This past February marked the 25th anniversary of the Tylenol murders.  In 1982, someone in Chicago tampered with Tylenol bottles, adding cyanide capsules and killing seven people in the area. During this crisis, Johnson & Johnson demonstrated remarkable control of the situation. The company could have distanced itself from the incident but it didn’t. The executives were honest with the public throughout the crisis. They made customer safety the first priority by removing Tylenol from shelves nationwide and reengineering the product bottle in a move that revolutionized how over the counter medications are packaged.  They even offered a $100,000 reward in an effort to catch the killer who remains as yet unidentified. This incident could have irreparably damaged J&J and the Tylenol brand, but instead the company emerged stronger as it proved through action that customer safety and human life was paramount to the organization.

Also this past February, a McDonald’s employee was denied his claim to workers comp after more than $300,000 in medical expenses.  The preceding August, at an Arkansas McDonald’s, a male customer was hitting a woman.  Nigel Haskett, a McDonald’s employee, proceeded to break up the altercation and forced the man outside.  The man returned and shot the employee multiple times. McDonalds’ insurance company said, "We've denied this claim in its entirety. It's our opinion that Mr. Haskett's injuries did not arise out of or within the course of his employment."  At this point, neither the insurance company nor McDonald’s are willing to provide any compensation to Nigel Haskett as a consequence of his brave actions while working on the job. 

Instead of treating Haskett like the hero the community has made him out to be, McDonald’s is avoiding the situation altogether, hiding behind a legal cloak.  If McDonald’s would have simply paid for Nigel’s medical bills, despite the insurance company’s denial, the company would have emerged as a heroic organization, one that genuinely cares for its employees.  Instead, the opposite view has spread throughout the internet, tainted the company’s image, and damaged McDonalds’ perception with potential employees and customers who now refuse to support an organization that mistreats or ignores the needs of its employees. What a missed opportunity to stand for something besides burgers and fries.

Every crisis, though never hoped for, is an opportunity to showcase what the company and its people are made of. The danger lies in not being prepared and not seeing things clearly. Ideally, a company will think about the worst things that could happen to the organization and then create a plan for dealing with it.  This “Crisis Communications Plan” is then available if it is ever needed, when clear thinking and time to react may be a shrinking commodity. Often in a crisis, bringing in an outside team with more objectivity and trained expertise may be the best approach. If a crisis hits close to home for employees, they can become the biggest hindrance to the recovery. And relying solely on business partners to handle the situation, or passing the blame over to them, is foolhardy and can easily backfire.  

There are a lot of factors in play when it comes to crisis management, and under the circumstances, it may be difficult to avoid all negative publicity. However, if you remember a few key points, you can weather almost any storm:

·         DON’T avoid the situation; address it head on and be the first to tell your story.

·         DON’T assume that the existing internal team will handle the situation well. Ultimately, the CEO will be the only person that people will believe has enough clout to address the problem.

·         DO plan ahead for the worst case scenario; you’ll know what they are based on the industry you are in. The worst situations almost always deal with loss of life or property or threats on health or well being.

·         DO bring an external team in if necessary so the internal team can focus on the rest of the business at hand.

·         DON’T try to use the opportunity to garner accolades or promote your company. Stay focused on addressing the problem completely and thoroughly. Nothing else matters.

·         DO take positive, correcting action – be innovative, bold and determined. Ignoring a bad situation will not make it go away, it will only make people angry.

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One of my biggest frustrations as a PR guy is the lack of relevant information for those of us that don't have massive accounts like Dell or Microsoft. I think it's great that Sony launched a Twitter game for 'Terminator Salvation' and that (Name of Huge Agency) landed (Name of Huge Company) for (Name of Upcoming Campaign). Every one of those stories has something to gleam off the top that we can all use. For instance, I didn't even know you coul play games thru Twitter.com. Cool, I guess.

But does that really help me in my day to day life as PR guy at a firm specializing in small business?

I'm working with startups and small businesses who struggle every day just to keep their doors open.

I need information that helps me on THIS level of PR. My campaigns are much different - I'm just trying to get my client's name out there.

My client doesn't have the money to pull off massive events. They're not paying some Web development company tons of money to develop a Twitter game. Most of them won't even spend $400 to put a release on the wire.

And agencies signing big accounts? Great. Doesn't help me much.

Theoretical thought pieces on the industry? Great stuff, but not helpful in serving my clients.

So for those of us looking to build a foundation through PR tactics, I'd like to do a few blogs on specific things small businesses and startup operations can do to get their name in front of their preferred audiences without pouring a boatload of money into it.

(I'll post a blog later on which sites have good advice that can make you a better PR person at the exact moment you read them. This is a good example.)

I realize I'm far from a perfect PR guy, but I've worked for big companies and one-man operations, so I feel like I have something to contribute. I also strongly encourage you to share your thoughts and criticisms in the comments, or send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Today, I offer tip #1:

Know your Audience, Your Customers

This is fairly simple, and most businesses should have this figured out by the time they get to a stage to roll out PR.

By know your audience, I intend that you should have an idea who  is the most likely consumer of your product or service, and a few things about those people: Where do they get their information? Are they TV watchers? Do they read the local newspaper? Are they online in social networks?

The best way to do this is to talk to your current customers. The Six Sigma types call it VOC (voice of the customer, natch), but you don't even have to get all scientific the way they do.

The goal is to find out their stream of influence and insert yourself into that stream. It might be Twitter, the local news, friend's recommendations (aka word of mouth), newspapers, magazines...and on and on.

What moves them to decisions? What moved them to your store or product? Chances are what moved them will move others as well.

Knowing where to direct your efforts is half the battle. If your audience doesn't watch much TV, don't spend much time pitching broadcast outlets. If you're in a scientific field, your readers probably are into journals and peer-approved areas. Focus your efforts, because time is short and few outlets have the wide grasp of the Wall St. Journal.

Immerse yourself in their world. Learn the language and secret handshakes.

You should be talking to your customers regularly anyway, it's good business. By becoming a part of their stream of influence, you broadcast the message you want

Knowing where to direct your efforts is the first and most important item you can learn. As we progress, I'll talk about what to do next, finding opportunities, reaching new audiences and actual tactics you can use.

Again, jump in the comments and throw out your thoughts and criticisms if you feel compelled to.

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