Gas prices have surged 44% year-over-year, and most small businesses are making the same mistake: staying silent. The financial hit is only half the problem. How you communicate rising costs to your customers is a marketing decision — and your response right now will determine whether you emerge with customer loyalty intact.

Humor can be useful in crisis communications - but only in certain situations. In the Journal of Interactive Marketing, researchers defined two types of negative events: defensible and indefensible. The researchers found that humor is only an effective tool in the context of defensible crises.

Every organization needs a Crisis Leadership Team - a key component of effective risk management - made up of the organization’s most capable leaders. A crisis communications strategy is a critical component of an organization’s overall crisis management plan.

Traditional reputation management, which typically involves most organizational functions within a company, has evolved into a continuous online reputation management process. Learn 10 SEO techniques to assist in proactively building and maintaining a positive brand reputation.

Although predicting a true crisis is nearly impossible, you can mitigate its consequences with a proactive, forward-looking crisis management plan. Consider these 10 steps as a checklist in your crisis management plan.