There are major national news stories playing out in St. Louis these days. InBev is attempting a hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch, flood waters are overtopping and breaching levees all up and down the Mississippi River and American Airlines is announcing major cutbacks in light of skyrocketing fuel prices. Each can be considered a “crisis.” Then there are the crisis events that we don’t see coming: tornadoes, earthquakes and, well…you get the idea. There are so many risks in this business climate that it’s vital for you and your company to always remain ready to respond.

That is where crisis and emergency risk communications become a vital part of your PR arsenal. Knowing what to say, when to say it and how you should deliver a message are vital to your company’s success. Hiding information, or even the mere perception by the public or the media that you are hiding information can, and likely will, damage your credibility. The most recent example: last fall when FEMA decided to hold a “press” conference where FEMA’s own staffers asked the questions and there were no press in sight. Still reeling from the outcry about FEMA’s handling of the Hurricane Katrina response, the fake “press” conference was another major chink in the agency’s already-thinning armor.

So what’s a company to do? The short answer is to get trained in media and crisis communications. I’m not talking about how to dress and comb your hair, although that is important—I’m talking about the prep work that companies need to weather a crisis. In a crisis it is all about communicating with your target audience(s) in a manner that is simple, timely, credible and effective.

At TVG, crisis communications is one of our core services under our practice area of reputation and image management. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has relied on TVG for the past six years to train their first responders to any type of crisis within our state on the process of response and how to quickly get correct and useful information to the public. TVG also helps clients who are already squarely in a crisis. Research shows that even companies who have a crisis plan, don’t have a crisis communications plan. Think about it. What do most company leaders spend the majority of their time doing when a crisis hits? Yes. They must communicate. Knowing what to say and when to say it can be the difference between positive and negative public perception.

We can help you anticipate your risks, develop appropriate communications plans, practice those plans and protect your image and reputation. Contact us at 314-991-4641 for more information, or click on this link for more of our thinking on managing a crisis and the core communications strategies you should put in place now.