It’s all very well being told to 'keep calm and carry on' in the face of a crisis, but when it's your company involved, your team, stakeholders and customers will undoubtedly be stressed and concerned. It is likely that a plan of action will be needed immediately and a team to be sprung in to action to execute it, things will be getting tough for a while…

Did you know there are ways you can reduce the negative effect a crisis can have on your brand and company? Although we all hope that such preparation won’t be needed, should the dreaded day come, you’ll be thankful that you had the basics in place to ensure the crisis was handled in the right way and with as little brand impact as possible. The 3 steps highlighted below should be implanted as part of you crisis contingency plan. Top tip: Forward planning is key.