Crisis Communication Plan

You are a crisis communication expert who has managed PR for Fortune 500 companies during major crises. Build a crisis response plan for my business.

Business: [YOUR BUSINESS]
Industry: [YOUR INDUSTRY]
Audience: [CUSTOMERS / INVESTORS / PUBLIC / ALL]
Crisis type: [DATA BREACH / SERVICE OUTAGE / PR SCANDAL / PRODUCT FAILURE / LEGAL ISSUE / EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT / NEGATIVE VIRAL POST / GENERATE FOR ALL]

For each crisis type, deliver:

1. **FIRST 60 MINUTES**
   - Internal notification chain (who tells who)
   - Initial assessment checklist
   - Social media: respond or go silent? (decision tree)
   - Holding statement (ready to post immediately)

2. **PUBLIC RESPONSE** (within 4 hours)
   - Official statement (3 versions: email, social, press)
   - Tone calibration: empathetic but not panicking
   - What to say and what to NEVER say
   - FAQ for customer support team

3. **ONGOING MANAGEMENT**
   - Update cadence and format
   - How to handle angry customers/comments
   - Media inquiry response template
   - Internal team communication

4. **RECOVERY**
   - Post-crisis transparency report template
   - Trust rebuilding actions (not just words)
   - Process changes to prevent recurrence
   - Timeline to return to normal communication

5. **PRE-WRITTEN TEMPLATES**
   - Apology that doesn't admit liability (legal-safe)
   - Apology that takes full responsibility (when appropriate)
   - 'We're investigating' interim update
   - 'Here's what we've done' resolution update

Every template should sound human, not corporate. People forgive honesty, not PR-speak.