An inhabitant of Peer feels threatened when it appears that the arsenic concentration in the soil and the groundwater is putting his possessions at risk, a farmer from Ellikom is in despair on the land he has tilled for years on end, … crises occur all the time. Before you can solve them, you have to communicate about them. Otherwise, misery mounts. It is important, in such cases, to recount everything quickly. But that is faster said than done, especially when you know that a study conducted in 1996 has shown that one quarter of Belgian companies in the food sector are convinced that they will never face a crisis. Half even assert that they can stifle a crisis in time. However, things get totally out of hand when something is leaked to the press. The food industry knows what this is like, as when journalist Siel Van der Donckt got her hands on important reports which broke the dioxin story. If you do not give satisfactory answers, you run the risk of all sorts of guessing and speculation unleashed by politicians, so-called experts or journalists. Such obstinate rumours brought Roda butter down in the Netherlands. No one wanted to buy that margarine any more, because they were afraid they would get red spots on their skin. The margarine is still on the market in France, and our neighbours south of the border are not sporting any red spots.

It is best to avoid such a creeping crisis through mercilessly rapid communication. The first 24 hours are of crucial importance, because communication managers then see to giving answers to the “who, what, where and when” questions. In the second 24 hours, you have to tackle the why questions, to give an explanation of how it could have happened. In the third 24 hours, the media will start looking for information. Here, no guesswork or improvisation will do – only relevant answers and arguments.