Imagine your circle of friends. You have fun, meet for a night out, spend a lot of time together. Then something pretty unfortunate happens to you. With whom would you share happy moments in the future: those who helped you, those who ignored your problems or those who even tried tried to get something out of you in your time of need?
The way your brand responds to the current virus outbreak can help your business a lot or do serious damage. Just think about it for a second...
What did your company do when you heard about the importance of additional sanitisation? What did you do when the government recommended your customers staying at home to prevent the virus from spreading?
Furthermore, what did you tell your clients? What did you broadcast through your media?
Sure, you don't have to say you clean your office twice if you offer online services (still a good idea to do that, though) or offer discounts to the sanitising products if you are a law firm. Still, the matter of reputation and how you as a company react to unusual, dangerous and threatening situations shows your true identity.
It's like friendship, and it has nothing to do with crisis communications or reputation management.
Why it matters
When the competition is high one of the most precious points your company can get to win is its reputation. For Millenials and Gen Z, the company's "behaviour" matters almost as much as the quality and price of whatever you have to offer.
Carbon footprint, gender equality, charity, the reputation of famous people and influencers you work with and the jokes you make online - all these are the final factors for your potential customer's choice. So the way you behave when something global and threatening happens will decide your future when the problem is gone (hopefully very soon) but the memories of your action are very much alive and important.
Even though the economy is in recession, your clients are withdrawing or postponing whatever they can (unless you are a toilet paper provider), you can now help the future of your brand and keep your existing clients' loyalty.
What you can do
"Nothing personal, just business" is not an option this time. Kindness and willingness to help is the best marketing in times like this.
Think of what you can do to make people's life easier in this temporary new reality.
Share your expertise for free (host a webinar, answer the questions online, give a consultation, post a video with physical exercises or even make a playlist for those working from home).
Entertain your audience in ways close to your type of business (share a joke, post an article with useful recommendations, send out a newsletter with relevant updates, encourage your audience to share their feelings or experience).
If you have nothing particular to give, share compassion and support.
Look at Louis Vuitton, making sanitizers instead of perfume, look at the online services offering free access to databases or gyms posting videos of exercises to do at home.
This will both help people and promote your business in the most effective and memorable way. People might forget what you've done, but they'll remember what your brand made them feel.
In my turn, I offer for free what I know best.
So if you are looking to how to keep your marketing alive, stay in touch with your existing and potential clients, email me, and we will find the way to be kind and useful and help more people who will stay loyal to your brand when what we are experiencing now is over.
Be safe and kind,
Marianna Modenova
marianna@modenova.london
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