Would you know what to tell a journalist if your business was a victim of cybercrime?
If criminals accessed your business data, or an employee accidentally breached your data protection processes, would you have the time and resources to:
- keep customers up to date?
- give employees the right information at the right time?
- handle media enquiries?
- manage stakeholder pressure?
- communicate with your regulator?
Approximately 605,000 businesses per week are targeted by cyber criminals just in the UK.
If your business is unfortunate enough to be one of them, your customers will be relying on you for on precise, up-to-the-minute communication that reassures them that you are in control.
Having access to crisis communications support when you need it, delivered by an expert team who’ve planned for this very scenario, can be the difference between retaining the trust of your customers and losing it forever.
Think of this as ‘reputation insurance’.
Our ‘reputation insurance’ clients benefit from the following support on an ongoing basis:
- Risk audit
- Regular crisis scenario rehearsals
- Ongoing crisis communication strategy development
- Customer response email templates
- Media briefing and press release templates
- Regulator comms templates
- Stakeholder mapping and engagement
- Regular cyber risk updates and communications analysis
- Social media strategy development
- Media training for key spokespeople
And they get the following support whenever they face a risk to their reputation:
- Full press office management and media relations support
- Full social media management
- Spokespeople media training
- 24/7 year-round telephone support
A new way of delivering crisis communications in the cybercrime landscape
Historically, the sort of events that require intense crisis communications are – thankfully – quite rare.
Regulatory breaches, on-site accidents and misjudged remarks from executives are very much ‘once-a-decade’ problems that require a one-off, intensive communications response.
Cybercrime is an ongoing threat that requires persistent vigilance and communications planning.
In fact, it is increasing and, according to the UK’s North West Cyber Resilience Centre, insurers are less likely to pay out to victims of cyber crime because it increasingly falls under the ‘act of war’ risk category.
So we’ve designed a crisis communications service to respond to the current threat landscape.
Why Essential Content?
Sean O’Meara, founder and managing director of Essential Content, is an award-winning public relations advisor and best-selling author. He co-authored, along with world-renowned organisational psychologist Professor Sir Cary Cooper, the chart-topping crisis management book The Apology Impulse.
He’s written extensively on the topic of crisis management, including columns for The Telegraph and CityAM.
Daily Mail journalist Tom Cotterill referred to him as a ‘PR guru’.
Here’s Sean discussing crisis management techniques on the BBC’s Talking Business show with Aaron Heslehurst.
In 2015, he founded Essential Content, to support businesses with their crisis and regular communications. Essential Content has represented businesses around the world, including household name brands like currency platform Wise, Co-operative Bank, BBC and esure.
If you’d sleep better at night knowing your business could turn to an expert team of experienced crisis communicators, get in touch.