By Heather Ripley It’s every business owner’s nightmare: You wake up to news that an employee has gone on a crime spree in the branded company van, he’s arrested, and your logo is seen in the background all over social media. Or your staff accountant gave out his username and password to a phishing email Read more
Ripley PR
By Heather Ripley
It’s every business owner’s nightmare: You wake up to news that an employee has gone on a crime spree in the branded company van, he’s arrested, and your logo is seen in the background all over social media.
Or your staff accountant gave out his username and password to a phishing email. As a result, the online accounting platform your company uses was hacked, and all your customers’ financial data has been accessed.
It doesn’t matter that neither of these incidents are your fault, your company might still be seen in a bad light.
But if you have a public relations crisis management plan already in place, you know what your next steps are to mitigate the damage a bad event can have on your company’s reputation.
If you don’t have a plan, here are five steps you should take immediately so that you aren’t caught flat-footed when a crisis happens.
1. Don’t assume the crisis will organically go away
There was a time when news didn’t spread as quickly as it does now. Back then, you might have been able to sit tight for a week or two and wait until people grew tired of talking about the bad news. That’s not a luxury in this day and age.
You need to take immediate action and get in front of the crisis. Whether you need to issue an apology or get your side of the issue out, you need to act as soon as possible.
2. Don’t downplay the severity of the situation
Even if no one was physically hurt in the scenarios listed above, that doesn’t mean that individuals weren’t affected. People may have lost a precious family keepsake due to your employee’s actions, or your customers may have had to spend all day changing their banking and credit card information to protect their finances.
Even if you aren’t at fault, you should show empathy for what has happened to them. You need to be authentic in your concern and act quickly to remediate damages.
3. Do communicate immediately with stakeholders
Make sure you hold a company-wide meeting to explain the crisis to your employees, critical managers and any partners you may have. Let them know that you will assemble a team to respond to the accusations and ask them to direct questions to the individual you’ve selected to be the spokesperson.
Your employees should not feel like they have to defend your company or their jobs.
4. Do get with your PR team to ready a statement
It’s never a good idea to hide from the problem. Once you have found out more about the crisis, you should get with your PR team and attorney to pen a statement. This doesn’t have to be shared unless the media reaches out for comment, but it should be vetted and ready to share at a moment’s notice.
You should also have social media statements ready, as well. Social media is used by thousands of people as a news aggregator, so being prepared to put your statement out on your company’s Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn channels is a necessity.
Your statement should let the public and your customers know you have fired the offending employee, for example. Or let them know what steps your financial institution or accounting software company is taking to remediate damages.
Apologize for their troubles and inconvenience, and state what you are doing to fix the problem.
5. Do be sincere with your apology
While it might be tempting to start pointing fingers and burying your apology in a flurry of other online responses or press interviews, don’t do this.
Sure, you can’t help what your employee does on his own time, but it doesn’t do you or the people who have been affected by these actions any good to muddy the waters by discussing issues that aren’t related to the crisis at hand.
According to a recent Price Waterhouse Cooper survey, 69% of business leaders have experienced a corporate crisis. It’s not a matter of if a crisis will happen, it’s more a matter of when.
Ideally, this is why you should already have a crisis communications plan ready to go. A complete plan will help you take control, protect your assets and put you on the path toward regaining customer trust.
A true PR partner will anticipate your needs and have a crisis management plan already in place. This plan generally includes a list of personnel on the crisis management team, the name of the person who will serve as your company’s spokesperson, and the protocols for issuing press releases and social media posts, should they become necessary.
Your PR team will also provide you with ways to determine if your mitigating efforts are having a positive effect and can make adjustments for you if they aren’t working as well as they should.
While you can’t control the world around you, you can certainly control how you respond to it. Putting together a crisis communication plan may seem like a lot of work, but it’s an essential part of doing business.
A crisis may not spell the end of your business, but it can damage your bottom line, harm your employees and affect your future if you don’t take it seriously.
Heather Ripley is founder and CEO of Ripley PR, an elite, global public relations agency specializing in the franchising, skilled trades and B2B tech industries. Ripley PR has been listed by Entrepreneur Magazine as a Top Franchise PR Agency for six consecutive years and was recently named as one of Newsweek’s America’s Best Public Relations Agencies for 2024. Heather Ripley was recently named as a 2024 PRNews Top Women honoree in the business entrepreneur category. She is also the author of “NEXT LEVEL NOW: PR Secrets to Drive Explosive Growth for your Home Service Business,” which is now available on all audiobook platforms. For additional information, visit www.ripleypr.com.
Agency receives high rankings in national survey of industry leaders for their expertise and results in fields of specialization Ripley PR, an award-winning global public relations agency specializing in skilled trades, manufacturing, franchising and B2B technology, has been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Top PR Agencies for 2024. To highlight the public relations agencies Read more
Agency receives high rankings in national survey of industry leaders for their expertise and results in fields of specialization
Ripley PR, an award-winning global public relations agency specializing in skilled trades, manufacturing, franchising and B2B technology, has been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Top PR Agencies for 2024.
To highlight the public relations agencies that are the most recommended in their sector or specialization in the United States, Newsweek partnered with Statista to release the list of America’s Best PR agencies this month.
The final list of 150 agencies is based on a survey of PR agency employees and owners, as well as people who work in the PR, communications or marketing departments of an American company. The agencies with the most recommendations represent 11 client sectors and 13 specializations. Sectors include areas of practice like consumer goods, health care and industrial and manufacturing services. The specializations focus on services such as event planning, media strategy and influencer relations.
“Receiving this award is a particularly humbling experience since we were nominated by professionals who work in the industries we serve, and they supported us throughout the process,” said Ripley PR founder and CEO Heather Ripley. “It’s evidence that our clients trust the expertise of our dedicated team of practitioners who are committed to delivering outstanding results. They work hard every day to make sure our clients receive exceptional service on an individualized level.”
According to the Newsweek and Statista ranking system, Ripley PR received a five-star ranking for its work in the Industrial and Manufacturing sector. The company also received four-star ratings in the following specializations:
- Brand reputation and marketing
- Event planning
- Internal corporate communication and employee engagement
- Media relations and advertising
- Media strategy planning
“The team at Ripley PR is goal-oriented and strives to provide the best possible results for our clients,” Ripley said. “We want to be partners with our clients, and we go out of our way to develop a relationship with them so we can build on our successes together. Our clients recognize that we advocate for them on a daily basis and this honor reinforces that our agency is among the best PR providers for the skilled trades, B2B tech, manufacturing and franchising industries.”
Founded in 2013, Ripley PR offers its clients strategic communications services, including crisis and reputation management, communications strategies, media relations and strategic planning. The agency’s unique combination of expertise and creativity in public relations helps clients build brand awareness, establish a positive reputation, and capture the attention of the news and trade media covering their industries.
For more information visit www.ripleypr.com or call (865) 977-1973.
By Heather Ripley If you’ve been in the trades for a number of years, chances are that you have some good tips you can offer others. Whether your expertise is unclogging drains, troubleshooting an HVAC system or running a home service business, you have opinions that the news media and trade publications are interested in Read more
By Heather Ripley
If you’ve been in the trades for a number of years, chances are that you have some good tips you can offer others.
Whether your expertise is unclogging drains, troubleshooting an HVAC system or running a home service business, you have opinions that the news media and trade publications are interested in knowing.
But turning your knowledge into coveted earned media can be difficult if you haven’t developed a solid public relations strategy.
Why Earned Media is Important
If you’ve spent any time around your company’s marketing team, you already know that most businesses have access to three types of media:
- Owned media. This refers to your website, blogs and social media channels. These are platforms that you own and control and can, therefore, fill with whatever content you deem appropriate.
- Paid media. This refers to the media you pay for and can include pay-per-click advertising, display ads, radio advertising or billboards
- Earned media. This type of media includes any content picked up or created by a third party. This includes reposts, reviews and, most importantly, stories written by news or trade publication reporters that feature you or your company.
Of these three types of media, earned media has the most credibility with consumers. Several surveys in the past few years have found that nine out of 10 consumers trust earned media because they view it as being written by an unbiased third party.
And that’s why it’s important that your social media and blog posts get shared by customers online and that your leadership gets quoted in news articles about topics surrounding your industry.
When an audience sees that others trust your opinion enough to share it, it helps you build credibility.
Work to Get Noticed
Now that you know why getting earned media attention is important, you should set aside some time to ensure that your expertise is put on blast. Some ways to get noticed include:
- Creating quality content. Make sure your website’s blog and news sections are always up-to-date. Writing blog posts that provide tips to homeowners and sharing them on social media is always a good way to associate your company with helpful content.
- Offering your opinion. If there is a cold snap on the way in your area, reach out to local reporters and offer to explain to their audience some great ways to keep pipes from freezing. Keep an eye on industry trends, too, so you can speak about those topics in trade industry publications.
- Building relationships. Get to know the reporters and editors that cover your community and your trade. You should also reach out to podcasters and other influencers in your industry and offer to come on their shows to offer your expertise.
Taking time out of your day to get noticed can be difficult when you are trying to build your business, but you should view it as an investment.
You can also hire a PR team to help you craft compelling content and pitch your expertise. An effective PR partner should have experienced content writers on staff, and they should have a group of media relations experts to pitch your knowledge to their cultivated press pool.
There’s no reason why your expertise should go untapped. It’s a great opportunity for you to provide consumers with sound advice while building trust and being the expert in your field.
Heather Ripley is founder and CEO of Ripley PR, an elite, global public relations agency specializing in the skilled trades, franchising and B2B tech industries. Ripley PR is recognized as the top PR agency for the home service industry. It also has been listed by Entrepreneur Magazine as a Top Franchise PR Agency for six consecutive years and was named to Forbes’ America’s Best PR Agencies for 2021. Heather Ripley was recently named as a 2024 PRNews Top Women honoree in the business entrepreneur category. She is also the author of “NEXT LEVEL NOW: PR Secrets to Drive Explosive Growth for your Home Service Business,” which is now available on all audiobook platforms. For additional information, visit www.ripleypr.com.
The Tennessee-based global public relations firm’s CEO says companies that go after awards add a significant weapon to their marketing arsenals Ripley PR, an award-winning global public relations agency specializing in manufacturing, skilled trades, franchising and B2B technology, says that companies that proactively seek and win credible awards — and then strategically promote them — Read more
The Tennessee-based global public relations firm’s CEO says companies that go after awards add a significant weapon to their marketing arsenals
Ripley PR, an award-winning global public relations agency specializing in manufacturing, skilled trades, franchising and B2B technology, says that companies that proactively seek and win credible awards — and then strategically promote them — are more likely to have bigger sales funnels, more satisfied customers and a deeper talent pool than their competitors.
“Awards give your business an edge over your competition,” said Ripley PR founder and CEO Heather Ripley. “Awards boost employee morale and give your company more credibility. Participating in and winning awards increases your chances of being seen by potential customers because of the added visibility. The publicity an award generates is a wonderful acknowledgement.”
Heather Ripley
She said there are a variety of ways to promote company awards, and some of these include:
- Issuing a press release. A press release gives an organization the opportunity to describe the award and the significance behind it. Issuing a release also allows the company to customize distribution to the right trade and local publications.
- Announcing the win on social media. Social media allows a company and its employees and stakeholders to share the win throughout a variety of internet communities. This gets the word out about the win directly to consumers and potential employees.
- Including the win in marketing collateral. Businesses can use their award as a third-party affirmation that their company is established and professional. Consumers feel more comfortable doing business with a company that has built a solid reputation.
Ripley said that award-winning companies are also more likely attract and retain the best talent in their industries.
“When the nation’s top talent sees that you’re winning awards, they become more interested in working with you,” she said. “Recruits that strive for career development want to learn from the best in their field. Awards validate what your company does and how it does it.”
One company that has used its awards as an effective means to drive its recruiting efforts, increase its sales funnels and attract partners is XOi Technologies, the leading provider of technician-first smart technology for commercial and residential field service companies. The company is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.
XOi has been included on the Inc. 5000 list in 2020, 2021 and 2023, and the Inc. Power Partner list in 2022. It has also made the Tech Tribune Top Tech Startups in Tennessee in 2020 and the Tennessean Top Workplaces in 2021.
“People know that PR can help you get your name in the news, but they may not realize that a good PR agency will also guide your company to seek awards that can increase your prominence,” Stacey Bright, chief marketing officer of XOi. “Having a professional writer who can then take the news of those awards and turn them into press releases that platform your company’s achievements leads to more interest from potential customers, employees and investors. You not only earn a prestigious award, but you also foster your brand in the process.”
Tint World® Automotive Styling Centers™, a leading auto accessory and window tinting franchise, also takes advantage of awards by
Ripley said that companies don’t have to restrict themselves to awards that are issued to businesses within their industry. Winning a “best of” award in a local market or having a team member honored as the best in their field offers a company even more credibility.
Ripley PR, which was named to the Forbes list of America’s Best PR Agencies for 2021, offers its clients strategic communications services, including award recognition, crisis management, media relations and social media strategies. The agency’s unique combination of expertise and creativity in public relations helps clients build brand awareness, establish positive reputations and drive prospects to the brand.
For more information visit www.ripleypr.com or call (865) 977-1973.
The Maryville, Tenn.-based public relations agency commemorates a decade serving those in the skilled trades industry across the country Ripley PR, an elite, global public relations agency specializing in the home service industry, marks its 10th anniversary in business by celebrating a decade of providing strategic public relations solutions to clients around the world. The Maryville, Tennessee-based PR Read more
The Maryville, Tenn.-based public relations agency commemorates a decade serving those in the skilled trades industry across the country
Ripley PR commemorates a decade of providing public relations services for the skilled trades, franchising, B2B technology and manufacturing industries.
Ripley PR, an elite, global public relations agency specializing in the home service industry, marks its 10th anniversary in business by celebrating a decade of providing strategic public relations solutions to clients around the world.
The Maryville, Tennessee-based PR agency was founded in 2013 by CEO Heather Ripley after she decided it was time to leverage her experience and success in marketing and PR to create a world-class agency in her own back yard.
“This anniversary not only marks a milestone in Ripley PR’s professional existence but commemorates the date when I decided to follow my dreams,” Ripley said. “We’ve seen great achievements and growth throughout the years thanks to the fantastic team we have in place, and we now serve contractors and B2B companies in the skilled trades industry from Georgia to California, and from Virginia to New York. We are proud of our journey and hope to continue to provide success to our clients for many years to come.”
Ripley started that journey as an assistant buyer for a national department store before catching the communications bug. She spent the next decade managing PR and marketing campaigns for a variety of companies, including Clockwork Home Services and its three franchise brands, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and Mister Sparky. It was at that organization that Ripley first learned how impactful public relations could be to the home service industry.
Heather Ripley
She continued to work for other organizations throughout the Southeast until 2013 when she decided to come back to her hometown of Maryville and open her own public relations agency. Beginning with zero clients, Ripley got to work building a PR company that would help home service business owners grow to the next level and achieve their dreams.
In addition to the skilled trades, Ripley PR also specializes in promoting and growing franchising brands and companies in B2B and construction technology and industrial manufacturing industries.
Ripley PR is now considered the No. 1 home service PR agency in the country. The agency has been named to the Forbes list of America’s Best PR Agencies for 2021 and Entrepreneur’s Best PR Agencies for Franchise and is the second largest PR agency in the Knoxville, Tennessee market. The agency offers strategic communications for its clients, including brand awareness campaigns, crisis management, media relations and social media strategies.
In 2021, Ripley released “Next Level Now: PR Secrets to Drive Explosive Growth for Your Home Service Business” through Advantage/Forbes Books as a way to help home service business owners understand how PR can help them improve their brand awareness. She was also nominated as a finalist for the 2020 Blount County ATHENA Awards and was named to the 2021 PHC News’ Top 10 Women in PHCP.
Ripley is also a regular contributing writer for a variety of trade publications such as Entrepreneur, For Construction Pros and Franchising USA. She has also been a guest on dozens of industry podcasts such as the Business Savvy podcast, Mechanical Hub’s Appetite for Construction, Home Service Success, Power Women of the Trades and PHCPPros: Off the Cuff.
To learn more about Ripley PR, visit https://www.ripleypr.com or call (865) 977-1973.