FAIRFAX, Va. — The Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA), which serves as the public outreach arm of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), has created a crisis communications guide to help pest management companies proactively develop their own plans of action for crisis situations.

Available exclusively to PPMA Guardians and Contributors through the PPMA Perks Program, this crisis communications guide provides information on the importance of preparing such a plan within the pest management industry, as well as a list of key elements that should be included in any forward-thinking and effective plan. The guide also offers tips for dealing with media attention during and after a crisis, information on training a company spokesperson, appropriate customer and employee relations strategies and crisis communications on the Internet. Further, the guide provides sample components of a plan, which can be customized to suit the needs of individual companies and the specific circumstances of any crisis situation.

“In the pest management industry, just as in any industry, a crisis can happen at any time,” says Missy Henriksen, executive director of PPMA. “The key to minimizing the effect that a crisis has on your company is to be prepared by having a detailed plan for how you and your employees should respond if a crisis does occur. PPMA hopes that the guide developed will encourage our Investors to develop a crisis communications plan for their businesses, if needed, or to review and update an existing plan.”

The crisis communications guide is the latest offering within the PPMA Perks Program, which provides specially developed marketing and public relations materials exclusively to the valued Guardians and Contributors of PPMA for use in their own businesses. Other “perks” available to PPMA investors include a customizable advertising kit, the use of PPMA’s digital pest footage for company web sites, the ability to request and retag “retired” TV and radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and complementary copies of videos, notably “Pride and Professionalism” and “What is IPM?”

For more information on the Professional Pest Management Alliance, its comprehensive marketing initiative or the PPMA Perks Program, visit www.npmapestworld.org/PPMA.