Crisis Comms or Comms Crisis?
Never before have the actions of most corporate C-suite executives been so crucial in determining whether their companies will or will not survive. And never before have the communications and marketing teams been so accountable for striking the right tone of voice for the organization, to its customers and employees.
In the case of COVID-19, communications teams have been plunged into crisis mode for an extensive period, which is not usually the case. So, as the battle with COVID-19 goes on, what is the strategy for crisis communications? Here are three tips for your communications and marketing teams to consider.
1. Repeat your message, be clear and consistent: repeat, repeat, repeat! Messages are more effective when repeated. As communicators, we know the power of repetition, but also share legitimate concerns about over communication and communications fatigue. In a crisis, there is no such thing as too much communication. In fact, you must over-communicate to all your stakeholders, including your customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and even Board members. Regardless of the content, during a crisis, communication must be effective, consistent, and transparent. This approach will help to ease anxiety and stress and can also lead to swift decision-making across the organization, which is paramount during a crisis.
2. Re-assess your communications and marketing channels: having decided on the messaging and content to be communicated, it is important to also look at your intended communications channels. Given the crisis-induced budget restrictions and reductions, your marketing teams may need to re-evaluate the digital marketing mixes to help enhance advertising effectiveness. For example, they may choose to focus on more cost-effective digital options, such as direct and organic search traffic driving initiatives. Additionally, while a channel such as SMS may be considered too intrusive in ‘normal’ circumstances, it may actually be the best option during a crisis, because it is direct and allows you to deliver messages quickly, concisely and directly to those who need to know critical information.
3. Be authentic: marketing’s greatest challenge is foreseeing how customers’ wants, needs, expectations and purchasing decisions will evolve; and then responding to these needs. Your messaging should match your customers’ needs. As marketers and communicators, we must use meaningful and authentic messages to show we completely understand our audiences’ pain points and provide solutions to address them. Empathy goes a long way in crisis communications. It is important however, to stay away from generic phrases, but to consider personalised and tailored messaging instead. Ultimately, marketers need to keep customers loyal during a crisis while continuing to build business value.
The businesses that continually manage to keep a customer-centric focus and are in tune with the mood of their customers, tend to weather the crisis storm much better.