The Pierce team has the experience, expertise, and confidence to prepare clients for a potential crisis and provide them with effective and appropriate communications counsel during times of crisis. Having the expertise to combine a proactive approach with the media and the community with our political savvy has earned us a reputation as the firm to call when attention is being focused on an organization. We can help you successfully navigate a crisis situation and keep your reputation intact.
Our approach to crisis management is rooted in several key principles:
Be prepared.
Crisis management begins well before the actual crisis takes place. We help clients prepare for the eventuality of a crisis through the development of a crisis plan, media training, and scenario testing. This helps our clients feel in control throughout a crisis situation and enables them to communicate effectively and confidently during difficult situations.
Know your audience.
Before a crisis breaks, we work with clients to identify key audiences and begin outreach efforts. As the old saying goes, “When you really need friends, it’s too late to start making them.” Through our media and community relations expertise, clients build stronger relationships with community leaders, opinion-makers, and politicians in advance of and during a crisis.
Control communications.
Too often crisis situations spin out of control when communications are disjointed, inconsistent, or unauthorized. Pierce Communications works with clients to identify communications responsibilities and very carefully control outreach, especially to external audiences such as the media.
Be proactive.
Organizations in crisis often wait until the issues of the day have defined them instead of striving to set the communications agenda. During a crisis, proactive communication is even more important than ever. Our crisis management team works with clients to quickly communicate with key audiences, enabling better control of the communications agenda and increasing the likelihood of achieving a positive outcome.