Crisis Management in Customer Service: Best Practices

According to the latest report into the customer experience by Emplifi, 70% of customers will abandon a company after just two negative experiences. A poorly handled customer service crisis can seriously harm your reputation and result in lost business. But when managed well, it becomes an opportunity to strengthen trust and build lasting customer loyalty.

What do we mean by crisis management in customer service?

It’s the process of responding quickly and effectively to the unexpected issues that can negatively impact customer experience. This process involves clear communication, swift problem-solving, and actions aimed at minimizing damage to customer trust and business reputation.

Let’s take a look at the typical crises that your customer service team might face:

• Technology failures: website outages, cyberattacks, data breaches
• Supply chain issues: product shortages, product recalls
• Lack of customer support consultants: a small customer support team overloaded with queries
• External events: natural disasters, pandemics like COVID-19 resulting in localized and global crises

According to Sentiment.io, up to 40% of small businesses never reopen after experiencing a crisis. But when crisis management is done correctly, risks are mitigated, transforming potential disasters into showcases of reliability.

Why Crisis Management in Customer Service Is Important 

The modern consumer expects quick and empathetic customer support. So, when a crisis strikes, how you respond will either strengthen customer retention or cause irreparable damage. The latest statistics show that 87% of customers prefer to receive support via phone, indicating you might want to consider providing call center support services. The image below illustrates customer preference for other forms of support channels, showcasing the need for your company’s availability via various channels. This is especially important when you face a  crisis, so that you can meet your customers wherever it’s most convenient for them.

Crisis management in customer support involves a systemic approach to identifying potential threats, preparing for these threats, and responding efficiently to them if they occur. 

Here are some examples of how poorly managed crises can damage your business:

• Erosion of trust: Slow or inaccurate responses and unresolved issues quickly erode consumer trust — especially when amplified by social media, turning frustrated customers toward competitors.
• Legal issues: Lack of compliance with necessary laws or regulations can contribute to a poor brand image.  
• Damaged reputation: Negative media coverage combined with bad word-of-mouth can undermine your reputation and customer loyalty for years. 
• Impact on employee morale: Poorly managed crises result in chaos and uncertainty among employees, which will directly impact customer service. 

However, with good customer service crisis management, robust response strategies, and crisis prevention measures, you can confidently navigate these challenges and rise stronger than before.  

Best Practices of Customer Service During a Crisis

Keeping calm during a crisis can be challenging, especially when faced with a large volume of customer requests and questions.  

At SupportYourApp, we have trained our support consultants to navigate sensitive and demanding situations, ensuring that our team is ready to help handle any crisis that you are experiencing from any channel to any integration, with the ultimate security measures in place.   

But how can you consistently provide good customer service during a crisis? Here are some tips:

• Transparency and clear communication: The best course of action is to be upfront and 100% transparent with your customers 
• Empathy and understanding: Communicating with empathy and understanding are the first steps to fostering trust and goodwill. 
• Prioritizing safety and wellbeing: Customers want to feel looked after during a time of crisis, with efficient solutions to minimize disruption and inconveniences.
• Proactive problem-solving: It’s important to have crisis management teams in place, with carefully planned steps to execute. 
• Accountability and commitment to improvement: Handling a crisis correctly is not enough; customers expect you to learn from your mistakes and implement measures to ensure these shortcomings will not reoccur.

Before the Crisis

The foundation of strong customer relationships lies in your ability to plan proactively. The crisis is not the time to figure out a course of action — you need to have a plan in place to minimize the potential damage.

Here are the key elements of preparation:

• Risk identification and assessment: Conduct thorough assessments to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities.
• Comprehensive crisis management plan: This plan should outline communication strategies, response protocols, and key roles and responsibilities during the crisis. 
• Employee training: Correct team management during a crisis will help to continue providing effective customer support and reduce the risk for further damages. 
• Key metrics: In business, everything should be quantifiable, and a crisis is no exception.

The plan should outline escalation protocols so that the support team knows who will be handling messaging, media inquiries, and stakeholder outreach during the crisis. The crux of good customer service in crisis is if your team is calm, they will help your customers to remain calm, too.

During the Crisis

Okay, so your business is experiencing a crisis — now what? 

When a crisis blows in, it is important to implement your plan, but it is equally important to maintain open and transparent communication with your customers and stakeholders to preserve the relationships you have been building. 

Keeping information hidden will only make matters worse. Effective crisis management in customer service begins with the following strategies:

• Active listening: Listen actively to customer feedback and concerns.
• Multi-channel communication: Make use of as many communication channels as possible to quickly relay the message about the crisis and avoid potential miscommunications. 
• Empathetic messaging: When crafting outgoing messages, be sure to stay clear, to-the-point, and empathetic and demonstrate honest concern to resolve the situation.
• Open communication: Establishing open communication with your customers demonstrates genuine interest and concern for the wellbeing of your consumers, and can build trust during a crisis. 

See the image below illustrating the best practices of customer service in times of crisis. 

Here are some additional don’ts to consider during a crisis.

Don’t Be Defensive 

During a crisis, there is no time to cover up or shift blame. The most effective resolution results from transparency, both inside and outside the business. If you do not have an answer just yet, then communicate that the business is still in the process of investigation. 

Don’t Ignore Risks 

In the event of a crisis that could impact health, safety, or security, caution is advised. To ensure cybersecurity in crisis, there are specific steps to be taken, including: 

• Involving senior management
• Conducting non-stop testing
• Educating the team about data security
• Using essential systems only
• Knowing what resources to use and when 

At SupportYourApp, our team undergoes constant security awareness training to keep the data of our clients secure at all times.   

After the Crisis

You’ve made it to the other side of the crisis, but how well did you manage the situation? Crises are dynamic events requiring continuous adaptation, and there is always room for growth. And continuous improvement starts with evaluation.

Here are some key metrics for tracking the impact that crises have on your team and business:

• Number and rate of incidents: Monitoring the volume and frequency of customer incidents helps quantify the overall impact during a crisis. Analyzing these trends over time can reveal patterns and highlight areas for improvement.

• Cost to team: By determining the estimated cost-per-ticket, you can determine the overall cost of handling customer support issues during a crisis and investigate ways of reducing these costs, e.g., increased training, different support integrations. Reducing costs in one area can lend budget to improving other areas that also require attention. 

• Crisis management process scorecard: This scorecard acts as a post-crisis checklist to determine whether all steps in the crisis management plan were followed. To construct this checklist, go through your plan and include all tasks that personnel were supposed to complete, like internal meetings, external communication, incident ticket management, and post-crisis evaluation. Once you have curated your checklist, begin scoring it after each crisis. Gaps in this scorecard highlight immediate areas of improvement, including training, missing documentation, or processes that need updating. 

Real-Life Examples of How Businesses Reacted to Crisis 

In 2017, Equifax, a consumer credit reporting agency, discovered a mass data breach of customer data but waited several weeks before publicly announcing the breach. This delay, along with reports of executives selling shares before the reveal of the breach, resulted in public distrust and frustration and created the perception that Equifax cared more about financial gain than customer security. 

As a result of their poor communication, Equifax faced massive legal consequences and brand reputation damage, whereas if they had communicated the breach, they would have demonstrated commitment and emerged stronger after the crisis. 

Whole Foods is one of the grocery store chains that showed a display of good customer service during COVID-19. The chain converted its stores into dark stores, banning customer access to them and acting as fulfillment centers by only allowing pickup and delivery services. 

Whole Foods also allowed customers over the age of 60 to visit the stores an hour before opening to do their shopping more safely. Stores closed two hours earlier for thorough cleaning while still allowing grocery pick-ups to be made. This shows what dedication to good customer service during crisis looks like. 

Summary 

Crisis management in customer service is essential for maintaining strong customer relationships. When handled poorly, it can significantly harm customer satisfaction, lead to customer loss, and ultimately affect the business’s bottom line. 

To help prevent customer fallout during a crisis, support teams should follow specific best practices — starting with a well-structured crisis management plan that emphasizes transparency, empathy, safety, and accountability.

Being proactive is key: a clear plan should be in place before a crisis occurs, with those best practices guiding actions during the event. Once the crisis has passed, conducting a thorough evaluation is essential to identify what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve future responses. 

FAQs

What Is Crisis Management in Customer Service?

Crisis management in customer support involves the strategies used to address unexpected disruptions that affect service delivery and customer satisfaction. It requires a proactive, structured approach to identifying potential threats, preparing for possible outcomes, and responding quickly and empathetically when issues arise — helping maintain trust and strengthen customer relationships. 

Why Is Customer Crisis Management Important? 

Lots of businesses never reopen after a crisis, highlighting just how critical crisis management is for long-term survival. By learning from best practices and real-world case studies, you can gain valuable insights into effective crisis response strategies and best practices.

What Are the Consequences of Unaddressed Problems in Customer Service During a Crisis?

Poorly managed customer service during a crisis can have far-reaching consequences. Beyond disappointing customers, it can damage your brand’s reputation, erode trust, and negatively impact your bottom line. With social media amplifying customer complaints faster than ever, a delayed or impersonal response can escalate quickly. Ultimately, customers who feel neglected are likely to

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