Lis Anderson is founder and director at PR consultancy AMBITIOUS. An experienced agency MD with 25 years in the communications industry.
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It’s an understatement to say that communication is important in all aspects of a business. Conveying a clear, strong message is essential to fostering and building relationships with the public. Despite the importance of good communication practices, it’s not always executed well. Couple bad communication with a global crisis, however, and you have a recipe for a marketing and PR disaster.
In recent years, marketing has had to continue to support brands through a series of challenging events. We’ve experienced a global pandemic, political unrest, anxiety over issues such as global warming, and economic downturns.
With so much uncertainty and so much more at stake, how can brands handle communication when the audience is primed for indifference at worst and anger at best? The answer can be found in PR and the empathetic lessons we can learn from crisis communication.
A Crisis Isn’t An Opportunity
To be clear, a crisis shouldn’t be mistaken for an opportunity. One of the worst things a brand can do is take advantage of a crisis to further its own agenda.
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In 2020, during the pandemic, one brand made the mistake of releasing its “back to work” ad on the London Underground. The ad described all the fun things about going back to work, including “proper bants” and “watercooler conversations,” with a space reserved to advertise its hand sanitizers. The campaign’s approach was deemed out of touch with the real feelings of the average worker. In fact, many said that the ad was too similar to a government “return to work” campaign, and it reeked of ulterior motives. Also, it coincided with the installation of 800 of the brand’s sanitizer dispensers across 270 Tube stations.
Avoid Tone-Deaf Marketing
In the age of constant communication and information sharing, brands no longer have the option to remain impartial or silent. We already know that an audience may be feeling a range of emotions during a crisis, and brands need to avoid looking unsympathetic or ignorant by staying out of the conversation. However, keeping the lines of communication open doesn’t mean “business as usual.” It means simply learning to read the room.
For example, a British influencer was recently criticized when she told her social media audience that she checked into a £1,000-per-night room at a hotel in London after her heater broke. This is at a time when 1 in 4 people in the U.K. are planning to keep their heat turned off during the winter as bills skyrocket. The influencer was called out for her tone-deaf post and told to read the room.
Communication Is Context
As a brand, you shouldn’t change the way you communicate, but you should communicate with the context in mind. For example, if your brand uses humor to land messages most of the time, you can maintain this as a way to help people cope and associate your brand with positivity.
However, directly referencing a crisis or poking fun at people going through hardship is an obvious no-no. Non-crisis-related positivity and humor are more likely to be remembered for the right reasons and praised. In fact, even though the use of humor in marketing has steadily decreased since the pandemic, it’s still one of the most effective ways to elicit an emotional response and help your brand stand out.
It’s important to try to understand the context in which your communication efforts will be received. Keep up to date with what’s going on in the world so that you can change your communication tactics if necessary. Know that your audience might have different behaviors and needs from one day to the next. Listen to what people are saying and always be aware of what they might be going through, then reflect this in your communications.
Show Limitless Empathy
The first rule of communication during a crisis is empathy, but empathy shouldn’t be used as a simple marketing tool or a box-ticking exercise. Brands need to consistently reflect that they understand what customers are going through.
Actions speak louder than words. You may not be able to solve every problem for your customers, but you can show an appreciation for the difficulties they might be facing by finding ways to help ease any struggles. This approach was recently reflected in campaigns by two British supermarket giants, who dropped the price of hundreds of products to help tackle monetary anxiety for their customers. They also raised pay for hundreds of thousands of staff.
Don’t Tell Them What To Do
During a crisis, it’s important to avoid telling your audience what to do. For example, telling people to spend less by cutting back on takeout and canceling gym memberships isn’t going to be received well during the cost-of-living crisis. It screams of faux empathy, even passive aggression, and places the onus on the audience to do something about the situation themselves. Instead, showing humility, understanding and honesty while being self-aware can make all the difference.
Honesty Is the Best Policy
Staying honest and transparent during a crisis will help you build trust with your consumers during a difficult time. If a crisis has provoked supply chain issues, for example, you’ll need to communicate these issues as soon as possible.
Acknowledge the confusion and pain that this problem might cause, and always put your audience first. Your audience will undoubtedly find out about any issues sooner or later, and it’s always best if it comes from you first.
We’re Not In This Together
People experience crises very differently. Showing empathy is one thing, but claiming that the audience experience is the same across the board is something entirely different.
Communication is key for business at any time, but it’s especially important during times of global struggle. Don’t end the conversation simply because you’re unsure of what to say. Instead, remind them that you’re still there, that you’re listening and, more importantly, that you understand.
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Author: Lis Anderson, Forbes Councils Member
