Key to an effective plan
It’s all about your intended audience. Your plan should be built around what matters to your audience, not to you. You need to appeal to them based on their needs and wants.
Key to an effective communication
Preparation! Your communication will have the impact you intended if you spend the time to carefully create the right content. This means understanding what your audience needs, in other words: What’s in it for them? If your audience is composed of technical experts, they will probably be looking for technical information and proof that it works or that you know what you are talking about. If your audience is the general public, they will need to understand why the information matters and what they need to do about it. In any case, your communication should be to the point, clear, concise, use a proper tone and remain relevant.
Should you wait for a trigger event to create your crisis plan?
No! Creating a crisis plan once a crisis is unfolding only adds pressure on your ability to steer your organization out of the crisis. It also costs a lot more. You should have a full crisis process and toolkit ready in advance, and tested, so you maintain some control. Your toolkit should include potential crisis scenarios, responses, templates and should clearly identify your crisis team members. You should also simulate a crisis once a year to ensure your process works and that your team members understand what is expected of each of them.