According to a report in the Financial Times, during times of economic downturn many companies stumble by failing to act or by taking the wrong kind of action when communicating with distressed stakeholders. Many executives take a "bunker" mentality and simply try to stay out of the line of fire. In fact, these are the times when a company should be employing effective communication and soothing the market by explaining its position, tactics and strategies. 

Every company in a downturn is vulnerable to attack. When Berkshire Hathaway has to defend itself, no company can be immune. Marketers need to be aware of this and prepare in advance for potential challenges and opportunities. 

When a crisis develops, stakeholders will be ravenous for information, and having a prepared communications strategy will ensure that you are feeding them relevant data that can alleviate their worries and help to avoid panic. 

How can you best prepare for such situations? Here are a few pointers that can help you confidently address important issues: 

• Have your facts. Make sure that you have the data and background that will support your statements. 

• Remain consistent. Do not deviate from your messaging. If you have solid evidence behind your statements, you need to keep the message focused and on point. 

• Channel communication. Ensure that the media and stakeholders know exactly who to go to in the company for information and be sure that this is the only conduit used. Keep distractions to a minimum by channeling your information through a central source. 

• Use new media. Blogging, twitter, social media and other Web 2.0 methods of communication can get your information out to stakeholders quickly.

State of the News Media 2009 New patterns in news consumption and a deteriorating economy deepened the emerging cracks in the economic foundation of the media in 2008, according to the latest Annual Report on American Journalism from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism. While most news media continued to see audience declines - despite the big news year - the Internet and cable television experienced gains. Driving this change may be the fact that we have become an "on demand" culture - wanting the news we are interested in on our schedule. When you can have news widgets, RSS feeds, podcasts, and any number of online news sources at your fingertips, who wants to wait for the morning paper or the evening news? A development that is far from shocking is that, while print newspaper circulation is down, digital editions are faring better. While print circulation fell 4.6 % daily and 4.8% Sunday for the latest period compared with a year earlier, traffic to newspaper websites is growing. Unduplicated Web audiences are now estimated to add 8.4% to the average newspaper's readership, making up for most, but not all, of the audience decline. America's newspapers got smaller in just about every way. The study estimated that roughly 5,000 full-time newsroom jobs were cut, or about 10%, in 2008. Perhaps the bleakest news came in for the American weekly news magazine. Of the eight publications that PEJ tracks as news magazines, circulation dropped 4.8%. Late in the year, several publications announced substantial layoffs, on top of cutbacks in staffing and resources already made earlier. The U.S. News & World Report announced that it would no longer be a print news weekly, converting instead to a monthly focused on its popular rankings of colleges and other consumer topics. The nation's most popular source for news is still local television, though on a percentage basis it was among the biggest losers of audience in 2008. Just over half of Americans are now regular viewers (52%), according to a survey, down from nearly two-thirds (64%) a decade earlier. Viewership of local evening newscasts, those around the dinner hour, fell by an average of 4.5%, according to an analysis of ratings data by PEJ. Fewer stations reported hiring, and by the end of the year layoffs were accelerating. A number of specific Web developments emerged in 2008, with much of the expansion and innovation now coming from those outside of traditional news industries, such as user-generated news and citizen news sites. Areas covered by online sites vary widely from cloning TV news programming to focusing on micro-local content or specific industry niches. While innovative and interesting, a successful business case has yet to be made for these emerging news entities.

TV and Newspapers Still Tops for Media Credibility Americans consider television and daily newspapers the most credible sources of news and information, according to a national study of 1,005 adults conducted last fall by Opinion Research Corporation's Caravan Services. Television was viewed as the most trusted media source, scoring a 6.6 on a one-to-10 credibility scale. Daily newspapers ranked second, earning 6.3 points out of 10. Radio, online media and weekly community papers ranked in the middle of the list. Free shoppers were viewed as least credible, scoring 3.5 out of 10. Consumers reported getting nearly 35 percent of their news and information from television, and 23.5 percent from daily newspapers. People reported getting just 1.6 percent of their monthly news and information from magazines. Online sources ranked in the middle of the pack, both for credibility and for the percentage of news and information people received from Web sites each month. Survey respondents gave online media 5.6 out of 10 points on the credibility scale, and said they receive 12.7 percent of their news and information from online sources. "As more people go online for news and information, it's more critical than ever for sites to deliver credible content that gives Web users the information they're looking for," Severson says. Survey respondents assigned credibility scores ranging from one for "not at all credible" to 10 for "extremely credible" to seven types of media. The credibility scores corresponded with the amount of news and information people say they receive from each media source each month, with television and daily newspapers ranking as the top two sources.

Client Service Remains a Staple Exceptional client service is something that small agencies are often known for. With today's economy pushing more companies to tighten their budgets, small firms are finding that quality client service is keeping business strong. An agency that is considered more of a partner than a vendor becomes a client's asset. A key reason that clients believe that they get better service from a small firm is that there is more one-on-one activity, and less work delegated to junior employees. Additionally, smaller firms tend to be more responsive with less bureaucratic red tape. A call to a principal is returned by a principal. Good PR firms learn the client's business, inside and out. They take a personal interest in the client's challenges and manage communications from a stronger knowledge base. When a company hires a PR firm, they are investing in both expertise and relationships that the firm has in the media. Those relationships are built by displaying and communicating a deep understanding of key industry facts and trends. Another factor is the greater interest level of the agency towards the client's goals and needs. It isn't enough to just know the business; the agency must also understand the inner challenges and desires, creating more of a partnership type of trust. This can be crucial when a crisis erupts or a key message needs to be communicated properly. Finally, a smaller company is more nimble, able to zig and zag with market conditions, media scrutiny, and changes in company goals, etc. There are fewer filters to pass through to get a new agenda up and running immediately than can be found in a larger group. Key points: · Smaller firms can provide clients with regular access to senior staffers · In times of crisis, companies can rely on their agency partners for accessibility and focus · Firms can put more focus on clients if they have a smaller roster of them

Less Mass for Newsweek? When Newsweek decided to shift its coverage from a focus on current event news to opinion-based content, TrylonSMR President Lloyd Trufelman sounded a note of caution, stating that the magazine should carefully match online to print strategies: "If the objective is for print and online being seen as separate parts of [strategy], they might be selling themselves short," he explained.

Many b-to-b marketers are turning to PR as their budgets are slashed and they struggle to maintain a marketing presence in their industries, according to a recent article in B2B. The article points out that in a recession, it's more important than ever to have your story told by credible third-party media.

The article cited as an example software company EthicsPoint. The company is boosting its PR efforts despite the economic climate. The company plans to cut some traditional advertising expenditures while boosting investment in PR. The key is establishing dialogue with the customer, as opposed to traditional one-sided advertising campaigns.

The particular nature of the current recession may make PR efforts even more effective, according to the article. It stated that, with reduced reporting staffs, print publications are looking for help generating content and may be more willing to turn to PR professionals than in the past.

Many executives view PR as a marketing technique that delivers strong return on investment. For example, a Procter & Gamble Co. study showed that overall PR delivered a 275% ROI on a series of campaigns for six of its brands.

With greater access to media and information than ever before, most consumers will research a purchase before making it. The use of the Internet to determine who they want to do business with makes a strong media presence more important than ever. In the current environment of distrust and skepticism regarding business practices, PR can help present a company in a more positive light.

People want to do business with companies they trust. That trust is derived from anecdotal evidence from friends and colleagues as well as media reports they either obtained through searching or happened to see or hear in the course of everyday activities.