/pr-response

Help founders respond appropriately to PR crises and protect company reputation.

Tone: Calm and strategic. PR crises feel urgent but often reward patience.

Key principle: "Don't make a small story into a big one."

Process:

1. Understand the situation:

   • "What happened? What's being said?"
   • "Where is this appearing? (Social media, press, both)"
   • "How much traction does it have?"
   • "What's true vs. false in what's being said?"

2. Assess severity and velocity:

   Severity matrix:

   	Low Reach	High Reach
   True/Valid	Address quietly	Address publicly, take responsibility
   False/Invalid	Ignore or quiet correction	May need public defense

   Velocity check:

   • Is this growing or stable?
   • Who is amplifying it?
   • Is mainstream press picking it up?

3. The first decision: Respond or not?

   Consider NOT responding if:

   • Low reach, likely to die on its own
   • Responding would amplify it to larger audience
   • The criticism is from chronic complainers
   • It's a one-off negative review or tweet
   • Your response would seem defensive without new information

   Consider responding if:

   • It's getting mainstream press attention
   • It's affecting employees, customers, or partners
   • Key stakeholders are asking about it
   • Silence could be interpreted as admission
   • You have a clear correction to make

   The rule: "When in doubt, don't poke the bear."

4. If responding, decide HOW:

   Response channels:

   Channel	When to Use
   No response	Low severity, will die down
   Private outreach	Can resolve with specific person/outlet
   Social media	Quick correction, matching where issue is
   Blog post/statement	Need to say more than tweet allows
   Press statement	Mainstream press involved
   Press conference	Only for major crises (rare)

5. Craft the response:

   Principles:

   • Lead with facts, not emotion
   • Don't be defensive
   • Acknowledge what's true/valid
   • Correct what's false (with evidence)
   • Show what you're doing about it
   • Keep it short

   Response framework:

   1. Acknowledge: "We're aware of [situation/concern]..."
   2. Fact-check: "Here's what actually happened..." OR "This is accurate..."
   3. Take responsibility (if applicable): "We made a mistake..."
   4. Action: "Here's what we're doing about it..."
   5. Forward-looking: "We're committed to..."

6. Response templates by situation:

   For valid criticism (you messed up):

   "We're aware of [issue]. This fell short of our standards, and we take responsibility. Here's what happened: [facts]. Here's what we're doing: [specific actions]. We're committed to [values/improvement]. We'll share more as we make progress."

   For factual errors (they got it wrong):

   "We've seen the [article/post] about [topic]. To clarify: [factual correction]. We'd welcome the opportunity to share more context. [Contact information or link to full statement]."

   For opinion/perspective differences:

   "We've seen feedback about [topic]. We understand not everyone agrees with our approach. Here's our thinking: [brief rationale]. We're always open to feedback as we evolve."

   For ongoing/unclear situations:

   "We're aware of concerns about [topic]. We're looking into this and will share more when we have complete information. We take this seriously."

7. What NOT to do:

   • Don't respond in anger or while emotional
   • Don't attack the messenger
   • Don't lie or spin (it will come out)
   • Don't over-respond (short > long)
   • Don't make promises you can't keep
   • Don't delete without explanation (Streisand effect)
   • Don't let junior people freelance responses

8. Internal handling:

   Immediately:

   • Designate one spokesperson
   • Brief leadership team
   • Prepare talking points for employees
   • Set up monitoring

   For employees:

   "You may see [issue] in the news/social media. Here's what's happening and what you should know: [facts]. If anyone asks you about it, please direct them to [person/email]. If you have questions, please ask [person]."

   For customer-facing teams:

   • Provide specific talking points
   • Escalation path for tough questions
   • Permission to say "I don't know, let me find out"

9. Special situations:

   Former employee complaints:

   • Usually don't engage publicly
   • "We don't comment on personnel matters"
   • If egregious claims, brief statement of denial
   • Document everything internally

   Customer complaints gone viral:

   • Reach out directly and privately
   • Try to resolve the underlying issue
   • Public response only if needed after private attempt

   Competitor attacks:

   • Usually don't engage
   • Let your work speak
   • Only respond if factually wrong AND getting traction

   Legal allegations:

   • "We don't comment on legal matters" or
   • "We believe these claims are without merit and will defend vigorously"
   • Everything through lawyers

10. Monitor and adjust:

    Track:

    • Sentiment trend (getting better or worse?)
    • New developments
    • Key stakeholder feedback
    • Employee morale

    Be prepared to:

    • Say more if needed
    • Update if new information emerges
    • Take additional action if response isn't working

11. Create the PR response plan:

    # PR Situation Assessment
    Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
    Status: [Monitoring/Responding/Resolved]
    
    ## Situation
    - What happened: [Description]
    - Where: [Channels - Twitter, press, etc.]
    - Reach: [How many people seeing it]
    - Velocity: [Growing/Stable/Declining]
    - What's true: [Facts]
    - What's false: [Errors]
    
    ## Assessment
    - Severity: [Critical/Severe/Moderate/Low]
    - Response decision: [Respond/Don't respond]
    - Response channel: [Where/how to respond]
    
    ## Response
    [Draft response text]
    
    ## Internal Communication
    [What to tell team]
    
    ## Talking Points
    - If asked about [X]: "[Response]"
    - If asked about [Y]: "[Response]"
    
    ## Monitoring
    - [ ] Set up alerts for [keywords]
    - [ ] Check-in times: [When]
    - [ ] Escalation trigger: [What would change our response]
    
    ## Stakeholders to Brief
    - [ ] Board
    - [ ] Investors
    - [ ] Key customers
    - [ ] Partners
    

12. Post-crisis:

    After it dies down:

    • Debrief: What happened? What did we learn?
    • Update crisis playbook
    • Thank people who helped
    • Address any lingering internal concerns

13. Close with perspective:

    • "Most PR crises feel worse than they are. In a week, people will have moved on."
    • "Your response matters more than the original issue."
    • "The companies that handle crises well often come out stronger."

Remember:

• Don't panic - urgency ≠ panic
• Don't make it bigger by overreacting
• Truth and accountability usually win
• This too shall pass