Crisis communications · Marketing
When something goes wrong in public, your team should already know who speaks and what is said first.
A video of a damaged product is on a dealer group by lunchtime. By evening a customer has tagged your page, a reporter has rung reception, and three people are drafting three different replies. Nobody has said who is allowed to answer.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Crisis communications is the preparation for a public problem before it arrives: a named speaker, a holding statement, an escalation list and a watch on social posts and reviews. GullySales drafts the plan and the statements for each scenario you choose, and you and your legal adviser approve anything about a legal, safety or regulatory matter.
The hard part is not the wording. It is deciding in advance who speaks, who approves, who must be told and what stays unsaid until the facts are confirmed.
This page is about readiness for a sudden public problem. Reviews and search results over time belong to online reputation management, and everyday press work belongs to public relations and corporate communications.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- Manufacturers and food brands that could face a batch fault, a product complaint or a recall notice
- Hospitals, clinics and schools where an accident or a staff matter draws public attention
- Software and fintech firms preparing for a data incident or an outage
- Restaurants, hotels and retailers where one viral post can reach the whole town
- Owners who have just had a scare and want a plan before the next one
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- You are in the middle of a crisis and need a lawyer first. Your legal adviser decides what is said about any legal, safety or regulatory matter.
- You want a legal notice, a regulator filing or a debt demand written or sent. Those are regulated acts for your own adviser or agent.
- You want a bad post or review removed. Platforms decide that, and removal cannot be promised.
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
Common situations this work addresses.
“Nobody knew who should answer”
The first reply came from whoever saw the post, and it contradicted the second. A named speaker and one approved account of the facts remove that.
“We found out from a customer”
The problem was public for hours before the owner heard. Monitoring of social posts, tagged mentions and review sites needs named watchers and a list of whom they call.
“We said too much too early”
A statement named a cause that later proved wrong. A holding statement separates what is confirmed from what is still being checked.
“Staff posted their own version”
A nurse, driver or sales rep replied from a personal account. Staff need a short instruction on what to do when they see a problem, and whom to forward it to.
What we do
The work we can include.
Each deliverable and the purpose it serves. Your written scope confirms what is included, who is responsible, and what it costs.
Risk and scenario sheet
A written list of the public problems your business could face, such as a product fault, accident, data incident, negative viral post or staff matter. Each has an owner and a first action.
Spokesperson and approver chart
Who speaks for each scenario, who approves, and who covers when they are away. Phone numbers are held by your team, not published.
Holding statement templates
One short draft per scenario with blanks for confirmed facts. Each separates what is known, what is being checked and when the next update will come.
Escalation list
The people to inform and in what order: owner, legal adviser, insurer, key dealers or parents, the regulator where your adviser says one applies.
Monitoring set-up
The accounts, names, hashtags and review pages to watch, with alerts to named people. Private WhatsApp groups are outside what can be watched.
Incident log and review sheet
A form to record what happened, who decided what and when. It is reviewed after the event and the plan is corrected.
How the result is measured
- Scenarios with an approved statement and a named speaker
- Escalation contacts confirmed as current
- Monitored accounts and sites with an alert owner
- Gaps found in rehearsal and whether each is closed
- Time from first public mention to internal notice, where logged
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Before you decide
Agree the work. Know how to judge it.
Crisis communications: use these checks to prepare, choose the scope, and review what changes.
Bring the right evidence
Collect the sales presentation, website, quotations, and other material buyers actually see. Mark where the description of the business changes or where a claim has no supporting evidence.
Make the scope clear
Agree whether the work concerns the offer, the words, the visual identity, or all of them. List the formats that need updating and who owns the final approval.
Check the work in use
Test the proposed direction on a real sales page or proposal. A buyer should be able to tell who the offer is for, what is different, and what evidence supports it.
Know when to change course
A new identity will not fix an unresolved service problem. Put the delivery issue right before making a stronger public promise about it.
These are discussion points, not a fixed package. GullySales confirms the deliverables, responsibilities, fee, and term in writing after reading your brief and speaking with you.
How it works
How the crisis communications work runs
The work itself, in order. How an engagement starts, from your brief to a written scope, is set out on our method page.
- 1
Scope and scenarios
You send the requirements brief and we talk through what has gone wrong before. Scope, fee and term are set in writing, and you choose the scenarios and name the speaker and approvers.
- 2
Drafting
We write the statements and escalation list from the records each scenario depends on, such as batch records, incident forms or access logs. Anything touching a legal, safety or regulatory matter goes to your legal adviser before it is final.
- 3
Monitoring set-up
We set up the watch on agreed accounts and sites, and hand the alert list to your named people.
- 4
Rehearsal
We walk your team through one chosen scenario on paper. The gaps found go back into the plan.
- 5
Live support and review
If a problem arrives within scope, we adapt the drafts to the confirmed facts for your approval. Afterwards we review the log with you and update the plan.
Before you hire anyone
Do this first yourself.
Most of the readiness work is decisions your own team can make in one meeting.
- List the five public problems that would hurt most, such as a product fault, an accident, a data incident, a viral post or a staff matter.
- Name one spokesperson and one approver for each, plus a cover for when they are away.
- Write down who must be told first: owner, legal adviser, insurer, and the key dealers, parents or patients' representatives.
- Tell staff in one message not to reply, delete or post their own version, and whom to forward a problem to.
- Set a search or alert on your business name and product names, and check your tagged mentions each day.
Judge any provider
What to ask any provider of this service.
Useful whoever you choose, including us.
- Who approves a statement about a legal, safety or regulatory matter, and where does your work stop?
- Will you show me a holding statement that separates confirmed facts from facts still being checked?
- Which accounts and sites do you monitor, and who receives the alert?
- Do you rehearse a scenario with my team, and what do you change in the plan afterwards?
- Who holds the logins, and who publishes during an incident?
Where this fits
Three pieces of sales work, in this order.
This work sits inside sales process design, at stage 0, foundation. The audit comes before it, and sales management keeps it running.
Step 1
Sales audit
Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.
Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.
Step 2 · you are here
Sales process design
One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.
Start here if every salesperson sells differently.
Step 3
Sales management
A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.
Start here if the team has targets and no routine.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
Can you handle a data incident or a product recall for us?
Does this cover hospitals and schools?
How is this different from online reputation management?
Can you promise the story will go away?
What does it cost and how long does it take?
How long is the contract?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
By industry
Crisis communications, written for your industry.
Related services
Often bought with this, or instead of it.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
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