Surviving COVID-19: Why a Communication Strategy is the Main Tool in Your Business Survival Kit
So, with the Federal Government’s March 31 announcement of the shutdown of businesses and public institutions across various states in Nigeria, Lagos State inclusive, it is sundown for many especially providers of non-essential products and services who have been compelled to hibernate or perform in limited capacities for the duration of the shutdown.
This marks a major change for all business owners but most especially for medium to small-scale businesses, who are either smiling to the bank (especially hand sanitizer and face mask manufacturers) or are facing serious challenges keeping their businesses afloat (fabrics, restaurants, shopping malls, and physical service providers) either way, in the words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a-changing”.
A major outcome is the adoption of remote working policies and an increased focus on online sales, virtual meetings and digital advertising as bridges to customers and stakeholders in the absence of physical contact.
With reduced visibility and the inability of customers to patronize businesses physically, a crucial factor in achieving this will be how clients are kept informed of these changes in ways that are effective to keep businesses afloat.
Why is this crucial?
In one word, RELEVANCE!
For your business to survive, it must stay relevant throughout this period. If you are not selling essential supplies, the importance of staying connected to your customers and informing them of changes in the way you deliver value cannot be overemphasized.
To achieve relevance, your business must communicate:
● Leadership
● Empathy
● Responsiveness
● Flexibility
As a survivor, you must update your stakeholders with open and transparent information that paints a clear picture of your business reality during the quarantine phase of this pandemic. It is wrong to assume your customers will automatically transfer loyalty and confidence without proper communication guiding this change in behaviour. You should also audit your communications to ensure you filter out any content that may be perceived as offensive or insensitive to the current situation.
That said, how do you communicate with your customers in these challenging times?
The first step (if you haven’t done this already), is a statement that highlights the following:
● The impact of your planned changes on your customers:
● An update on the situation
● New service channels and packages;
● Changes in the way customers access your products or services;
● The anticipated time these changes will be in place;
● Lists of alternate activities or policies your business is taking to support customers, the vulnerable or authorities during the outbreak
● Information on how customers can help fight the virus
Next, compile the most frequently asked questions and concerns into an FAQ Sheet: This can be done by getting feedback from your customers on:
● Their concerns: How can you reassure and assist them?
● Their views: Monitor and provide updates on the outbreak with a feedback loop that helps you measure consumer reaction to major occurrences. How does this affect your business?
● Listen to possible solutions they have: How do they want to be serviced this period?
Finally, post updates that are regular and always:
● Contain assurances of your commitment to adding value,
● Demonstrate ways you are putting the customers’ health foremost
Survival Tip
Factual information is the best way to gain trust and by extension, relevance. Adopt an optimistic tone that reassures your customers about the measures you have taken but be truthful about what you know and how it affects the way you do business. Avoid making promises that may be hard to fulfil in the coming weeks. Your clients are already aware of the situation and want to be confident that you are doing your best on their behalf.
Employees are your greatest assets during this outbreak, however, how you deploy this asset determines the level of impact your employees will have on keeping your business afloat.
How well you communicate internally determines the consistency of your external messaging. Look at it this way, your employees are a mini-communication army and you want all guns in that army hitting targets accurately for maximum impact. This cannot happen if some of your troops have the wrong coordinates or even worse are winging it. The result is usually friendly fire which in this case would be contradictory statements damaging your planned position. Providing employees with messaging to provide to customers and partners enables them for success.
So how do you communicate internally?
It is important to avoid sharing inconsistent and contradictory communication with customers, business partners, suppliers, and investors.
● Disseminate information to your employees with details on the appropriate channels for different stakeholder grouping;
● Provide opportunities for employees to share their concerns. This creates a “we are all in this together” siege mentality;
● Communicate measures you have taken to ensure your employees are protected. Employees who feel respected and that their health is being prioritized, are employees that are loyal and motivated;
● Provide and maintain channels for ongoing updates to employees around any potential impacts. What planned actions are you taking? Always err on the assumption that your employees are unaware of your efforts to keep them safe;
● Timely response to feedback and communicating the impact on employee policies is as important as asking for feedback. Employees value a responsive employer who acknowledges the effort they made in communicating by responding as soon as possible;
● Open lines of communication, disseminating preparedness information and virus updates in newsletters, and other internal communications tools;
● Make sure senior management has all relevant information;
● Ensure key employees have the right tools to work remotely.
Communication is most important right now, how you communicate is crucial in determining in what shape your business comes out of this. Do not be afraid to communicate because of the dynamism of this outbreak.
REF: beandmail.com/business/careers/leadership/article-how-smart-companies-are-communicating-during-covid-19/