In Case of a PR Crisis ... Here's What To Do

One of the most important things any financial advisory, fintech or financial services team should have prepared in case of a major crisis is a list of holding statements that are ready to go for various scenarios. If you find yourself in a crisis situation, you can bet that industry and sometimes national journalists will be reaching out to you and your firm for a statement. Rather than having to scramble and come up with something that is rushed and not thought through, it is best to have thoughtful statements at your fingertips that can be easily modified and tweaked slightly for the situation.

Here are a few examples:

• Due to legal constraints and/or an NDA, we are not able to provide additional / any comments at this time.
• We’re still gathering information related to this issue and we’ll get back to you as soon as we have more formal comments to provide.
• I wish I could discuss the matter with you, but – due to confidentiality and/or legal constraints – that is something we simply can’t do right now. What I can tell you is… [direct them to something you'd rather highlight or have them focus on, say you'll reach out if anything changes, etc.].

PROTIP:
Having holding statements prepared for situations where you aren't able to respond or provide a comment, situations where you need to buy time before providing a comment, or other potential scenarios is a huge benefit if you ever find yourself in a crisis situation. Not only will having them prepared ahead of time ensure that they are thorough, accurate, and thoughtful, but it will reduce the amount of stress and issues you're dealing with as you are trying to handle the crisis and put out the fire.

​Download Message Matters: Tips to Ensure Your Organization is Ready for Media Opportunities - and Crisis Control.

Read 'Most CEOs Say Their Organizations Are Not Prepared To Deal With A Major Crisis' in Forbes, featuring Jonny Swift.