By Michael C. Keenan, Keenan-Nagle Advertising, Inc.
At this writing, the coronavirus pandemic continues in full swing, multitrillion-dollar relief packages are en route from our federal lawmakers, and small businesses from Maine to Malibu are hunkered down, feverishly working to balance safety and service for their customers, co-workers and community. Not exactly another day at the office.
Thankfully, common sense — that increasingly rare element of human nature — is richly embedded in the small business owner’s DNA, and it helps to chase the shadows of uncertainty during times like these. Few decision-shaping algorithms have ever trumped common sense. But for those searching for more programmatic practices to help sustain both safety and service during times of crisis, here are some recommendations from our marketing professionals.
Keep Your Communications Plan Framed but Flexible
Painful as it may be, the coronavirus experience has delivered some valuable lessons for America’s small business operators. Not the least of which is to have a well-framed emergency communications strategy in place and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.
Understand that no plan will be perfect. All require on-the-fly content adaptations to address ever-changing news, policies and crisis circumstances. So, stay flexible on the messaging. But it is vital to have the core framework, tools and technology ready to roll out rapidly. Be trigger-ready.
Time Is Trust
We all saw how fast this COVID-19 crisis blew up. When the crud is flying at the fan, there’s no time for the usual meetings and rounds of approvals prior to production and dispatch. Being one of the first out there in the market with a meaningful message also serves to keep you first in minds and hearts — not to mention in future decisions on consumer spending preferences. Whether your market has a multimillion population or a handful of hamlets, it’s still a neighborhood. Neighbors talk (especially with today’s social media channels) and have strong memories. They don’t quickly forget about the caring words, advice and perhaps some financial latitude offered promptly by a foul-weather friend. Time may be money when the sun is shining, but in a crisis: time is trust.
Showcase Your ONLINE Products
Nobody likes a business that exploits emergency situations. But let’s face it, during times of homebound isolation, you can make a lot of local lives better if more customers (and prospects) had your online sales services at their fingertips. So, don’t be shy about marketing them.
In your communications — traditional print and broadcast, or tightly-targeted digital media — frame the appeal by the fact that “You finally have enough time to learn how easy it is to shop online with us … so let’s do it!” Clinging to paper transactions is often motivated by fear of change. Even the biggest technophobes will see the wisdom of 24/7 access once they get past their underlying apprehensions and give it a shot.
To mollify resistance points, stress the fact that it’s easier than many folks initially thought, given your simple step-by-step sign-on pathway — there’s no rush, no “timing out” and no chance of personal embarrassment. To convey the ease of your online inventory review, inquiry process and phone connections to a knowledgeable, empowered sales rep, do a simple video that shows people the step-by-step process. Hopefully, you have such a process and it is streamlined without any of the “gotchas” that red-flag online visitors quickly. Online visitors are TVcentric, to begin with, so don’t ignore video power. It doesn’t have to be a Francis Ford Coppola production. Just a straightforward three or four-step walk-through of your online experience. Scroll a number at the bottom of the screen that they can call (during regular business hours) for friendly human help from your own online advocate. If you don’t have one, get one — even if it’s you. A little hand-holding is an incredibly powerful opportunity to start a conversation and customer relationships.
Blanket Online Security Concerns, Especially During Times of Unrest
Security is another resistance point for the non-online set, especially during times of social unrest. Address this head-on with a one-sided handout sheet and an identical web page. Content should center on bulleted points that hammer home the fact that your online service is built with best-in-industry security technology: local service, world-class security. Even if your front-end web presentation is basic, most businesses have strong back-ends from larger organizations with multiple firewalls, particularly for transactional functionality. Adapt some of their super security techno facts to this purpose. If you need help shaping up this message, get outside marketing professionals on the project. You will be asked about security. Have this tool ready to blanket concerns from prospects. Win their trust and online utilization volume will follow. Sure, many of us are “kick the tires” businesses, but the process starts online and that trend will only increase in the future.
For Employees: A Motivational Team Message
We’ve all seen the famous, stiff-upper-lip British message that exhorts readers to “Keep Calm and Carry On.” It was produced to motivate the English population to stay strong in spirit during what became “The Blitz” bombings of London during World War II.
Given the war we are currently engaged in with an insidious viral enemy, we offer a version of that message for small business employees, many of whom may be sequestered at home: Stay Connected and Carry Through.
The first part of the message is obvious — we all have to stay connected through our wealth of digital tools to continue doing our jobs and serving our customers. The second part is a gentle reminder that, despite the change in the work environment, performance expectations remain high and, now more than ever, it is important to “carry through” on all work responsibilities. It ain’t a snow day, kids — there’s real work to be done.
A simple messaging device can serve to galvanize employee spirit and focus on the tasks at hand. There are many creative directions to fit the unique culture of any business. Whatever your team’s rallying cry may be, it is valuable to have a succinct motivational message that can bring people together as a united force determined to overcome a common, formidable challenge. Remember the Alamo.
Three More Crisis Communication Absolutes
- A centralized communication hub (Landing page/dark site): It’s vital that all of your outreach efforts are presented separately from your standard web content so people can quickly find only information conveyed within the crisis context and timeframe — specifically, what your business’s current policies and practices are, and how to connect.
- Ongoing and up-to-date messages (email, social media, etc.): Don’t make customers and community members come to you; continue the outreach and gain new social media and email followers by providing regular, relevant communication.
- Focus your advertising efforts (Digital advertising, OOT, pre-roll video, etc.). Make sure that your messages are showing up where the audiences are during the shelter-at-home mandate — online. Budgets are tight, so make sure your media spends are tracked with analytics to ensure ROI.
Michael C. Keenan is the president and CEO of Keenan-Nagle Advertising, Inc. Based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with an integrated team of creative, media, web, analytics and client service professionals, the Keenan-Nagle firm has been in continuous service since 1954 and is the longest-serving advertising/marketing agency in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. For more facts, visit https://keenannagle.com/ or call 610-797-7100.
This story appears in the 2019-2020 Issue 3 of the Utah Auto Dealer Magazine.
