Is Measuring for a Crisis Similar to Measuring for a Campaign?

It can take years to build up a reputation and image but only second to destroy one. Katie Paine discusses seven steps to measure crises and trust in Chapter 11 of Measure What Matters.

Although a crisis situation is completely different than any other situation in the public relations world, the steps to measure the effectiveness of the plan is similar to any other PR campaign.

First, Paine says to define a specific desired outcome from the crisis. When we compete in the Bateman competition every year, we have to define our goals. The same is true for a crisis. Know the outcomes from the start of the management process.

Second, define your audiences. After research and creating goals, the next step is understanding who to target. Regardless of the campaign or crisis, it is imperative to really understand the target audience.

Third, define your benchmark. In order to understand the progress over time, Paine recommends measuring a crisis (or other situation) against some other control group. The control group could be another organization.

Forth, define your measurement criteria. If you have forgotten how important measurement is, hopefully now you’ve been reminded! Anyways, measure throughout the crisis plan or campaign. Performance indicators include:

• Percent increase in trust scores.
• Percent of coverage containing key messages.
• Share of desirable versus undesirable coverage.

The next step is selecting a measurement tool. Again, measure, measure, measure! Depending on the campaign or crisis plan, you can use surveys, focus groups, poll, content analysis and many more. Measure what you treasure, right!

Step six: Analyze results, glean insight and make actionable recommendations. This is the “E” in the R.A.C.E. model. You MUST evaluate the outcomes of the campaign or crisis plan in order to gauge the success or failure of your efforts.

The last step is making changes and measuring again. All the hard work from the previous campaign or crisis plan isn’t for nothing. Go out there and utilize all the recommendations you’ve made from past situations.

So there you have it, yes a crisis is a high-stress, unpredictable situation. However, the planning and evaluation process is similar to that of a campaign. I want to hear from you, though. Do you agree?

So plan, measure and evaluate.

Until next time, stay classy my fellow bloggers.