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MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS... MARKETING & RELATIONS...

Code C:

For the Crisis and Issues Management Communication Plan

BY MARIA PIERSON each and determine how ignated spokespersons will know what to what people say about your brand in
and by whom those mes- do, what not do and how to convey key social media.
In any industry, the need sages will be conveyed. messages in meaningful sound bites. If The scorecard: When the crisis or
for a crisis and issues man- Key messages: Develop your organization does not clearly com- issue has passed, the team should meet
agement strategic communi- key talking points, state- municate your side of the story, there’s a and review how communications were
cations plan to be in place ments, email communica- good chance the story will not be told handled. Suggestions should be made to
can mean the difference tions and social posts in accurately. Reporters will respect legal correct the emergency communications
between a Code Blue and a advance for various scenar- restrictions or a statement that conveys system, as necessary, and to praise every-
Code Clear. ios that can be revised as that “we’re still trying to find that out one who has done a fine job.
There is no one “fix all” needed. ourselves.” Review your communications plan
plan when it comes to a cri- Communicating with the The press conference: Does this cri- annually: Employees change roles, situa-
sis or an issue that you want media: In all scenarios there sis/issue warrant a press conference? If tions escalate, policies are revised.
contained. The response should be a written state- so, designate a convenient, comfortable Review the plan annually to make sure
depends on several factors BY MARIA PIERSON ment available to the media. location. Set the agenda and the speakers all information is still correct, including
including: impact on the Whether you have a press and, most importantly, make sure that contact names, phone numbers and
institution/brand; severity of the issue; and conference or one-on-one interviews someone is assigned to controlling the other pertinent details. It will save you
impact on your stakeholders. depends on the issue, legal implications, flow of the press conference. If the situa- critical time in the event of a crisis.
Here’s what you should consider: your position and message and more. tion is ongoing and has not been Overall, it is important to keep the cri-
The issues management team: Who are Designate and train spokespersons: It resolved, let the media know when they sis in perspective. Internally, acknowl-
they and how can they be reached at a is not advisable to train people to work can expect updates. News of the resolu- edge where and how a crisis will affect
moment’s notice? They are a core team with the media in the heat of an emer- tion of the situation, with everything the company over the long term, but also
typically consisting of top management, gency. Spokespersons should be trained in back to normal, must be distributed make clear what areas are unaffected.
public relations, operations, security and advance, making them confident and immediately. Point out the company’s strengths.
legal. They all should be involved in the ready to handle the situation. Designated Monitor social media chatter: It can Review other communications efforts to
advance planning process when mock sce- spokespersons should be knowledgeable, be an overwhelming task to monitor all make sure they are appropriate. Suspend
narios are discussed. They should clearly believable, articulate, media savvy and social media for negative chatter about anything that may make the company
understand their responsibilities and have available. Designated spokespeople are your brand. There are a few ways to tack- look callous.
copies of the most recently updated crisis the only ones who should speak on le this. One is to hire a company that can Finally, begin positioning your compa-
plan. behalf of your organization. Depending monitor social media channels for you. ny or organization for when the crisis is
What are the potential issues: It’s near- on the situation, you may want to enlist The other is to identify key websites and over. Concentrate communications on
ly impossible to detail every potential cri- a third-party authority to speak as well. assign someone in your organization to steps the company is taking to rectify the
sis or issue. However, there are anticipated This could come from an accredited monitor those sites. Remember that you crisis. Demonstrate good corporate citi-
scenarios that you can prepare communi- association, the government or a legal or will likely never win in what can be the zenship through community involvement.
cations for such as natural disasters, per- other designated authority. harsh world of social media reaction.
sonnel issues, man-made crisis situations, Prepare. Prepare. Prepare: Be pre- Carefully plan how you will respond on Maria Pierson is CEO of Pierson Grant, a
data breaches and more. pared with the messages you want to social, if at all, and understand that best public relations and marketing firm in Fort
Stakeholders: List your stakeholders in convey, which may not necessarily be course of action maybe to take the con- Lauderdale. She can be reached
order of importance, depending on the sit- direct answers to the questions that are versation, particularly negative ones, at mpierson@piersongrant.com
uation. Develop the key message(s) for asked. With proper media training, des- offline. You cannot nor will you control or (954) 776-1999 ext. 222.

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Subscribe online at ness of disease states. clearly answer the questions that con-
www.southfloridahospitalnews.com Gen X: Recent healthcare marketing sumers ask and must contain the correct
has focused on Baby Boomers as health- markup to be discoverable by voice
or call 561-368-6950 care decision makers or on Millennials as assistants.
the consumers who rarely visit a doctor. At VITAS Healthcare, 2019 was an
In between those generations is Gen X, exciting year that continued the celebra-
roughly people between ages 40-60, an tion of our 40th anniversary, saw expan-
important generation whose members sion to the Treasure Coast area in
are emerging as primary healthcare deci- Florida, and included investments in the
sion makers for their families. 2020 will optimization of our mobile app,
be the year of the Gen Xer, and compa- VITAS.com website and a partnership
nies will shift more of their campaigns with AT&T to pilot virtual reality pain
and messaging to this group, under- and distraction therapy for hospice
standing that they are increasingly mak- patients.
ing decisions for themselves, their fami- In 2020, our mission remains the
lies and their aging parents. same, and we measure our marketing
Voice Search: The popularity of per- strategies and tactics on our ability to
sonal assistants (i.e., Siri, Alexa, Google improve the patient and provider experi-
Assistant) has turned marketers’ atten- ence by embracing change.
tion to the power of voice search. Today,
voice search accounts for 20% of all Drew Landmeier is senior vice president
searches and is estimated to grow to 50% and chief marketing officer for VITAS®
by the end of 2020. Voice searches Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of
include typed requests or natural/con- end-of-life care, established in 1978 and
versational language to answer direct headquartered in Miami, Florida. For more
questions with simple answers. To be information, visit VITAS.com or download
effective in voice search, web pages must the VITAS mobile app at VITASapp.com.

14 December 2019 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News