Many small businesses don’t have the budget to hire a PR team, so what does that mean if a crisis arises? Joining us on the latest episode of The Small Business Show is Michele Ehrhart, Crisis Communications Expert, Former VP of Communications for FedEx, Speaker, and Author of Crisis Compass. Ehrhart urges business owners to adopt proactive planning and community engagement to effectively mitigate crises.
According to Ehrhart, small businesses face daily PR challenges, amplified by social media, where any employee’s post can quickly impact the brand. Therefore, she recommends establishing a “goodwill bank” by actively contributing to the community and promoting positive testimonials before a crisis arises. Additionally, she notes that, with social media, setting boundaries like those of larger corporations can help alleviate misunderstandings and, inevitably, protect the brand.
In Ehrhart’s book, Crisis Compass: How to Communicate When it Matters Most, she points to her “Golden Hour” rule: when a crisis does happen, businesses do not, under any circumstances, want to stay silent, especially during that first hour after the news breaks. She also advises against visiting comment sections. She does, however, encourage businesses to respond to the public through social media, depending on the crisis. This tip should help if multiple sources want to hear from you about the same thing.
For owners who lack the expertise or time to manage social media, Ehrhart recommends hiring a professional to maintain a consistent and effective presence. She stresses that every small business should have a crisis plan in place before a problem arises, comparing preparation to athletes practicing before a game or dancers rehearsing before a performance.
“Get in front of it before it happens.”
Further, her book offers a step-by-step guide for small businesses to anticipate and respond to crises. Ehrhart emphasizes that building a network of PR contacts in advance is crucial, since finding help during a crisis can be expensive and inefficient.
“Plan the work and work the plan,” she said. “The day the crisis hits is not the first day you should have been thinking about a crisis hitting your company.”
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