It doesn’t take much: one negative post, a bad Yelp review. Before long, the backlash spirals into a five-alarm fire threatening to take down your company. But the hardest part of a crisis isn’t the start itself—it’s how you react.
For Tory Burch Fellow Kelly Voelker, founder and CEO of KVA Communications, the right move follows a simple five-step strategy she calls STEPS. Here, as part of our webinar series, she shares that expert guide for keeping your company steady and your reputation intact—including how to detect and prevent crises before they happen.
S IS FOR SCENARIO PLANNING.
As you create a crisis communications plan, the first step is to identify potential issues so you can plan for them. Are on-the-job injuries a concern? What about data-compromising cyber-attacks? Or poor customer experiences going public?
Once you’ve written your list, run each scenario through Voelker’s risk assessment tool, which measures likelihood (rare to almost certain) against the damage to your business (insignificant to catastrophic). Anything that scores greater than 15 deserves your immediate attention.
Worried about overreacting? Not sure what counts as a real crisis? Voelker offered wise words here: “Don’t take up a snake to kill it. Not every piece of negative feedback warrants a response. It comes down to scale and scope—how widespread is it and how big could the impact be?”
Revisit the exercise annually—or twice a year, if your business is growing substantially—as expectations may change.
T IS FOR TEAM.
Build a team of experts before you need them. “A crisis is not the time to bring in new legal counsel or an HR consultant,” said Voelker. “You want them to already know the business.”
For founders working with a larger staff, assign roles:
- Who will be the spokesperson?
- Who provides input on messaging?
- Who handles media, investors, customers, or employees?
If you’re a solopreneur, make sure you feel comfortable in these roles or line up part-time support. “And make sure you have a sounding board,” Voelker added. “Emotions can take over, and you need somebody to check you on that.”
E IS FOR EARLY WARNING SYSTEM.
Spot trouble before it spreads. Media monitoring, review tracking, social listening, and customer surveys can help you detect issues early on. That way, you can act faster and course-correct to prevent an all-out crisis.
“You want to know when something is simmering before it’s a full-on boil,” Voelker explained. “This will also help you determine scale, if it’s a disgruntled person or two or a widespread issue.”
Below, a few of her picks:
- Google Alerts for basic news tracking.
- Chat GPT for trends and directional insights—but use with caution as it can be unreliable.
- X Pro for real-time monitoring on X.
- Brandwatch for comprehensive social listening and consumer intelligence.
- Sprout Social for multi-platform social media management and monitoring.
- Cision for media monitoring, journalist outreach, and PR analytics.
P IS FOR PROCESS.
A clear process is going to be essential when things are moving quickly. Develop yours using the following steps.
1. Gather Information
Make sure you have the facts. Create checklists for your leading scenarios (step one), detailing the information you’ll need to assess the situation. “Having this guide in front of you can stop you from panicking and freezing,” said Voelker, “and move you into action.”
Each scenario requires a customized checklist—for example, if you’re concerned about negative social media coverage, consider the following:
- What is the scope (e.g.number of posts, mentions, reach)?
- Who is driving the conversation. Is it customers, influencers, or competitors? What are people upset about? What is the sentiment?
- Have you lost orders, customers, partners, or followers? Are there any legal threats or regulatory risks?
- Are execs and employers aware? Is there guidance for customer service?
Review Voelker’s full sample checklist of ways to gather information about the impact of negative social media coverage for more.
2. Make Decisions
First 24 Hours:
- Assemble your team and assign roles.
- Gather additional facts with the Early Warning System and, using your checklist, evaluate the severity and potential impact.
- Update your pre-written holding statement—more on this below.
- Monitor facts to decide whether a response is needed.
Next 24-48 Hours:
- Reach out to the main stakeholders. Review the cascade of people who need to know first.
- Engage thoughtfully and, where possible, try to pull the conversation offline.
- Support internal teams and provide talking points for customer service, staff, and contractors.
- Revisit the Early Warning System to gauge progress and if the situation is escalating.
- Document everything—coverage, posts, and customer reactions. It’s your source of truth and especially helpful if comments get deleted.
3. Communicate
For effective communication, make sure you can answer these questions for each of your key scenarios:
- Which audiences will expect to hear from you—and in what order?
- Are distribution lists easily accessible?
- Under what circumstances would you make a public statement?
- Do you have a central location for usernames, passwords, website access, and login details? Do you know who has access to them? “You don’t want someone to have access who shouldn’t have access during a crisis,” Voelker pointed out.
- Do you have a process for collecting information, like a shared document or regular check-ins, and are you time-stamping updates?
S IS FOR STRATEGIC RESPONSE.
The final step is where you build trust and authentically show people who you are. “Don’t be afraid to care. Work to have that human connection,” said Voelker, who breaks the process down into three guiding principles.
- Stay true to your brand values.
- Keep your promises.
- Meet audience expectations. Ask yourself—what would I want if I were in their shoes?
With this in mind, draft template communications for each major scenario—social responses, customer emails, and staff/vendor messaging. The most crucial is the holding statement, a short initial message that buys you time for a more detailed response. It should include:
- Acknowledgment of the issue or event.
- Empathy for anyone impacted or potentially impacted.
- Your values, and how they will inform your actions.
- What you will do and what has already been done.
- Commitments you’ll make and what the audience can expect.
When making a public-facing statement, be wary of revealing too much. With individuals, however, overcommunication is safer than under-communication. “Crises escalate when those impacted aren’t kept in the loop,” Voelker said. “It’s OK to say ‘we don’t know.’ You don’t have to have all the answers before you respond.”
HOW TO HANDLE THE UNEXPECTED.
The Political, Social, or Cultural Crisis
“Does it impact your business and company values? If you’re committed to women’s rights, for example, then speak out,” said Voelker. “But don’t feel pressured to respond just because it’s bubbling up in the news.”
A Crisis Adjacent to Your Brand
If, say, an influencer you’ve worked with is under fire, you may need to decide quickly whether to continue the relationship. If it’s a past partnership, reiterate your values.
When Competitors Are In Crisis
“Take the high road and don’t capitalize or comment on somebody else’s crisis,” Voelker advised. “Continue with business as usual and stay focused on your goals.”