Back in 2019, I wrote a blog about business continuity and crisis management. At the time, it felt like a sensible but slightly sobering exercise – something most small businesses should do, but many quietly put off.
Fast forward to today and we’ve all learned the hard way that disruption isn’t hypothetical.
Pandemics, cyber-attacks, extreme weather, economic shocks, staff shortages, hacked social accounts – the list of risks facing small businesses has grown and so has the speed at which problems escalate. Trouble is, I think the fact that we survived (mostly) the pandemic means we’ve all got a bit complacent about managing in a crisis.
Of course, what hasn’t changed since then is that, when something goes wrong, how you communicate matters just as much as how you operate. Business continuity and crisis management isn’t just about keeping working, it now also has serious implications for brand, data and trust. (It’s also a topic I’ve been discussing at length with a new client, SDH Crisis Management).
So what’s changed since I wrote the first article?
In many ways, everything and nothing.
Most businesses are now more digitally connected, more visible online and more reliant on a handful of platforms to generate leads, reassure customers and maintain credibility. That brings opportunity but also new vulnerabilities.
Today, business continuity planning isn’t just about where you’ll work or how you’ll deliver. It’s also about:
Whether your business can still be found
Whether customers still trust you
Whether someone can communicate clearly on your behalf
In other words: marketing continuity is business continuity; crisis management needs to include comms management.
The risks small businesses now need to plan for
Without getting too gloomy, here are some of the most common (and realistic) risks I see when working with small organisations:
People risks
- You (or a key team member) becoming suddenly unavailable
- Knowledge living in just one person’s head
- Freelancers or suppliers disappearing with no handover
Digital and data risks
- Cyber attacks, phishing or ransomware
- Losing access to your website, domain or hosting
- Social media accounts being hacked or locked
- Data breaches and GDPR implications
- AI tools being used without checks, risking brand or IP damage
Marketing and reputation risks
- A social media backlash or negative reviews going unanswered
- Brand impersonation online
- Over-reliance on one marketing channel
- Sudden drops in visibility due to algorithm or platform changes
- “Going quiet” during disruption, causing customer concern
Operational and external risks
- Premises becoming unavailable
- Supply chain disruption
- Extreme weather events
- Economic downturns or regulatory change
Many of these scenarios lead to the same outcomes: limited capacity, reduced service, uncertainty. The difference is how prepared you are to respond.
Revisiting the plan — with a marketing lens
The five-step approach I outlined back in 2019 still holds up well. What’s worth adding now is a stronger focus on communications and digital access.
Ask yourself:
- Who can access our website, social media and email marketing tools?
- Are login details stored securely but accessibly?
- Do we have pre-agreed messages we can adapt quickly?
- Who decides what we say, and when?
- How do we reassure our staff and customers while we fix the problem?
A short holding message delivered quickly and calmly will always do less damage than silence.
A simple marketing continuity checklist
You don’t need a huge document. Even a single page helps:
- Key contacts (staff, suppliers, advisers)
- Access to website, domain, email and socials
- Brand assets and tone of voice guidance
- Draft “disruption” messages for customers
- A clear decision-maker for communications
Plan calmly, communicate confidently
None of this is about being alarmist. It’s about acknowledging that disruption is now part of doing business and that clear, confident communication protects trust when things don’t go to plan.
Most likely, you’ll never need your continuity or crisis plans. But if you do, your customers, your team and your future self will be very glad you took a little time to create and share it.
(And thanks once again to Google Gemini AI for finding just the right image to go with this article; feeling a little sorry for the office cat!)