Sometimes the going gets tough for a business and you may find yourself in the firing line for adverse public and media attention.

This is when time spent developing your crisis management plan - and practicing the possible scenarios - becomes worth its weight in gold. Designed for just such an eventuality, the plan springs into action, helping to mitigate the impact on your reputation.

Having a positive reputation in the first place, which is something that media relations can assist with, is also important should a potential damaging issue arise.