Crisis public relations brings crisis to enterprises or brands because of poor management, peer competition, even malicious destruction or special external events. A series of self-help actions taken by enterprises to cope with the crisis, including eliminating the influence and restoring the image, are called crisis public relations.

Crisis public relations is a part of crisis management system.

Characteristics of crisis public relations

Unexpected: The specific time, actual scale, specific situation and impact depth of the crisis were unexpected.

Focus: After entering the information age, the information dissemination of the crisis develops much faster than the crisis itself. The media is like borrowing from the east wind to the crisis.

Destructive: Because crises often have the characteristics of "surprise, surprise", regardless of the nature and scale of the crisis, it will inevitably cause different degrees of damage to enterprises, causing confusion and panic, and because of the limited decision-making time and information, it will often lead to decision-making mistakes and incalculable losses.

Urgency: For enterprises, once the crisis breaks out, its destructive power will be released and spread rapidly. If it can't be controlled in time, the crisis will worsen sharply, and the enterprise will suffer more losses.

[Editor] The process and content of crisis public relations

From the definition of crisis, we can see that the final outbreak of crisis is often the cumulative result of a series of factors. Therefore, the investigation of crisis management should be placed under the background of studying problem management. Generally speaking, the evolution of the problem is predictable. Often it starts with a trend or event, and the subsequent changes are very clear.

Its development life cycle can be roughly divided into:

● Origin stage-potential problems

● Intervention and expansion stage-problems increase.

● Formation stage-current problems and crisis problems

● Solve the problem of phase dormancy

According to the development cycle of this problem, crisis public relations mainly includes the following processes and contents.

● Problem management. Systematically monitor and evaluate issues that may affect the organization.

● Crisis planning and prevention. Study and deal with possible crisis scenarios and establish crisis management organizations.

● Crisis response. Facing the outbreak of crisis, we should implement a comprehensive management plan and grasp the initiative of crisis management.

● The aftermath. Judge the damage degree of the crisis, evaluate the effect of the crisis plan, and make adjustments and revisions.

In addition, it should be emphasized that the effect of crisis public relations directly depends on whether it is valued and supported by the top management of the enterprise; Whether there are institutionalized and systematic problem management projects and crisis public relations projects; And whether the crisis communication system is efficient and smooth. Here, academic research and practical exploration in the field of competitive intelligence at home and abroad can provide important theoretical and tool support for problem management and crisis public relations.

"Sanming Doctrine" of Crisis Public Relations

With the rapid development of information dissemination and the intensification of market competition, brands will fall into crisis if they are not careful. When a crisis occurs, the relevant personnel of the enterprise should not lose their foothold in the crisis, but should calmly use the public relations principle of "Sanming Doctrine" to resolve the crisis step by step or further turn the crisis into an opportunity.

First, the attitude is "clear", the company's attitude towards the crisis should be clear, and it should be shown at the first time that it cannot escape the fact of the crisis by any means. This is the first essence of corporate crisis public relations. For example, China Yum! In fact, Brands said in the statement on the issue of "Sudan Red 1": "Although we have asked the relevant suppliers of Yum many times! Brand, to ensure that its products do not contain "Sudan Red No.1" ingredients, we have obtained their written guarantee. However, unfortunately, the ingredient' Sudan Red No.1' was still found in KFC's New Orleans roasted wing and New Orleans roasted chicken leg burger seasoning yesterday. " What kind of attitude is this? Ambiguous? Sophistication? This is obviously to divert the attention of the media and consumers and put all the responsibilities on the suppliers. Can the media and consumers be satisfied with this? Obviously not. After all, it is useless to do so. The management of KFC should first "take care of each other", clearly show their attitude and admit KFC's incompetence in quality supervision, instead of looking for scapegoats to excuse themselves.

Second, the information is "clear", and the information sent by the company should not be vague and changeable, which makes people doubt or guess. For example, in a chain restaurant, it is necessary to indicate which branch it is, so as to reduce the overall damage to the brand, otherwise it would be a big mistake to encounter "nine companies". For example, Sina Finance concluded that McDonald's had "three changes" in the face of "French fries crisis": the trans fatty acid content changed. On February 8, 2006, McDonald's publicly admitted that the content of unhealthy trans fatty acids in each McDonald's French fries increased from 6 grams in the past to 8 grams; Second, the variety of oil change, McDonald's China Company issued an emergency statement on the evening of February 8, saying that the French fries in McDonald's Chinese mainland restaurant are currently using "olive oil". On the morning of February 9, the "olive oil" in the previous statement was changed to "palm oil"; Third, change the composition of French fries. In February 2006, McDonald's quietly added the words "containing wheat, milk and gluten" to its official website. A week later, McDonald's publicly announced that its French fries contained allergic ingredients. Previously, McDonald's has always claimed that there are no such potential allergens in the French fries sold, and consumers who are allergic to dairy products can safely eat them. The message sent by McDonald's has lost the "stability" and "levity" that an international brand should have. Inconsistent information can only lead to more public doubts and speculations and deepen the crisis.