Perception v Reality
During crisis it is important for those managing it to understand the difference between the perception and reality of their crisis.
Operators responding to an event are dealing with the reality of the incident, so are their immediate management. However, those in management responsible for brand reputation are dealing with the how the reality is perceived by stakeholders, and it is their job to bring perception and reality into sync... quickly, if brand reputation is to be maintained.
To achieve perception and reality sync requires effective crisis communication i.e. tell them what you know, what you don’t know and what you are going to do about it. Moreover, this needs to be done in simple, non-jargon language, so that core audiences (“bears” and their families) are not distracted with knowledgeable, yet inner-circle-speak.
If you do not respect your core audience, you will struggle to change the imbalance.