Communication as a saviour in a crisis

The coronavirus crisis poses great challenges to entrepreneurs and managers in terms of saving their business, performing their job and retaining their customers. Alongside credit loans and reduced working hours, there is another fundamental tool that is often overlooked. Communication is a powerful lever when it comes to managing crises.  There are five communication mechanisms that can help you to successfully navigate through this crisis.

Why do people go to see horror movies? Because they enjoy the feeling of being scared for 90 minutes before returning to their normal lives. This thrill is such a sought-after experience because it is limited in duration. To be permanently afraid is unbearable. But while all the cinemas are closed, we are living through a movie playing out in our own homes, a movie none of us has chosen: the pandemic.  And we ask ourselves as families, as entrepreneurs, as managers, as people: when will this horror end? 

A respiratory virus is making the world hold its breath. Covid-19, the ‘novel coronavirus’, has thrust its way to the forefront of globalisation. It was never meant to be this way. The crisis finds its expression in human isolation and social distancing, in economic shutdown, in existential fear and job losses. As an entrepreneur or executive manager – responsible not just for my business and its products and services but also and above all for people, employees, customers, my family and myself – how can I get through this crisis with as few bruises as possible?

In viro veritas – in the virus there is truth

First, we must take a different perspective on the crisis: the virus teaches us patience, humility and acceptance.  It is forcing us to adopt drastic restrictions, but also to engage with ourselves. We can benefit from the situation by talking openly about our fears and, despite physical distancing, discover new levels of inter-human closeness. Secondly, we can experience great solidarity, especially with respect to customer relationships. The crisis makes us all equal. Thirdly, it isn’t the CEO or COO but Covid-19 that is digitally transforming our company. We are performing far more tasks online, are acquiring digital skills much more quickly – and all because a tiny snippet of RNA has collectively tripped us all up.

In times of isolation, nothing is as important as communication. Crises are when great talent is born. Develop the talent to communicate confidently in a crisis! Not just during the pandemic, but also and especially in the time that follows. Because you do not want to lose your customers. It was already tricky before the coronavirus to get noticed in the age of digital distractions, and now many customers are also worried about their own livelihoods and are distracted by the daily ritual of staring at the number of coronavirus infections. Caught between pandemic and panic, how can one communicate quickly and successfully, maintain customer loyalty and thus shore up the foundations of one’s own business or job?

Powerful, crisis-resistant and constructive

Improve your communication skills and learn from those who have always done battle against all conceivable forms of distraction: for decades now, radio broadcasters have used know-how, passion, research and empathy to lead the fight for attention – a fight against everyday life, against worry and against stress.  And also against digital overload. Radio professionals know how to get inside people’s heads. And their tried-and-tested tools are also applicable in other fields of communication. In the following five points, I have taken the methods of radio broadcasting that are especially effective in times of crisis and applied them to the world of corporate communication for you:

1.     Be present!

All companies are digitalising their business. In the face of the current social distancing measures and restrictions on movement, you don’t have a choice but to do likewise. But we don’t feel, experience or notice the cold, binary nature of the digital world. Nothing is as unemotional as an email. And so: be as present as possible for your customers.  Stay visible or audible! Show your humanity – maybe via video messages or podcasts. Actively and proactively take care of your customers, one human to another. Ask yourself what you can do for them and offer them help that doesn’t come with a price tag attached. Your customers will remember who was there for them in the crisis. The more humane, the better!

2.     Give gifts!

Trust is the hardest currency. This is especially true in this crisis. Give your customers whatever it is in your gift to give – even if that’s just attention. Give of, and share, the best of what you have, including valuable information and tips. In times like this, what matters isn’t revenue – the one and only thing that matters is enduring trust and that you are remembered.

3.     Adopt the same perspective of this crisis as your customers!

Even before the coronavirus, there was a prevailing misconception of having to impose one’s own message rather than adopting customers’ perspective. We are all stuck deep inside our filter bubble and don’t understand why others are immune to our important messages. But especially in this crisis, we all have totally different problems and pain points. Your customers’ awareness radius has shrunk even further. If you want to communicate successfully during the crisis, you must ask more persistently: ‘Where are my customers currently hurting?’

4.     Stay constructive!

None of us have experienced a crisis like this before and we all react to it differently. When we’re in crisis mode, it’s an emotional roller coaster. Confidence gives way to despair in the blink of an eye, and vice versa. There is also always the temptation to fret over the crisis in a self-destructive way, to fall prey to a crippling paralysis or to scapegoat others. The tabloid press is particularly adept at utilising fear, which generally garners attention. Fear is a powerful emotional trigger. But to be permanently afraid is insufferable (see above). For many years now, the media has been pursuing the trend towards positive, constructive reporting (constructive news). Editorial departments are increasingly reporting on all the things going right in the world. During this crisis, broadcasters are focusing on community, reporting positively and highlighting causes for hope. Their message is: ‘We will get through this together!’ Constructive communication creates trust. That doesn’t mean that you should gloss over the problems, but instead find the silver linings in the clouds. And share these with others. Leave positive traces behind.

5.     Pay attention to the human interest aspect!

It’s not about products, but people. It’s not what the customer buys that matters, but the human experience they have with it. Radio is pure emotion and always tries to give its listeners a positive feeling. This makes the respective radio station humane, and elevates it to the status of a good friend. It’s no coincidence that during this current crisis, radio audiences are growing globally by more than 20 to 40 per cent. It’s important to be open and humane, and to also regard one’s own customers as human beings with their problems, fears and needs, but also with their own joys, inclinations and people and things they love. This is when we resonate with one another on this journey.

Bert Helbig advises media companies and radio broadcasters in Germany and abroad. As a keynote speaker and communication consultant, he shares his valuable insights in the arenas of strategy and communication with a wide audience, drawing on several decades of experience in radio and communication work.  During his talks, he teaches his listeners how to utilise the powerful communication tools used by radio experts.