The veterinary sector’s first dedicated crisis preparation and response service launched

Companion Consultancy, the specialist PR and communications agency for the veterinary and animal health sector, has launched the Crisis Compass, a service designed to fill a gap that has long existed for vet practices.  The crisis communications service offers structured, professional support for preparing for, and responding to a reputational crisis. Veterinary teams can find the Crisis Compass at https://crisis.companionconsultancy.co.uk

Developed by a team with direct veterinary and communications expertise, Crisis Compass assesses a practice’s individual risk profile and translates it into a bespoke document that serves two main roles. The first is a preparation guide that helps a practice reduce the likelihood of a crisis occurring in the first place. The second is a practical playbook, that sets out exactly what to do and say in the face of a crisis, including pre-drafted holding statements, scenario planning and media guidance.

The service responds directly to conditions vet practices are increasingly navigating. Social media has changed how quickly criticism can spread and how publicly a practice’s response is judged. Additionally, sustained scrutiny of the sector, including the Competition and Markets Authority’s review, has put pricing, transparency and client trust firmly in the public conversation. Crisis Compass gives practices a clear, pre-agreed way to respond quickly and communicate confidently with stakeholders and the media while protecting their reputation.

Fiona Farmer, Director at Companion Consultancy, explains “We built the Crisis Compass because we repeatedly saw practices being hurt by negative online stories that spread faster than they could respond to. As vets ourselves, we have used our lived experience of working in practice along with our expertise in communications to create a service we genuinely believe will help. The Crisis Compass is not just there to help when things go wrong, the package includes bespoke advice to reduce the chances of a crisis happening at all.”

The service is offered across a range of packages, so that practices of every size and budget can access it. This spans a fully bespoke, hands-on option with ongoing Companion Consultancy involvement in a practice’s crisis and reputation management planning, through to a risk assessment and guided, self-led approach for practices that want the same framework in a DIY format. An ongoing retainer option is also available for practices that would prefer continued access and review.

Crisis Compass is available now to veterinary practices, veterinary groups and animal health businesses across the UK. Further information is available at https://crisis.companionconsultancy.co.uk, which also includes a free crisis risk assessment quiz that provides an insight into critical areas for improvement when it comes to crisis preparedness.