No matter how the world lauds the skills and courage of U.S. Airways Capt. Chesley Sullenberger III for his remarkable landing in the icy waters of New York’s Hudson River, the fact remains that brand image is already tarnished. In fact, Sullenberger’s heroic act is the only thing that might give this brand a second chance.

Managing crisis is an important component of your branding initiatives. Much more if you’re running a small business because you have limited budget for this kind of terrible event. It doesn’t have to be as big as this US Airway tragedy. Escalating customer complaints or quality issues about your products or services can also be classified as crisis. There are things you need to know in the event these things happen to your business.

Worst Case Scenario. Don’t wait for a tragedy to happen. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Think of the worst things that might possibly happen in your business and list them down. It may be food poisoning if you have a catering business or online theft for e-commerce stores. From natural disasters to human errors, find out all issues that may crop up in your industry and the right course of action to take in the event they happen.

Emergency toolkit. Panic is the enemy of branding. So make sure you have ready answers to your customers, suppliers, employees and in some cases for the general public. A toolkit includes your contacts to media, PR experts, press release templates, and web templates that you can use as front page. Speed is of utmost importance.

A Designated Messenger. The best way to contain information and prevent confusion is to have an official representative who will take the heat and answer the questions. In the case of small businesses, it is your responsibility to deal with these issues. Be very prepared.

Keep in mind, trust is the foundation of a good brand. Lose that and you can kiss your company goodbye. It’s a mortal sin to act slowly when emotions run high.

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