Thursday, November 15, 2012

Most businesses think they can survive a disruption or crisis, until one occurs.

The International Franchising Association's (IFA) Franchising World magazine is a valuable resource for those following the franchise industry. Firestorm is pleased to have their article "Coming Through a Public Relations Crisis Successfully," featured in the magazine's November, 2012 issue.

The timely article, co-authored by Jim Satterfield, President and COO of Firestorm, and Jim Squire, CFE, and EVP for Firestorm, covers the critical aspects of Crisis Communications, including Message, Media, Monitoring and Metrics.

In the article, Satterfield and Squire discuss identifying and prioritizing target audiences and channels of communications. Whether a public relations crisis is a business disruption -- or a business disaster -- is directly related to the degree of planning for such an occasion. Having an established franchisee crisis management plan empowers franchisees to make critical decisions and not unnecessarily create additional exposures for the franchisor.

"Firestorm is exceptionally pleased to have the opportunity to reach out to IFA's membership with what we know is critical business information," said Satterfield.  "Providing accurate and timely information to internal and external stakeholders is essential to the crisis communications process.  A crisis is not the time for on the job training."

The fundamental objective of a crisis management plan is to help senior leadership detect and deal with crises quickly before they can significantly impact the franchisor, and thereby minimize the damage to the organization and franchisees. Primary objectives of crisis management include recovering critical elements of business operations and mitigating impacts.

Visit the IFA.org website to read the article in full.

About Firestorm: Firestorm® is a nationally recognized leader in Continuity Planning, Critical Decision Support, Crisis Response, Crisis Management, Crisis Communications, Crisis Public Relations, and Consequence Management. Firestorm's Predict.Plan.Perform.® process leverages next-generation consulting services, tools and software creating resilient organizations. Above all, Firestorm believes that a culture of preparedness is the foundation of success. Visit Firestorm at www.firestorm.com

About IFA: Celebrating 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world's oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA's mission is to protect, enhance and promote franchising through government relations, public relations and educational programs.