Be helpful, be informative, be transparent – and if you can’t be any of these, then be silent.
That’s what is expected from most of us during this time of crisis, be it brands or individuals.
This post has to be straight without any frill. The last thing that we want to see right now is non-contextual advertisements, automated messages and communication for the sake of communication! Sounds basic, isn’t it? But many aren’t following it still.
My one simple expectation from myself and everyone around me right now –
Be Human, communicate like a human.
Additionally, if possible, let’s try to –
Be Genuinely Empathetic, empathy is not a skill to be flaunted on social media, it needs to be practiced for real.
Serve and help wherever we can.
There can’t be a better form of marketing than customer service during this time of crisis.
Yesterday I was attending the town-hall of one of my clients where the CEO and Co-founders were addressing the employees on the current COVID crisis. One of the lines from the presentation by the co-founder that stuck with me was –
“Don’t Hard Sell, Show Strong Support”!
So human and so powerful. Reminded me of the brilliant HEART framework of crisis communication by hbr.
You can read the full post about this framework here.
On that note, I must say that there are also brilliant examples by many brands on how they are helping their customers cope up with the current situation. Highlighting some of them below to inspire each other take relevant actions:
Google, this company never fails to amaze me. They truly understand the word “customer need”. Look at the brilliant initiatives taken by them, many more available on their announcement pages.
Zoom, oh my god, honestly speaking how would have the world especially the corporate working-class, survived you without during this phase? I have lost count of the number of hours that I am spending on zoom and not to forget my son whose whole schooling has moved completely online via zoom.
Speaking of schooling and ed-tech, this category has amazed me like never before. From free learning sessions to virtual classes, from online tutoring to hobby lessons, you name it and there is something available for you online these days, in fact, many have gone free to keep the children engaged at home. I don’t think I can post the screenshot of all of them but be it Khan Academy, Scholastic, or closer to home players like Byju’s, Amar Chitra Katha, Karadi Tales – take a bow, very sincere thank you from the mommy me. I wouldn’t have been able to survive this phase without you :).
Last but not the least, the delivery services – Amazon, Big Basket, Grofers, Medlife and more, love the way they have changed their delivery system, love the new processes they have introduced and love that they have got united in their communication campaigns.
Aren’t these examples brilliant? There are many more that are worth mentioning, maybe I will do a second part to this post soon. Till then be let’s be cautious of our communication and let’s continue to do our bit by providing support wherever we can.
This too shall pass!
