The corona problem has forced many organizations to engage in some form of crisis communication. Your company is undoubtedly no exception.
After all, customers need to know where they stand:
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What measures is your organization taking to contain the spread of corona?
Does your company offer alternative ways to stay in touch with customers during the crisis?
In this article I will give an overview of damage limitation measures that you can take to get through the semi-lockdown. At the end I will indicate to what extent my team can help you in implementing the measures.
Proceed thoughtfully
I want to emphasize that crisis communication is like walking a tightrope over a ravine: making the smallest mistake can be fatal. Therefore, proceed thoughtfully:
If you are lax and do not communicate in a timely manner, customers will resent your lack of involvement in the crisis;
If the tone of your communication is too commercial , customers will feel that you want to take advantage of the situation and profit from it. A clothing store in Hasselt was harshly criticized on Facebook because they called on people to keep coming to the store, because ‘they had provided disinfectant hand gel’. The angry reactions were in the air: ‘Don’t you have any family of your own?!; ‘You should be ashamed of yourselves!’. Not surprisingly, the controversial message has now been removed from Facebook;
If the tone of your reporting is too light-hearted or funny , you will be judged on that. Humor can also be applied in difficult times, but consider what is appropriate for each target group.
Tread the narrow rope carefully; only with the right balance will you reach the other side.
Be ahead of the questions
By proactively answering your customers’ possible questions, you can eliminate a lot of uncertainty among your target group:
What will change about your service?
Can people still contact you?
Will orders already placed still be processed?
Do I get a refund if I cancel?
Do you still deliver products?
Use all your channels to answer these questions: post messages on your website and social media, and send a mailing. Is the situation changing? You also need to let your customers know about this. So make sure to provide updates.
By removing uncertainties, you prevent complaints and damage to your image at a later stage.
Example of a company that proactively communicates via Facebook: Bicycle shop De Geus from Antwerp
Inform your team
Everyone working in your organization needs to be aware of the crisis communication that is currently being conducted. Emphasize the following:
Make sure that every employee understands what will change for the customer ;
Explain to your employees that they must all convey the same message – a message that you as the owner or manager have determined;
Provide your employees with updates : let them know when there are changes to the policy.
Customize online campaigns
Make an inventory of the campaigns you have running in Google Ads and Facebook, for example. Ask yourself whether your campaigns meet the needs of the moment. If this is not the case, take action:
Pause the campaigns;
Or adapt the campaigns to an alternative message .
Pausing or adjusting your campaigns prevents confusion or even frustration among your customers and saves you unnecessary expenses.
A good example of a company that adapts its campaigns to new needs is the aforementioned bicycle shop. Previously, they encouraged people to come and take a test ride with them via Google Ads. However, due to the corona crisis, their shops can no longer be visited. Their alternative? An employee of the shop gives advice from behind the webcam. The campaign message ‘Book a test ride’ has been replaced by ‘Book a video call with a bicycle specialist’!
Offer alternative means of communication
Your business may no longer be visited in person, but chances are your customers still need to get in touch with you. Consider some alternative communication methods:
Chat function : a chat function allows your customers to communicate with your company in text form. Of course, this can also be done by e-mail, but in a chat box everything goes a little faster: the customer types something and receives an immediate answer from you.
This is the power of a chat function, but also the pitfall: people expect an immediate answer. If you choose to install a chat function on your site, you must be able to guarantee that someone is there to answer.
Example of a chat function
Video chat : even more personal is a chat session when the customer and you can see each other. Especially when your organization has many regular customers, this will be an added value; after all, people will like to see your familiar face.
A video chat function is also ideal for shops: with a chat function on your mobile phone you can virtually walk through your shop with your customer. You can discuss certain products directly with the customer and then send them to the customer by post!
By the way, it is not even necessary to integrate a video chat function into your site; nowadays there are numerous video meeting channels. Whereby.com is an example of this; we currently use this site ourselves when we want to be able to look a customer in the eye. We simply share our personal Whereby link with the person and meet him or her at an agreed time in a virtual meeting room. Want to learn more about Whereby? We wrote an article about it.
An online meeting on whereby.com
Offer alternative sales channels
Especially for shops it is important to compensate for the lack of physical customer visits. After all, you want to continue to help your customers as best as possible and you also hope to survive the crisis financially. Fortunately, there are options to still serve your customers.
Webshop : for companies that already had a webshop it is easy; they can offer their products online anyway. But what if you did not have a webshop up until now? Is it possible to set up an online store within a few days?
The answer is: yes, that is possible. We know this from experience. On the day that it was announced that the retail trade had to close its doors, an Antwerp bookstore knocked on our door. ‘We know it is very last-minute, but can you set up a webshop for us?’ Two days later the shop was online.
Instagram : You can also sell products via Instagram. Instagram Shopping is the function that makes this possible. Personally, I don’t think it’s the most pleasant method because there’s still some logistical hassle involved, but for some entrepreneurs it’s undoubtedly a good option.
Example of a Shopping post on Instagram
Webcam + post : or you do as the bike shop already top best photo stocks available in russia in 2024 mentioned does: you walk through your shop with the customer during a video chat, you discuss the products, the customer chooses the items he wants, and finally you send the order by post.
Targeted assistance with crisis communication
In the first item of this checklist I emphasized that your tone of voice in crisis communication should not be too commercial. It is therefore risky of me to tell you that Motionmill can help you during this crisis; after all, I do not want you to think that I am taking advantage of the misery.
That is why I want to make the following clear: dy leads Motionmill’s raison d’être is (even in normal times) to help companies with their communication. That raison d’être has not changed thanks to the coronavirus. In fact, it has been strengthened, because now of all times , organizations need help with their communication.
So know that I mean it with the best intentions when I say that we can support you during this difficult period. The action points mentioned in this article are being carried out by me and my team for several of our clients as we speak .
Although we no longer work from our office on Grotesteenweg in Antwerp, we continue to offer continuity in our work from home. Our entire team of ten helpful communication specialists is ready to help you.
Unfortunately, it is not in our power to make this bad situation a pleasant one. The only thing we can do for you is to make this situation easier . Mail me and I will contact you the same day.
I want to end this article on the following positive note:
A quiet period is often the ideal time to prepare for more normal times. If your time, health and finances allow it, this is the time to start projects that you previously did not have time for.
