Communicating During a Global Crisis
Coronavirus Communications Response Considerations for your Small Business
You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t already experienced the impact of COVID-19 (the Coronavirus). Look no further than the toilet paper aisle of your own grocery store to see the impact in your own backyard. And chances are, if you have travel, business or social plans in the works for the next month or so, they’ve been altered no thanks to this widespread virus.
Government officials have not minced words when it comes to the impact of COVID-19. Supply chain management, special events, retail and hospitality businesses are not immune to the impact of disruptions caused by this far-reaching public health concern.
Business leaders and communicators face the difficult challenge of deciding how and when to augment their normal course of business to account for a potential lack of supplies, staff reductions, production delays, etc. – and then- how to address it with team members and customers.
Of course, I would love to maintain optimism that the cases in the United States will remain isolated, however, we live in a global economy and many small businesses will likely encounter a temporary challenge – at the very least from wary customers.
Serious consideration must be taken: At what point do you acknowledge that the global crisis has reached home- and announce your plans internally and externally? In addition to any staffing changes, how – and what- will you be saying to your employees, customers and other key stakeholders to reassure and maintain confidence in your brand?
Unfortunately, this is not always a clear-cut path. Information is changing by the minute and your response strategy must be timely, accurate and unique to your organization.
Whether you have crisis plan or not (and don’t feel bad if you don’t- one that specifically deals with such an outbreak is unlikely), now is the time to start thinking ahead to how you will address and communicate potential changes that will occur as a result of COVID-19 – even if they are temporary.
Act with urgency – but not panic
The COVID-19 virus presents an undeniable disruption to the day-to-day operation of many organizations across many industries. Business leaders must think realistically that this particular global crisis of COVID-19 will at some point have an impact on their businesses- even if no one within the organization actually contracts the virus.
At this juncture, while this public health concern is consuming all news cycles and many conversations, you must evaluate how your organization may potentially be impacted. Even if you don’t subscribe to the pandemic pandemonium, your employees, clients, suppliers and competitors will be asking questions and you should be prepared to address them.
Arm yourself with information so that you can make more informed and accurate statements. Reinforce that employee wellbeing and good hygiene is paramount to your daily operations.
Anticipate the duration of the crisis as best you can – check with suppliers to estimate potential delays in parts or products, calculate the cost of labor shortages or resources required for remote work. Consult your legal team regarding potential liabilities.
As you receive answers to these pressing questions, formulate how you will communicate key messages. How will you leverage your owned media platforms and internal communications channels? Will that be enough to communicate effectively, or will you need to employ additional resources? What tools will you use to reassure internal and external sources that business will continue as usual?
Be forthright
We’re all seeking the most up-to-date information. You don’t have to look further than Twitter’s trending topics to discover the hunger for details (and a few baseless theories.) In crisis communications to employees and customers, we often encourage our clients to acknowledge a situation at hand and provide succinct information, not noise.
Once you’ve established the variety of situations that your organization may face (an employee contracts the virus, self-isolation, consumer doubt due to misinformation) it’s important to prepare your team to address anticipated questions and concerns.
Think through and plan to proactively address each scenario and how you will engage any relevant partners. Hint: now is the time to start drafting any statements to employees and customers. In doing so, be wary of rumors or assumptions. During times of crisis, news cycles can evolve by the minute, creating a prime opportunity for mistakes (whether intentional or not.)
Consider communicating:
- How you are closely monitoring the situation
- What special steps are you taking to keep your customers, employees and key stakeholders safe
- Reassure that you are ready to act at a moment’s notice
- Highlight any additional steps being taken to restore consumer confidence
Most importantly, be consistent. Only have your designated spokespeople communicate via external sources to remain on-message and accurate.
Keep your front line informed
Crisis situations like this one are fluid with lots of updates and even more opinions and misinformation. Keep in mind that your frontline team members might be as concerned as your customers. Reassure them that you are keeping a watchful eye on the situation and adhering to all guidance provided by local officials – most of all, inform employees of any policy changes in response to crisis updates and contingency plans. It sounds cliché to say, but they also need to know that their safety is your top priority.
Inform your employees and key stakeholders first and create a space to address any internal questions or concerns. An informed team will more confidently deliver the necessary messages that your customers need to hear, should you need to make changes to daily operations.
Provide clear soundbites, and a timeline for future updates that can easily be delivered. Above all, encourage empathy towards your customer.
I hope that this article represents an overcautious take on the far-reaching impact of COVID-19 for small businesses. If anything, the coronavirus crisis represents yet another testament to the importance of preparing your business and will remind many of us to dust off our crisis communications plans.
Allison Schroeder, APR.