A reporter from a major business publication calls to say she's
doing a story about the contraction in your industry, especially as experienced
by "second-tier" companies like yours. She's been told your financial
results are way down. Further, she's heard from your competitors that, owing to
a scandal, you've laid off a sizable group of people. She'd like to talk to
your CEO.
This was the example given in a column in the Wall Street Journal
that discussed the world of public relations. Almost any company could receive
a similar call from the press, a financial analyst, a stockholder or a
customer. While you cannot predict when your public relations effort will be
forced into reactive mode, you should be prepared to provide the optimum
response.
Every company's public relations strategy should include a plan for
managing situations like the one described. Through a combination of policies
and procedures, a defined and tested process can insure a controlled response
to public inquiries. Identify specific members of management as solely
authorized to speak on their company's behalf. These employees should be well
informed, accessible and trained to deal with probing inquiries. An occasional
"fire drill" is also recommended.