| Every PR professional knows that crises are an unavoidable part of the job. And you’ve probably already given some thought to how you would handle an emergency that threatens your reputation. |
However, don’t forget about the step that should come first. Just because an issue is threatening your company, doesn’t mean it can’t be prevented or neutralized before it’s too late.
That’s where issue management comes in.
Here’s why you shouldn’t underestimate it as an essential puzzle piece in your PR strategy. Let’s start with a definition of what issue management is.
At its core, issue management is about staying ahead of the curve. It’s the proactive process of creating a communication strategy that anticipates and addresses potential challenges your company might face. By keeping an eye on trends and identifying issues early, you can take control of the narrative—whether that means pivoting your approach or addressing incidents head-on with confidence.
Not only does this safeguard your organization from potential pitfalls, but it also strengthens your reputation. Stakeholders value transparency and proactive action, and issue management allows you to demonstrate both, fostering trust and credibility in the long run.
As with most aspects of PR, issue management isn’t just about external communication—it’s about the strategic planning and actions happening behind the scenes. These are some of the tasks you can expect:
As a PR pro, you’re likely already skilled at keeping yourself informed and tailoring messages to suit your audience. Those same instincts are essential for issue management.
By keeping tabs on both internal and external developments, you’ll gain a clear picture of which trends or potential issues could impact your organization. Then, if you find a challenge worth addressing, you can evaluate the risks and opportunities and decide on the best course of action.
Top tip: Stay plugged into industry news and resources relevant to your field. Combine this with monitoring your external channels so you’re always one step ahead, ready to address issues before they gain momentum.
Social listening is your secret weapon for understanding public sentiment and maintaining a strong reputation. While one negative comment from a disgruntled ex-employee might not warrant concern, paying attention to recurring patterns or feedback can reveal opportunities for improvement before they escalate into bigger problems.
By incorporating social listening into your issue management software strategy, you can track how your brand is perceived in real time. In fact, 51% of PR professionals rank it as one of the most effective tools for reputation management. Acting swiftly when you spot a rumor or concern—like claims of poor management—shows you value feedback and care about your audience’s experience.
Even if you’re working hard behind the scenes to resolve an issue, your efforts won’t resonate unless your audience is informed. A transparent communication strategy ensures your stakeholders know exactly how you’re addressing their concerns.
To achieve this, assemble a trained team that’s ready to communicate across various channels. Not only does this help you share your message on your terms, but it also gives you an opportunity to rebuild trust and reinforce your commitment to your audience.
Even the most skilled PR professionals can’t predict every challenge—but with the right tools, you can approach any situation with confidence. Purpose-built PR solutions like Presspage empower you to navigate issue management seamlessly. From monitoring engagement across your newsroom to tracking public sentiment via media inquiries, the right platform can streamline your process. And when it’s time to share your message, you can publish directly to your audience without relying on intermediaries.
Issues and crises go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. However, their communication processes are not inherently the same. On the contrary–one is proactive, while the other is reactive. For issues, you have time to think through your reaction, whereas crisis communication requires on-the-spot decision-making.
Here’s how you can differentiate between the two:
Crises are unfortunate but apparent. You won’t be looking around for a definition if you’re caught up in one. PR issues, on the other hand, are a little blurrier. Often, they bubble under the surface and can only be identified with a keen eye and a bit of digging. Wondering which incidents you should never ignore? Here are several examples.
None of these current PR issues are threatening enough for you to drop what you’re doing to address them right then and there. However, if you let them gain momentum, they can take on a life of their own and snowball into a crisis. But, there’s no need to worry–with the right issue management process in place, you can address the problem and keep your brand reputation in the clear.
Picture this: You’re receiving a surge of negative reviews, due to customers experiencing longer wait times during peak hours. As you caught the trend early on, you have plenty of time to come up with a plan to fix the issue. The first order of business? Rethinking your staffing strategy. The second? Reaching out to your customers directly, acknowledging their concerns, and sharing your action plan. Thanks to your new issue management process, you’ve been able to turn critical feedback into an opportunity to rebuild trust with your customers.
Now that we’ve cleared up what issue management is, let’s get into the practical process itself. How can you go from identifying an issue to making sure that you don’t have a crisis on your hands? Simple–by following these 6 steps.
You can hardly manage your issues when you don’t know what they are. That’s why the first step in the issue management process requires you to keep your eyes peeled for information. Whether it’s customer feedback, industry developments, or chatter on social media, you want to stay alert to what’s happening internally and externally for your organization. You can do this manually or by leveraging tools for social listening and media inquiry tracking.
Once you’ve gotten a lay of the land, it’s time to set priorities. Not every issue should be at the top of your list, so it’s essential to focus on what matters most. Evaluate impact on a scale from high to low and decide what could wreak the most havoc in the short term. Is it just a small hiccup or could it damage your reputation, disrupt operations, and lose you customers? By understanding the scope of each issue, you’ll know exactly where to start.
With priorities on your to-do, its time to establish your position–or opinion–on the issue. Decide where your company stands, brainstorm possible courses of action, and think about how best to communicate with your stakeholders. In this process, always keep your organization’s mission, vision, and tone of voice front of mind.
For example, let’s say you’ve noticed that a batch of your customers will not receive their orders on time. Because the holidays are coming up, you decide this is a high-priority issue and establish your position as proactive and customer-focused.
After you’ve weighed your options, it’s time to prepare your action plan. This transforms your position into practical steps that you can take to address the issue head-on. Think about who needs to be involved–whether it’s customer service, marketing or leadership–and communicate their roles clearly. Then, decide on the specific actions you’ll take, the timeline you’re working with, and a contingency plan, in case things go south.
Continuing with the previous example, after agreeing on your customer-focused position, you decide to acknowledge the delay openly. Your plan outlines that–with the help of customer service and marketing–you’ll apologize sincerely right away and offer discounts. If that’s not enough, you have a back-up plan ready to upgrade shipping tiers in an attempt to get orders to their destination on time.
Planning is a vital part of issue management, but at some point, it’s time to act. Implement the steps your plan outlines and spread your messaging across the channels you’ve agreed upon.
As you take action, it’s crucial to keep your team aligned and adaptable in real time. Ensure regular updates are shared—both asynchronously through tools like shared documents or messaging platforms, and synchronously via quick check-ins or meetings. This approach allows teams to reflect on what's working, pivot as needed, and share learnings as they happen. By maintaining this flow of communication, everyone stays on the same page, ensuring your response is coordinated and effective.
You might think that your work is done, but there’s still one last step to keep in mind–monitoring the issue. Keep a close watch on how the situation evolves to ensure it doesn’t resurface or take a turn for the worse. This involves collecting data to stay abreast of stakeholder sentiment by, for example, tagging and tracking your media inquiries to understand if you’ve managed to dodge bad publicity. Only then can you decide whether your issue management plan proved effective or still needs some tweaks.
An effective issue management process isn’t just about putting out fires–it’s about showing that your organization is proactive, accountable, and prepared. Every issue is a chance to improve your relationships with your stakeholders, keep your reputation in the clear, and build resilience for the future.
Need a little help to get started? Empower your team with Presspage, the PR software that can do it all, from supporting your day-to-day work to managing potential crises and issues.