discourage excessive layering and duplication of effort
• fails to promote a risk/benefit analysis
• does not reward the lawyer for productive use of technology
• puts client’s interests in conflict with lawyer’s interests
• client runs the risk of paying for:
— the lawyer’s incompetency or inefficiency
— associate training
— associate turnover
— padding of timesheets
• results in itemized bills that tend to report mechanical functions, not value of progress
• results in lawyers competing based on hourly rates”

Given the current state of our economy and the pressure that businesses are under to justify expenditures, it is time to explore alternative billing options within all professional service sectors.   

While at dinner with a good friend the other night, conversation led to exploring the differences between perfection and excellence.  While aspiring to perfection, I've long been convinced that excellence should be the true goal.  The problem is that attaining perfection takes an incredible amount of time - time that is then lost. And, especially in communications, perfection is in the eyes of the beholder - so how will you ever really know if you've attained perfection? 

Now, that said - there are some professions where perfection should be the goal.  Obviously, I want a surgeon to operate perfectly.  And, we know the price that can be paid if the shuttle crew at NASA doesn't strive for perfection.  However, in the world of corporate communications, opportunities are often lost when a team becomes too focused on perfection rather than excellence.   

This morning, while skimming the many blogs I follow, I ran across yet another valuable list posted by Tom Peters  - The Top 27: Twenty-seven Practical Ideas That Will Transform Every Organization.  Take a look at number 27 - EXCELLENCE ALWAYS! (What else?)

Time really flies when you're having fun - I'm sure you've heard that before.  It's been nearly a month since I posted and it's hard to believe we're already entering the holiday season.  I've had a busy month - networking, following up business leads, completing a couple of small projects and reorganizing my office.  On top of which, Bill and I enjoyed several days in New York.  If you get the chance - go see Equus on Broadway.  Very provocative - I highly recommend it.

Another highlight of the past month was attending National Philanthropy Day, sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).  A gentleman for whom I have a great deal of respect, Jim Hinson of Dr. Phillips Charities, was honored for the important role he has played in central Florida's philanthropic community over the past 50 years. 

As my business continues to evolve, one thing that gains in importance is providing value.  Consequently, a good bit of my time over the past month was spent in researching and defining the details of a plan that will result in a series of articles.  My objective is to provide valuable information that business professionals can really use.  Plans are to post the articles to the Web site and incorporate them into a newsletter.  At the core, all the articles will be aimed at helping professionals to align their communications activities with business development objectives.  

Too many times, I hear business leaders talk about reworking a Web site or developing a new piece of marketing collateral without being able to articulate the strategic underpinnings of the tactics.  I've also seen marketing directors deny the reality that marketing has evolved into a conversation and that every employee and customer contributes to that conversation in one way or another.  It's my hope that through this series of educational articles, executives will have access to information that will provide guidance in developing the components of a strategic communications plan. 

So, with that said - enjoy the rest of your week and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Most people who know me are aware that my early career was devoted to advertising and business development.  And, while maintaining a good relationship with my clients was crucial to the success I enjoyed, about 10 years ago I recognized that organizations were going to be faced with finding new ways to connect with customers through enhanced relationship management.  This led to my belief that the public relations discipline is destined to play a more important role in the marketing mix.  And thereby began my education in and practice of PR - ultimately leading to accreditation nearly four years ago. 

This morning, I ran across a blog posting by David Phillips in the United Kingdom where he says, "Now, more than at any time since the Great Depression, we need to reflect on the nature of relationship management and who has the corporate responsibly for its governance."  His post examines the importance of relationship management in wealth generation, along with a hypothesis about the cost of the loss of relationships.  I highly recommend it. 

Many companies have budgeted for PR as a part of their marketing mix, but I would daresay that most are see the primary PR function as generating press releases and garnering mainstream media coverage.  In fact, I still see PR departments measuring success by counting media clippings and calculating advertising equivalencies. 

In a recent conversation with an acquaintance from an advertising agency, my friend referenced a client of his that had allocated a very small percentage of their marketing dollars toward PR.  Somehow I get the sense that PR dollars continue to be added as an afterthought with no clear strategy as to how relationship management should be implemented to affect the bottom line.

Successful professional service organizations have long recognized the value that relationships bring to business development.  And, today, maintaining relationships has become much easier with e-mail and social media.  But it pays to use these tools with care, lest they impersonalize the relationship.  A part of every professional’s personal marketing plan should include inviting past, current and potential clients and referral sources to meet for lunch (coffee, dinner, golf, drinks, a social event, etc.). 

As Phillips’ blog post references, really getting to know your client builds trust and might forestall serious consequences.

Early - I mean REALLY EARLY - this morning, I went to a marketing and networking program presented by the Seminole Chamber of Commerce.  The presenter, Chris Hurn, CEO of Mercantile Commercial Capital, has to be one of the most enlightened CEOs I've ever encountered.  By enlightened, I mean he not only gets marketing and relationship building, but he spends more than 80 percent of his time entrenched in the practice of marketing.  If you get a chance to attend one of his presentations, I highly recommend it.

Right now I'm watching REAL Sports With Bryant Gumbel - a report on steroids in horse racing.  Let's just say that my family has loved and nurtured horses for many years and I'm more than glad to see that states are finally banning the use of drugs in racing. But I digress ...

So how does all this segue into relationship management?  One of this morning's presentation points illustrated how larger companies are maximizing relationships by using new direct marketing tools based on psychological insights.  It’s like they are looking to commoditize the one-on-one relationship building that professional service practitioners have been perfecting for many years. 

What does this tell us?  Our world is becoming more and more reliant upon building a relationship with the people we want to do business with.  It means that professionals need to consider using new social media toools to keep our relationships alive and well.  We need to blog, tweet and update our profiles on FaceBook and LinkedIn.  We need to enhance our traditional outreach - make our Web sites, newsletters and white papers more robust. 

I also wonder at the end result of mass marketers' attempt to build relationships with consumers.  In my experience, it takes much more than just the use of someone's name to create a relationship.  It will be interesting to see how consumers react as more and more companies implement tactics designed to create faux relationships (my term for a large company's use of demographic data to insert personal information into marketing materials).  

That's not to say that there aren't large companies that really do well in developing and maintaining relationships with their customers - ZAPPOS does a great job.  On the other hand, I'm still waiting for AT&T to reply to an issue with my BlackBerry desktop software that was submitted to them more than 36 hours ago via their online support (I was never able to locate a telephone number to inquire into a resolution).   In the end, it's all about customer service.

Funny - I'm feeling a little guilty for not posting a blog entry in over a week.  Guess it's the goal setting/accomplishment thing that was drummed into me in early childhood. 

Without going into a lot of detail, and essentially exposing my family unnecessarily, let me just say that when a child is facing serious health issues little else seems to matter. 

Anyway - I did get to spend some time with Peter Shankman, of Help a Reporter Out (HARO) earlier today.  He was the featured speaker at the FPRA Orlando professional development program and I had the pleasure of ensuring that he was safely delivered to the airport afterward.  Peter was great and I felt somewhat vindicated when he said that press releases will soon be extinct. 

One of the important lessons I took away is that you should never try to deliver an elevator speech to a group of people when you are emotionally distracted - boy did I screw that one up (and I would venture to say that it was very unlike me).  Well, I survived the day and can only say thank you to the many people who continue to be there for me when I need them.   You know who you are - love you guys!

One of the key components that has traditionally been incorporated into managing client relationships is corporate responsibility - more readily known as community service or corporate philanthropy.  A troubling remark I heard from one of central Florida's business leaders this past week related to being more careful with charitable dollars.  When I say troubling, it's because I know from experience that most businesses equate care in charitable giving with cutting back.  

Donations have been declining for many social agencies over the past year.  But now things are reaching a state of critical proportions at the same time that more people are finding themselves in need of help.  Just this morning, my friend, Rob Mellen, President and CEO of Dr. Phillips Charities, was quoted in the Orlando Sentinel,  saying that the bottom line is "clearly that there will be less money for us to distribute until the market has turned around."

When we see that foundations, which exist only to distribute charitable dollars, are being forced to cut back, we know that we're in real trouble.  Families are going to suffer - children are going hungry and in many cases are in line to endure higher rates of abuse and neglect. 

A lot of us have worked to get the message to Florida's legislators, who cut funding to services last session.  But we must go beyond the efforts of Florida's People - Florida's Promise. 

Rather than cutting back, businesses must find better ways of enriching the community through the donation of time and resources.  Mid-size and small companies can learn from some of our country's largest corporations and become more strategic in their community outreach.  With a little creativity, even a small company can redirect its resources to develop a signature, community-based program that affects real change by bringing together employees and customers for the common good. 

We can take inspiration from the efforts of one of America's largest corporations.  According to a recent post on Cone's What Do You Stand For blog - "As economic conditions further unravel, the importance of in-kind programs that help heal local communities and engage employees in meaningful work will only continue to grow." 

Adversity has traditionally brought Americans together.  Today, America's businesses have an opportunity to band together to shore up critical social services and while doing so, cement strategic relationships. 

Earlier today I attended the Legal Marketing Association, Orlando City Group's annual Managing Partner Forum.  The panel presentation included representatives from two law firms, an accounting firm and an architectural firm.  All of the firms indicated that they are not cutting back on marketing resources and concurred that building and maintaining relationships continues to be a crucial element of their marketing activity - all good news for marketers. 

When someone from the floor inquired about using tools such as Linked-In, I was not surprised to hear that the firms are only now dipping a toe into the waters of social media.  However, what was surprising was when two of the younger panelists - mid-30's - indicated that they don't really understand social media with one describing herself as a "dinosaur". 

Hmmm ... I'm not really into sharing my age, but let's just say I'm a bit older.  And, the thing is - I see social media as having huge potential in relationship marketing.  Maybe it's the name we've attached to this new media - "social" - that detracts from its perceived business value. 

I just returned from a short trip to spend some time with my Dad.  As he nears his 83rd birthday, Dad spends more and more time recalling past years.  The details in his recollections have become more crisp and compelling.  His life's lessons more relevant.  Especially today – as we awaken to even more dire economic predictions.   

A child of the Great Depression, Dad shouldered many responsibilities as the oldest of eight children.  Like many young boys, he began earning money by cutting grass and performing other odd chores for neighbors.  He held his first regular job at 14, delivering ice to businesses and residences in Tampa Florida.  It was hard work for a young man, but the gentleman he worked for was good to him. 

In those days, Tampa was a small town and Dad's hard work was soon rewarded as he was offered a better paying job driving a truck and making deliveries for local businesses.  He recalled hiring day laborers off the side of the street, the bustle of the local port, and the narrow alley-ways that had to be negotiated during deliveries. 

Shortly before Dad’s 16th birthday, the Japanese launched its attack on Pearl Harbor.  Not long afterward, he enrolled in the St. Petersburg Maritime Service Training Station and eventually shipped out as a Merchant Marine. 

Today’s uncertainties have many people looking back to the Great Depression in fear that we may be on the cusp of the deepest, longest recession since that time.    

As I listened to my Dad, it became apparent that honesty, hard work, courage and leadership were the underlying strengths that sustained him throughout his life.   Today I can’t help but think that these very same attributes are what will help us endure the difficult times ahead. 

Past experience has convinced me that an organization's success is heavily reliant upon how relationships are managed and how carefully the reputation of the organization is protected and enhanced.  Future blog posts will explore this topic in depth, but today we’ll start with a little lesson from one of my favorite authors … Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Doing well is the result of doing good. That's what capitalism is all about.”

Think about Emerson’s words – every day.  Then practice doing good.  Share a kind word with a subordinate, take action to improve someone’s life through community involvement, provide value to a client without considering remuneration and most importantly, make time for the people you love and care for.  You’ll feel better and in time, you’ll do well.      

Today is the first full day that I am devoting entirely to this new venture ... EnSpire Communication Consultants.  Many people have asked me why I am launching a new business - especially in light of the fact that I loved the work I was doing at my job with Curley & Pynn.  And an unstable economy seems to make my timing suspect.  True, I already miss the great people I worked with and the clients that I came to know and love.  In fact, right now, I feel a little adrift with no client work to accomplish.  But that's not to say that I don't have a lot to do. 

This is an exciting time and I feel blessed to have the support of my family and friends.  So, why am I doing this?  Because it's time to harness all the diverse experience I have and creatively channel it into something that helps companies grow and prosper.  Because I have some deeply held convictions about client service.  Because I want to build something that provides opportunity to other people that are searching to do fulfilling work that makes a difference.  And, because I have always felt the call of entrepreneurship.

So ... let the journey begin.