We’ve got your back!!! The importance of leveraging support during a crisis [Tuesdays: “Write with the Pen of the Masters”]
7 CRISIS COMMUNICATION TIPS
EVERY ORGANIZATION SHOULD MASTER
#2 Leverage Your Supporters
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Deep breath. You’re okay.
You’ve managed to purchase enough toilet paper to last you till Christmas and you’ve reached the eleventh episode of Netflix’s binge-worthy reality series, Love is Blind Season One.
That’s it. You’re a pro at self-preservation. Congratulations!
On a more serious note…
During these challenging times and as we start another week of quarantine, it’s time to rethink exactly how you and your company are addressing the current situation on COVID-19 effectively.
Last week, we started discussing the 7 Crisis Communication Tips Every Organization Should Master. These tips stemmed from Northeastern University’s Department of Communication where our Director of Research is an alumnus. Our company bases our communication ethics on these principles.
By following these tips, you’ll have to develop proper communication within your own company and to your clients during these turbulent times.
Last week, we talked about how a Rapid Response is critical in times of crisis. This week’s communication tool that you should utilize during a crisis is to Leverage Your Supporters.
There’s a reason the phrase, “Treat others as you would like to be treated,” is referred to as the Golden Rule. For centuries, this principle has been stated in the Gospels, Confucius Analects, and writings of Aristotle, Plato, Seneca, and Isocrates.
Simply living with the intention to always respect and treat others the way you want others to treat you can go a long way. It builds respect, loyalty, and community at home or at work.
In today’s current society, with the recent outbreak of COVID-19, the Golden Rule is especially relevant, as we are already seeing people helping their neighbors and communities across the world.
You can only accomplish this if you have the leverage and support of others around you.
Using this relationship helps you gain support in times of crisis. Together, you and the people become a strong team working for the betterment of your community.
How does this apply to the business world?
Just like in your daily life, your business relies on a great support system. Everyone needs individuals they can rely on in times of crisis.
Building authentic relationships with clients needs to be fostered and grown over time.
In business, people buying your product or availing your service need to know they can rely on you ahead of time. How do you know if you’ve done this?
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to know if you’re on track to building a strong community you can leverage:
- Are you providing your clients with valuable information they can use and helping them achieve their goals?
- Are you engaged and attentive to their unique needs?
- Do you answer all their questions, no matter how many they are?
- Have you been respectful throughout each and every interaction you have had with them?
Overall, a strong and established rapport has to be fostered in your clients. Trust us, there is nothing better than having a community of clients that know they can rely on you no matter what happens.
The best way to do that is to answer this last question: Are you treating them the way you would want someone you are paying to treat you?
Building a community is a long-term commitment that is a result of providing quality customer experience through good communication. This is an important element that enhances brand trust and loyalty.
This can be in the form of providing helpful and valuable content such as blogs and infographics, constantly engaging with customers through email and social media, and identifying their needs and wants to develop new products.
Each of these small actions has a huge impact on building up your community, as you provide a customer-centric experience that allows you to communicate with them on a regular basis.
Even a simple “thank you” can go a long way!
Having an established community means that you have people that would support your brand. This means positive and genuine feedback from people not affiliated with your company.
Here are a few examples of customers rushing to the aid of brands they support during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Social media platform Facebook used their fundraising tools to allow their users to make donations more efficiently to their platform and help major organizations such as the World Health Organization. As of writing, their campaign has raised USD 5 million, which is half of their USD 10 million goal.
Philippine Telecom brand Globe leveraged support from their customers during the crisis, raising PHP 5 million worth of points to support the Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation. These funds will be used to provide protective equipment to health workers and frontliners.
Italian football club, AS Roma launched a fundraiser to support the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in Rome through their Roma Cares foundation. Being one of the most popular sports teams in Italy and a recognized sports brand, the campaign was able to raise over EUR 473,000, which is close to their EUR 500,000 goal.
Another major sporting brand, the National Basketball Association (NBA), launched the NBA Together program, which aims to raise funds to compensate workers and staff, and educate fans and communities on how to support each other during the pandemic. The campaign has raised over USD 30 million out of their USD 50 million goal, and is growing as the NBA players and the community continue to support their efforts.
These brands’ campaigns highlight the importance of this week’s crisis communication tip. Thanks to their supporters, they are able to assist various charitable causes and provide aid to their respective communities.
Strong communication and customer loyalty can help keep your company sustainable and profitable, providing you with a support system that you can leverage to help others during times of crisis and beyond.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Tuesdays: Write with the Pen of the Masters”
Who doesn’t find content writing to be a skill that requires a lot of practice and effort?
In fact, many people may even find copywriting very intimidating.
However, you can be a good writer as long as you have the right tools. You won’t always get things right the first time, but with enough time and practice, you’ll get the hang of it!
When you write a copy for any brand or for your company, your aim is to make an impact and…
…to get people to remember.
Getting people to remember means getting consumers to buy your product or to avail of your service.
And when you get your content to deliver the results you want, THAT is a great copy!
Every Tuesday, we publish content based on tips and insights from the masters of content writing, copywriting, and storytelling.
Become more familiar with ways to write great copy that helps you gain ROI from your efforts, drive profitability, and achieve your business goals.
Learn time-tested tactics that better capture the attention of your target audience, and maximize the benefits of great copywriting.
Hope you found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Tuesday’s “Write with the Pen of the Masters!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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