Public Relations Webinar Poll Shows State of Crisis Preparedness and Responses for Businesses amidst COVID-19

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Apr 07, 2020, 09:15 ET

NEW YORK, April 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 5W Public Relations, one of the top independently owned PR firms in the U.S. has released statistics based on the crisis communications preparedness and responses for businesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The poll was run during the firm's COVID-19 Communications Webinar on Friday, April 3^rd and was answered by 116 participants. The results are as follows:

67% did not have a crisis communications plan in place prior to the pandemic
75% have seen a negative impact on their business due to COVID-19
84% agree this pandemic will forever change the way we do business
61% have offered free goods or services during the pandemic to help the community/country

"While we acknowledge the sample size of this survey was low, we do believe this is a snapshot of the state of business in America," said 5WPR Founder and CEO, Ronn Torossian, who was a panelist in the webinar. "This data clearly shows the majority of businesses were not prepared, and have been negatively affected by this pandemic. The important take away here is that a crisis always comes as a surprise, so the key is to be prepared for any worst case scenario that could affect your business and have a tight response plan in place. Unfortunately many have learned the hard way, and I agree along with the majority of the participants, that this pandemic will forever change the way we do business."

5WPR's crisis communications practice specializes in highly-charged issues and crisis management for companies and individuals facing unanticipated difficulties in the marketplace. The firm has handled a broad spectrum of issues including pandemics, IPO's, business and personal litigation, product recalls, trade disputes, environmental problems, warranty and product liability claims, executive scandals, miss-informed publics, sexual harassment, labor issues, criminal indictments, and a variety of sensitive domestic and international political issues.

5WPR's expert crisis communications team is offering their knowledge in various matters relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in frequent emails to their mailing list, blog posts, and webinars. The topics covered span internal and external communications procedures and include matters relating to event rescheduling, supply chain disruption, layoffs and impact on hourly workers, infected co-workers, forced company closures and maintenance of the sales pipeline during a crisis, among others.

About 5W Public Relations
5W Public Relations is a full-service PR agency in NYC known for cutting-edge programs that engage with businesses, issues and ideas. With more than 175 professionals serving clients in B2C (Food & Beverage, Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, Nonprofit), B2B (Corporate Communications and Reputation Management), Public Affairs, Crisis Communications and digital strategy, 5W brings leading businesses a resourceful, bold and results-driven approach to communication.

Media Contact
Ronn Torossian
[email protected] / 212-999-5585

SOURCE 5W Public Relations