Crisis Communication: Dr. Patrick Riccards' 4 Steps for Small Business Owners

Most small business owners don't have a communications plan in place before they need one — and that gap, according to Dr. Patrick Riccards, decides whether a crisis preserves trust or makes everything worse.

Riccards, Founder and CEO of the Driving Force Institute and author of the bestselling book Strategic Strikes, laid out four steps for effective crisis communication on ASBN's Business Trends Today. His book breaks down how owners can master communication in what he calls "the cage match of public opinion."

The framing is deliberate. Riccards maps the key elements of good crisis communication to what it takes to be a successful UFC fighter. The takeaway in plain words: crisis response is a contact sport, and most companies step into the cage unprepared.

Why do crisis plans fail?

Because organizations write them once, approve them, and never open them again, Riccards said. When a crisis arrives, teams forget what the plan says. Some scramble to do the one thing they remember. Others freeze entirely.

"At the end of the day, we need to take our communication seriously," Riccards said.

Plans also fall apart for two structural reasons. Leaders treat communications as work for the communications team alone. And they hope a crisis will pass on its own, so the issue never reaches the C-suite. Both habits leave the company reacting instead of directing.

Stop before you speak

Business owners should know all the facts before speaking publicly, Riccards said. Releasing a story in pieces creates a steady stream of updates that keeps the story alive. Sharing all the information at once is more valuable than releasing it bit by bit.

The math is simple: one complete disclosure ends the news cycle; five partial disclosures extend it five times.

Who needs to hear what?

Owners should identify who needs to hear from them before deciding how to communicate, Riccards said. In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, creditors, employees, investors and the media each need to hear something different. Owners should understand each group's pain points and which media will actually reach it.

He also dismisses two common shortcuts. Press releases and social media posts alone don't make a communications strategy.

"A press release is now a document on the company website, and reporters don't even use them anymore," Riccards argues in his analysis. Social media carries heavier stakes: it is the company's brand, and people go back to see what a business has said in the past.

"If you want to pride yourself on customer service, you need to do it in public. You need to put sunshine on it," Riccards said.

Companies that praise their customer service and then move the first complaint into direct messages look like they're hiding something. And customers don't stay quiet — they talk about poor service in Facebook groups and on social media feeds when a company doesn't respond.

How long should the plan be?

Owners should lean on communications professionals during a crisis, Riccards said, because running a company doesn't mean knowing the communications side. Senior leaders know the spreadsheets, the finances, the board and the vendors — but that doesn't make them professional communicators.

Riccards, who spent half his career as an outside consultant, put a number on it: owners don't need a 20- to 25-page plan. The plan should be simple enough that anyone can pull it off the shelf in a crisis, with one person clearly in charge.

For small business owners, the prescription is short — know the facts, know the audience, keep it public, keep the plan short — and the time to write it is before the crisis, not during it.