In the age of pervasive social media use, viral communications, and twenty-four hour online media, every business event of consequence is discussed or disseminated digitally in some way, and at rapid-fire pace. Business crises are no exception. Whether a business is contending with a “brick and mortar” crisis such as a food or product recall, the misappropriation of trade secrets, or an active assailant, or a more traditional digital crisis such as a data breach or online defamation or an imposter social media account, news of the crisis will likely break on a digital platform before the business teams are even aware of it. In short, now days, every crisis is a digital crisis.
For any modern business, it is not a matter of “if” but “when” a crisis will hit, and the best course of action is to prepare in advance, including addressing all manner of digital risks and consequences, and to stay the course of that preparation in the face of a crisis.
