Kill it Before it Kills You: A New Way of Crisis Management

We live in a world where a single comment can diminish years of good reputation that a business has acquired. Information - good or bad -  spreads quickly, therefore organizations need to be aware of what their customers are saying about their brand. To prevent or contain a PR crisis, there are ways in which businesses can track what consumers and industry experts are saying about them. 

DRT’s Media Monitoring services tracks day-to-day content for clients all across the region, ultimately helping them to keep abreast of potential crisis situations.

Consistent monitoring allows clients to detect the possibility of a problem before it develops into one, and to monitor the progress of the crisis so their team can make decisions on if, when and how to respond to the public.

DRT Communications has access to real-time information from various media houses across the region which includes but is most certainly not limited to The Nassau Guardian and Tribune 242, in Bahamas; VOB 92.9 FM and Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in Barbados; Trinidad’s WEfm Radio and Television 6; Liberty Radio ZDK 97.1FM and The Daily Observer located in Antigua & Barbuda;  ZIZ Television and Radio in St. Kitts & Nevis and the RJR Communications Group in Jamaica. Brands can also access data from media houses outside of the country they are based in.

DRT Communications prides itself on timely, reliable and accurate reporting. A Public relation crisis can develop and spread before you know it. It is important to respond to potential crisis situations before they reach a point where the brand’s image is harmed and as such, continuous monitoring of the media has the advantage of providing real time updates before a situation escalates. 

Khadijah Lara, Business Development Officer stated, “Once a client in St. Kitts & Nevis contacted us to say their brand was the top story on prime time news business and requested the clip of the broadcast. A minute later a follow up email appeared stating that we should disregard as our automated system had already pulled the story and shared it to the client’s inbox.” she concluded. 

Media Monitoring is not only useful when practicing proactive crisis management but it also plays an important role with monitoring an unforeseen situation. Lara recalls an unpredicted crisis with one of the region’s leading distributing and manufacturing companies whose warehouse went up in flames.  

“As soon as  the news broke of the fire,  our media monitoring team turned on real-time alerts. As soon as something was aired or published pertaining to the fire, the client received data that enabled them to respond to the concerns of their workers and to address the significant impact the loss of goods would have on the beverage market. The real time alerts tracked the public’s reaction as well as informed the client of the questions that were being asked.This allowed them to formulate releases that could reassure the public.” Lara said.

A crisis can make or break a company and as such, it is pertinent to invest in technology that will assist in the tracking and analyzing of what consumers are saying about your brand. It is better to prevent a crisis than to watch it happen. Stay on top of everything with state of the art media monitoring technology that will not only help with crisis management, but can help with marketing and advertising strategies. Brand image matters to every business and it is crucial to protect it.