In times of Coronavirus, how should brands do Communication?

It was 31st Dec’2019 and the world was cheerfully celebrating New Years’ eve waiting to welcome 2020 with open arms, expecting the next year to be positive and full of opportunities. Who would have thought that barely a month down the line, our lives would be turned topsy-turvy to an unimaginable extent? It was just another virus outbreak in China, we used to hear about and expected it to be gone within no time. Yes, I am referring to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undoubtedly, it has been one of its kind catastrophes, with affecting millions of people and sadly has been responsible for thousands of deaths throughout the globe. The worst thing is that even the most developed countries have failed to control the death toll when the Coronavirus was at its peak – countries whose health and sanitization systems were to vouch for. Saving as many lives as possible and controlling the transmission looked like an impossible job for the governments.

It was then, that reality hit all of us. After several types of research and attempts made by medical experts worldwide to come up with a concrete solution, we now accept that the world has changed forever. Pre and post-COVID-19 times are very different and we have no choice but to learn to survive with it. Businesses have hit rock bottom, jobs have been lost as a result of this. People have been asked to stay at home because it is our lives that matter the most. Yet, the world has never been so united against one common enemy that poses the threat of uncertainty.

Therefore, amidst all the chaos, with all sorts of right and wrong information floating around us, brands must strategize their next moves carefully to exist and excel in the post COVID world. A brand represents a culture, a society and is yet relatable to individuals. It is not unusual for people to look up to brands in times of crisis people incline to moral support and brands can play a vital role in these times to help everyone not lose hope and also protect their existence. Several well-known brands have embraced the changing norms and are flourishing. We are not emphasizing on becoming an opportunist and considering the COVID situation as a chance to grow your business. This is an effort towards saving brands lose out on valuable impressions they have created over years of hard work, retain their customer loyalty and positively impact the society.

Brands play an extremely crucial role in influencing people’s choices for the kind of products they buy to their acceptance of the post-pandemic life. Hence, brands need to understand the responsibility they carry on their shoulders. Except for the essential services, almost all other businesses have taken a fall in the past few months. To survive this pandemic, brands need to think out of the box, change their strategies and always keep a plan B in existence considering the uncertainty of the situation at hand – these little things would help them go a long way. And then comes into the picture the first step towards this goal – Crisis communication. To understand the concept in a better way, we would share some of our thoughts expecting that these will be helpful to your business in some way:

1. Accepting the status quo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Post pandemic world is different – our choices and priorities have changed. Brands need to let this new reality sink in and create their strategies accordingly. Identifying what changes you need to imbibe in your vision is critical. For instance, if you run a restaurant and your sales have been affected due to negligible footfall caused by the pandemic, your brand could emerge as a provider of home delivery service. The next step is to make sure that you reach out to customers and spread the word about the new feature. People would still be able to relish their favourite delicacies while staying at home. Or if the service already existed, work on promoting it to the next level. This way, you are encouraging people to stay at home, therefore, supporting social distancing, which is some of the important aspects of preventing the virus spread.

Let’s talk about another brand i.e. WhiteHat Jr. (now acquired by BYJU’s – India’s leading educational technology & online teaching group) who have been extremely successful in expanding their horizon during the pandemic. WhiteHat is an online platform for children to learn coding. With schools being shut down and outdoor activities restricted, children have a lot of time to spare and parents would always encourage for their time to be utilized constructively. WhiteHat Jr. has tapped into this sentiment and sustained the pandemic effect gracefully by appropriately creating campaigns and encouraging learning.

Therefore it’s about finding your unique space in people’s lives, knowing how you make an impact and what can be done further to make your brand useful during the crisis.

2. Digital media “the saviour”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social and digital media usage have increased manifold during the pandemic. It has proven to be a saviour for many brands because they could connect and establish relationships with new customers over social media. There are so many ways your brand can make an impact through social media – whether it’s conducting virtual meetings or introducing contests and quizzes to keep your customers engaged, there is a high probability for your brand to flourish if your social media footprint is strong. As a brand, if your business is not flourishing, still keep your customers updated through social media so they know when you would bounce back, if there is a deviation in your products or services due to Covid-19 make sure to broadcast it on the digital platform.

Humans were never meant to isolate themselves. Or as rightly said by Peter Singer  – “Human Beings are social animals. We were social before we were human.” An immensely strong need for connection is our very nature and when it gets disrupted, could lead to some serious repercussions. Through social media, we replicate the feeling of staying connected and thus comforting each other. We have turned social media platforms into an essential aspect of our lives. Facebook and Instagram have shown a steep rise in the number of active users worldwide since March 2020. These platforms have also created guides that help people understand how to maintain connections during the pandemic. Isn’t that a nice gesture to be coming from such global brands? Indeed.

3. Do not vanish into thin air waiting for opportunities–

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As difficult as it may be for every brand to rebuild their trust and image in people, it’s extremely important to understand that sitting back and waiting for opportunities to come your way on their own is simply not going to work these days. The proactive approach needs to be adopted for brands to make sure their presence sustains in the post-pandemic era. These are also depressing and discouraging times. It is easy for businesses fall prey to all the negativity. Not acting and expecting things to be normal over some time is never going to be enough anymore. Uplifting your brand is crucial – now more than ever. Amazon online delivery services are one of the best examples of such engagement.

Even though online shopping is going to be people’s choice these days, they still come up with advertisements encouraging people to order online instead of visiting malls or supermarkets, introducing regional languages in their application so that there is an increase in the range of their target customers and thus actively communicating the brand’s sentiment. Such acts pass on a simple message that as a brand you care for your customers and that makes them choose you over other competitors.

4. Advanced research practices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is crucial to make sure you are aware of the socio-cultural sentiment about the dynamic situation daily. Something said today might not seem appropriate tomorrow. Verify your content over and over again to ensure no negative messages are being passed on. It is easy to fall prey to false news floating all over social media. Sometimes it might be appropriate to not comment on a controversial topic for the sake of preventing the spread of false information. Or if needed, do verify the entire context before publishing or broadcasting. Remember, your actions as a brand reflect your persona and during these times, everyone is under the radar where the slightest of insensitive comments can ruin your image.

5. The human touch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can brands influence people and their feelings? How can they create connections and sustain them too? By adding the much needed human touch to their actions. Contributions to society in the form of charity and donations are not just tools to stay connected; it is rather a brand’s social duty. Isn’t that what CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) also comprise of? This is their time to give something back to the community. Celebrities sharing encouraging thoughts daily, engaging with people over social media and leading by example are a couple of things that people look up to. We have also witnessed such instances during Covid-19 crisis when brands have come together and collaborated to help frontline workers like medical & sanitization professionals or general people somehow affected by the whole situation. Brands also gain much-needed visibility through such campaigns.

6. An Active employee engagement / People-first approach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employees are the foundation of any brand. They can provide real insight into customer needs and requirements. Undoubtedly they are considered the most valued asset in any organization. Therefore, as a brand, you must be considerate of your employees’ welfare during these tough times. A lot of them would be dependent on their income from your brand as their only source. Being considerate in such times is a gesture well received. Several organizations across the globe have allowed their employees to work from home and provided them with all the necessary tools to ensure business continuity.

One such great example is Microsoft India who has not only made sure that their employees are comfortable enough to work from home, they have also introduced a 24×7 Covid-19 Medical Advisory helpline for all its employees and their family members wherein they can call and receive medical guidance from health practitioners. Hold on, the list does not end here. Since a lot of employees are at home with their children (the schools being shut down), they can also avail the 12-week Paid Pandemic School and Childcare Closure Leave– meaning that they can take approximately 3 months off at their own convenience to deal with their kids’ school closure. A remarkable initiative – isn’t it?

7. Connect with friends and other businesses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connecting with long lost friends and acquaintances can be a great step towards increasing the scope of your brand’s communication channel. We have already emphasized the criticality of human connections. In these difficult times, proactively looking for opportunities from sources we might have been ignoring for years could lead to great results. Who knows, someone might open a door for your brand to grow exponentially. Encourage collaborations with other like-minded businesses as well to create a positive communication channel with society.

8. Maintaining continuity and open communication channels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another very important aspect is to make sure that as a brand, you maintain continuity in all your communications. Your continued presence helps attain the trust of your employees, customers and stakeholders alike. Regular updates on the products or services and how they are being affected during these times are some of the things people would genuinely be interested to know. When there isn’t much to share, some light-hearted humour or motivational quotes are also a few tools that can help you stay connected to your audience? However, it would be good if caution is used while publishing such content to make sure no sentiments are hurt in the process.

Re-post, share and spread the word for initiatives taken by other brands and support each other. No matter how competitive the world is today, compassion still goes a long way. You would emerge as a considerate brand that does not only care about profits or revenues but is also compassionate in your actions.

A far more practical approach is to work out how to keep messaging going, but sensitively and thoughtfully not aggressively. In doing so, you could actually enhance your brand persona by demonstrating empathy with what customers are going through. Here are a few pragmatic tips –

1. Audit all content across all channels
2. Be clear about what you are and aren’t offering during the crisis
3. Make sure your messaging hierarchies are right
4. Don’t be afraid to highlight your efforts to help
5. Encourage people for safety measures
6. Adapt to new ways of working to keep delivering
7. Reach out personally to those customers that will be most affected if/wherever possible.
8. Pay attention to what is being said about your brand on social media and respond not only with sympathy but with empathy
9. Include information about what you’re doing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of your own employees.
10. Last but not the least, Be Human.

Now, just look the example of Clarks. How beautifully they have crafted an email for customer communication about COVID-19:

These are undoubtedly crazy times, and I expect that my insight into some of the tips here would help you emerge as a stronger brand than ever. Amidst all of the chaos, we still have witnessed instances of compassion and humanity which would prove to be the very basic attributes to the future growth of your brand. Connect with us @ 9667539053 and we will guide you through any tough scenarios as best as we can.