The importance of efficient crisis communication

86 % of companies with a turnover in excess of 25 million have a business continuity plan to deal with emergencies. However, most companies only develop their crisis communication in the wake of their first crisis. That’s too little, too late.

A recent study by IBM showed that even the smallest business interruption can cost a company as much as $1 million. The price tag for a serious crisis can be as high as $100 million. Whether it’s a storm or a fire, a cyberattack or a different type of emergency situation: as a company it’s best to be prepared down to the smallest detail. Because the longer you sit on your hands in a crisis, the greater the damage and the higher the cost.

In early October 2019, the company behind Bicky Burger posted a campaign image on its Facebook page of a man hitting a woman with his fist because she tried to give him a fake Bicky Burger. The campaign image sparked a storm of protest on social media. The company reacted much too slowly and this had a detrimental effect on their reputation. The storm raged for a full eight hours before the campaign image was taken offline. Meanwhile the campaign had been condemned in countless blog posts, on social media and on nearly all national media channels. It took until the next day for the company to apologise in a press statement. 

In a world in crisis texting is king

To limit the severity of a crisis and protect both material and reputation damage, it is important to reach relevant people quickly and effectively. In these crucial moments, there’s no substitute for the efficiency of a simple text message. After all, a text is 34,500 times faster than an email and is received by everyone. Texts have an opening rate of no less than 98 %, and 90 % of this is within three minutes of reception.

Enterprise Messaging: your partner in an emergency

Enterprise Messaging is an efficient professional communication solution that lets you send texts from a special platform or directly from your business applications. In emergency situations, the application allows two-way conversations between staff, customers and other relevant parties. Moreover, Enterprise Messaging uses a redundant connection with the Orange network to guarantee availability at all times.

Fully customised and ready for use

Its user-friendliness is also fully optimised. Enterprise Messaging is tailored to your industry, it integrates seamlessly with your business systems and offers an extensive range of possibilities to prepare for crisis situations. You can use the ready-made texting templates and set up distribution lists to get cracking right away. This saves precious time and allows you to focus on solving the crisis. During the crisis you can determine who has already received and read the text message. Afterwards you receive an extensive report.