10 Mar How to Ride Out the COVID-19 Storm – A Communications Checklist

Are you suffering from ‘pandemic paralysis’? Is it impacting the way you talk to your staff, stakeholders and clients? You are not alone. Here’s how to take back control.

6 min read

Most small-business owners operate in a perpetual state of overwhelm at the best of times, so it is completely normal to go through waves of panic and anxiety over what the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic mean for your family, your business and your team. Feeling vulnerable at a time like this does not make you weak, it makes you human.

As business owners we need to mentally, emotionally and physically prepare for the COVID-19 fallout to continue for months. Until it is over, taking action is the best antidote to our fear.

How to communicate with your team and your customers is essential to carving a way through one of the most confronting business challenges of our lifetime.

STAGE 1: Pandemic Outbreak – First Few Months

How we act in the first few weeks and months of a crisis is vital. It is normal to feel scared about what this means for your business, but you have to resist allowing it to paralyse you into inaction. This first phase is about looking inwards with a focus on regular, honest and clear internal COVID-19 communications.

Tip #1 – Have a Plan

The sooner you come up with a plan, the better. It might not be much to begin with but something is better than nothing, especially for the staff who rely on you for guidance. They need to know you are taking action.

Your plan should include workplace procedures in the event a staff member contracts COVID-19.

Tip #2 – Be Honest With Your Team

Cut to the chase. This is not a time to slowly break the bad news, just rip-off the Band-Aid instead. Do not leave staff to agonise over your decision making, but take them on the journey with you. What would you want to know if you were them?

Respectful communication internally on the COVID-19 implications helps solidify trust, which will be crucial once the pandemic shifts.

Tip #3 – Give Yourself Time to Adapt

The temptation for many people at a time like this is to keep busy. But beware of setting unrealistic expectations for yourself, your team and your business. It is normal to feel lost during this transition.

Allow yourself and those around you time to make a mental adjustment and to adapt. Remember, no sane person feels good during a global disaster.

Tip #4 – Cut Out The Noise

Ignore the people constantly posting on social media about how productive they have been. Run your own race instead. They are on their journey and you are on yours.

It is completely fine if you do not know how to conduct a Zoom video conference yet or if you have not managed to overcome all the challenges your business faces.

Tip #5 – Read Up On Government Subsidies

Allow yourself time to read up on the various government subsidies on offer for your business and for your team. Check the federal, state and local council grants and loans available. You must be informed and be in a position to let your staff know what they are eligible for.

Resist the urge to throw it in the ‘too hard’ basket. These grants and subsidies may seem complicated at first but could make all the difference for the survival of your business, and by extension the livelihoods of your team member.

STAGE 2: Pandemic Pressure – The Next 6 to 12 Months

By this stage, you should be better digesting the reality of your new operating environment. The next aim is to step up how you engage with your customers, clients and stakeholders. Effective COVID-19 communications should include these important elements:

Tip #6 – Get Social

Notice how much time you have spent trawling through your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter feeds over the past few weeks? Once again, you are not alone.

A social media presence is vital for every business during this period and beyond. It is the most accessible way to keep clients or customers updated about your operations, and is their first port of call to see how they can still access your services or products.

Why not remind them you are still here through ‘throwback’ messages to reinforce your past successes? Even Google is into this, so why not follow the experts?

A ‘throwback’ social media post is essentially when you write about past projects, products or business events, pick those that were a hit. You should include a photo from that time and make it clear that it is a ‘throwback’ to another time.

It is a great tool for reminding customers or clients about the positive outcomes you have achieved to date.

Communication should be frequent, at least once a week, if not daily, but remember it must be messaging with a purpose. And if you have long put-off fixing your social media pages or actually posting content, now is the time to get busy.

Tip #7 – Find Your New Normal

Try to embrace a new normal and have faith in the process. All messaging should reflect that your business is still operational but in a new way. Show how you are adapting to the crisis in innovative ways.

And don’t be shy to advertise any pro-bono services or free products you offer right now to give back to the community (and stay top of mind).

Tip #8 – Reach Out

Media outlets will bend over backwards for positive content right now so why not pitch a story about your business and how you have managed to carve a way through the pandemic?

Twitter is the best way to make contact with a journalist or media organisation but it does require some homework on your part.

Your best bet is to find out which journalists cover the round associated with your business whether it is retail, IT or hospitality. For example, you can type in the words ‘retail journalist’, ‘IT journalist’ or ‘hospitality journalist’ in the search function on Twitter and scan the results. Most journalists will include an email address in their Twitter bio. If not, you can get their attention by putting out a tweet that includes their Twitter handle. Direct messages are only possible on Twitter if the person follows your account in return.

When you make your pitch, make sure you have realistic expectations about what the value of the story is. Why not include the visual opportunities for TV outlets and newspapers that would complement a write-up? Think about what the headline could be and what elements of the story may surprise people.

Don’t just expect journalists to give you free advertising, that is not their role. You need to consider the news value and pitch it accordingly.

Tip #9 – Ask for Help

Do not be afraid to use your social media pages to make it clear how your business can be supported during this time, whether financially or voluntarily. Would you like members of the community to volunteer their time to help you with a large or important task? Do ask! Do you provide takeaway now that your café is closed? Great! Share this on social media – and don’t be afraid to ask people to keep supporting you by continuing to buy from you.

You’ll be surprised just how much you and your business might mean to your community and clientele.

Remember that by starting a business, you also start a community. The people who use your services or products and are pleased with them would like your business to continue well beyond this pandemic. Give them the chance to help if they can.

As always, remember to be careful and approach this with tact and caution. Make it explicit that you are calling on those who have the means to help to do so, while you sympathise with those who do not.

STAGE 3: Recovery – 12+ Months

Once government restrictions are lifted and the business environment starts rebuilding, there will be great competition for the limited consumer dollar. Your business must stand out to be competitive.

Tip #10 – Get Loud: Turn up your post COVID-19 Communications

Your number one goal is to make it clear you are back in business. Use both internal and external communications to explain how the business has changed as a result of the pandemic and remember to thank clients, customers and staff for their patience.

You were not the only business to make it through an extremely testing period so have a think about what sales, discounts or deals you can offer to the first clients and consumers through the door.

Tip #11 – Pat Yourself on the Back

Remember to congratulate yourself for making it through the other side of the pandemic, and thank your loyal team, customers and clients for coming along for the ride.

A regular social media presence is vital during this recovery period and should include positive stories about staff returning to work, products being delivered as well as testimonials.

Tip #12 – Be Human

Don’t be afraid to let your vulnerability and human side show through your communications. It is ok to feel down and out in the face of a once in a lifetime pandemic.

It is how you rebuild, retrain and recover that matters most.

Tip #13 – The ‘P’ Words

“Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on hard days you know that there are better ones coming.” – Anon.

By now, you may feel sick and tired of hearing the words ‘pivot’ and ‘stay positive’ as you try to navigate your way over the many hurdles of doing business during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is certainly easier said than done.

But while positivity is beneficial to business success, adaptability is vital.

As small business owners we have an innate ability to adapt to whatever our business needs. Remember, you are the best person to guide your business and your team through this pandemic.

Trust your instincts and the process.

Deep down you know you’ve got this.

No matter where exactly this unexpected journey may lead you.

Feeling too overwhelmed to make a start? Give us a buzz on +61(0)415 273 272 or email hello@cavacom.biz and we can help you get through those first crucial steps to taking back control.