Now, let’s talk about why you should pick Crisis Playbook for your crisis planning needs.

There are other options out there – some are even free. We have read them and found them to be completely focused on administrative duties and not at all focused on what matters most – aligning your internal team to handle the operational and communication needs.

You see, when a crisis occurs, its important to have a guide of what to do (and what not to do) when something goes wrong. And its important that the guide includes these key components:

Its been tested. These plans have been tested. We have leveraged planning tools that have worked very well for Fortune 500 companies – and taken out parts that don’t work well. So, you don’t have to wonder about the what if’s. We have accounted for twists and turns.

It covers the communications response. No other plan offers media messaging – from holding statements that you can use when the media start calling, to pre-crafted press releases to social media. We have studied and tried out these communications – this helps prevent your company from saying the wrong thing in the rush to say something – and helps you to respond quickly. You can leverage these tools with confidence because they apply the right tone and have a professional, buttoned-up approach. And, these provide a solid place to start, but you can make changes to reflect your brand voice. Calling a crisis PR pro in the height of an incident will run upwards of $50,000. Having this part planned can save you a bundle.

It covers operational response. This is what more of the freebie plans out there cover. Its important to have a checklist for your local teams, but its also important that you have specific plans to lead beyond just the immediate response. And that is what the other plans don’t have. How do you support a long-term response?  How do you recover your business and provide care for your employees over the long haul? Plans to help you do so are included.

Its an integrated response. Too often the operational response is disjointed from the communications response. When the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, companies end up misaligned. An example of this is when the operational team confirms information that should be communicated internally or externally – but the communications person cannot or will not share the information because their “plan” is different. Keep your teams aligned by using a plan that was crafted to address the whole of what your organization needs. You’re really getting two plans for the price of one!

Lastly, our plans are the most cost effective because we have already pulled together the best practices for each scenario. So, whether you use the pre-populated plan that we provide for you or choose to tailor the plan to your company, you start out putting your best foot forward.