Having a Plan is Crucial

It is important to have a developed plan in place before a crisis appears. When in the middle of a crisis event it is easy to be overwhelmed with stress, which may cause tunnel-vision for some and emotional, not strategic thinking. Having a plan in place in advance will allow your team to focus on strategy and rapid execution of crisis management procedures. These 10 principles will remain consistent through any crisis and will act as your road map as you handle the situation: Be available and act swiftly. Be honest and proactive with all key audiences. Make sure your staff hear any news from you directly (before the media). Be responsive when working with the media. Be of the mindset that “perception is reality.” It does not matter who is right or wrong. Disclose all bad news upfront. Put a quick end to the crisis and eliminate controversy. (This may take the form of a press conference, public apology, etc.) Have empathy for those affected by the crisis. Emphasize what you’re doing to correct the situation, as well as what preventative measures will be used in the future. Never have or say, “no comment.” If you need to refrain from commenting, use language such as: “We are still investigating at this time and have not reached a conclusion.” We know that many of our clients and friends are dealing with or anticipating potential crises. We've also developed a Thread Marketing Group Orange Paper on the ABC's of Crisis Communications with additional information for handling a crisis. This helpful document is available for download via the link below.

As I have watched this crisis unfold, I have been keeping a keen eye on the messaging that has been being pushed out though ads, social posts, and marketing emails (occupational hazard). Watching to see what brands have been quick to respond and which have not.

How to evaluate your marketing plan during a downturn.

The difference between Price and Value is something all marketers need to know and use during our daily lives. With the current situation, its importance will only increase. As marketing professionals we are going to be doing daily battle with attacks on our budgets during these uncertain times. Now more than ever, we need to prove the value of what we do. Our co-executives may look at marketing tactics and only see price. We must show them the value.

You may have already had the “Cut Back” not “Cut Off” conversation regarding marketing. Assuming it went well and your company has not decided to go completely dark during this unprecedented downturn, you may be considering “What next?” How do I best determine what to cut back on, what to completely stop, and where to pivot budget into? Let Value be your guide.

Customer support, service, and success are all critical to your business's prosperity and growth. Often these areas are confused and referred to interchangeably. The results of each of these potential interactions play a huge role in how customers feel about your business and your brand. It’s important to recognize the difference of each one and treat them all as a major factor on your business’s reputation, customer retention and bottom line.

What’s your new pandemic-era social media routine?
We’ve-always-done-it-that-way might have worked fairly well up to this point. But we're now working in unprecedented times.

Right Now, Customer Retention Strategies Should be a Top Priority

Chances are sales are important to your success as a business. Management generally expects to see a steady stream of new business flowing in the front door. But that’s not as important to your growth as you might think.

Finding the Good During an Economic Slowdown

We have all seen it before. The first thing to be cut in a down economy is marketing. It's the easiest thing to do and generally doesn’t require l

aying off employees or reducing production. It hearkens back to the days of when marketing couldn't show return on investment (ROI). And even now in the days of data overload, it still tends to be the fallback position. However, research shows that companies that continue to spend on marketing and even increase their spends, fare better during recessions than those that do not.

It is an understatement to say that these are highly unusual and trying times. Everyone is holding their collective breath to see what happens next. We are also consuming content at an incredible pace. We want to know how to protect ourselves, what we can and can’t do as part of growing quarantines, what the economy is going to do, and what stores have restocked their shelves with toilet paper.

This unprecedented pandemic is a wake-up call for companies to carefully review the strategies, policies, and procedures in place to protect employees, customers, and operations. An important part of those policies and procedures includes how you communicate, both internally and externally.

In today's fast-paced, tight-budget, not-enough-hours-in-the-day world, we all could use ways to do more with less. And fundraisers aren't the only ones. In fact, that's what makes this next fundraising tip so important.