3 Steps Every Brand Needs to Take During the COVID-19 Crisis

Editor’s note: I co-wrote this article with Peter Abraham, my friend and partner in Marlowe.

As the novel coronavirus infects people around the globe and disrupts not only daily life as we know it but also entire sectors of the economy, we’ve been reaching out to current and former clients to see how they’re responding to the crisis. We’ve also been paying attention to the deluge of messages that we’ve received from different brands via email and social media.

We’re seeing an enormous range of tactics. On one end of the spectrum, there are brands who’ve basically thrown up their hands and said, “We’re not going to say anything about this pandemic. We’re just going to pretend it’s business as usual.” At the other end, there are organizations that are communicating quite frequently with their customers, but perhaps aren’t providing as much value as they might believe.

What’s the right strategy here? Is there a road map for how brands should communicate with customers during a crisis unlike anything most people alive have ever experienced?

Turns out, it’s not that complicated. Here’s our point of view:

As we’ve learned from counseling many brands under all kinds of circumstances, being helpful is a good strategic starting point for communications. But what is helpful in “normal” times looks very different during a crisis of this magnitude. Also, the strategy of being helpful can and should vary tactically from brand to brand.

We break down the communications imperatives into a three-step process:

1. Be honest. Any leader or organization can start here. Don’t pretend things are normal. They’re not. So be clear about what’s going on, whether you sell jewelry or bicycles or SaaS software. If your business is facing store closings, product shortages, supply chain problems or customer service delays, be transparent about these issues. Any business that ignores the shock of what’s happening in the world right now is going to appear tone deaf. Period.
2. Be empathetic. With some Federal Reserve economists forecasting an unemployment rate of 30% or more — reaching Depression-era levels — the current crisis will have catastrophic effects on the economy and on the consumer’s ability to spend. So any brand communications should include an acknowledgement of the brutal reality so many are facing right now. Let your community know that you understand how difficult things are.
3. Have an action plan. What problems are you solving for your community? How are you communicating that? Are you changing your services or your pricing? Are you having to close your doors or lay off staff? Share what you’re doing and how it empowers your customers and employees. Share not only the bad news but also opportunities for bonding, mental wellness and tasteful distraction.

Given this strategy, here are three key points to keep in mind when crafting your communications strategy during this crisis:

1. Context matters: There is no “business as usual” and there may not be a single person in the country, or the world, whose life has not been disrupted by COVID-19 at some level. It’s critically important for brands to communicate that they see what’s going on in the world and to adjust their tone accordingly. Price sensitivity is a huge issue right now, and fine dining restaurants may not be able to sell $25 hamburgers, even though they’re offering take out. We’ve seen some brands simply ignore the crisis, and others have just alluded to it with an inappropriate attempt to make a joke about “social distancing.” Even worse would be David Geffen’s (yes, he’s a brand, too) now-infamous Instagram post about self-isolating on his $590 million super-yacht. We encourage every organization to think carefully about context.
2. Community is mission critical: At this moment, millions of people around the world are confined to their homes most of the day. That means employees, customers, and all of your stakeholders are desperate for community contact and social connection. Brands can offer this in the form of digital meetups on Zoom, and Instagram Live broadcasts. This is a moment that cries out for creativity. How can you bring your community together in a way that adds a ton of value while also being on-brand? There’s a huge opportunity for organizations to deepen their connections with all those in their ecosystems.
3. Build relationships for the long game: This is advice we’ve been giving to brands for many years: There’s never a bad time to bring value to customers and employees with unselfish actions and communications. Unfortunately, many brands have ignored this strategy in favor of a more transactional arrangement with customers. Now those businesses look hypocritical when they start showing up with emails. Customers would be right to ask: “Where were you when I needed you?” The point is that it makes sense to create long-term relationships with customers and employees, and then they won’t be shocked when you’re reaching out in times of crisis.
4. There are many opportunities out there in spite of the difficult times we’re living in. We hope that these simple ideas will help you find ways to survive and prosper in the coming months and years.

We’ll leave you with some examples of crisis communication we’ve gotten recently:

Example: Vans

What’s right with this: This initiative, called Foot the Bill, benefits small, independent skate shops with unique, artist-designed shoes for each shop. The website leads with a brief, direct message from Steve Van Doren himself. This is a smart way to support the Vans community of grassroots retailers, who are all hurting badly right now.

Example: Starbucks

What’s right with this: clear communication, honesty, a plan in place

Example: The Gap

What’s wrong with this: The company’s homepage on April 1st looks more or less the same as it did six months ago. In the meanwhile, they’ve closed over 3,700 stores nationwide and furloughed the majority of its retail workers due to the growing pandemic. Unbelievably, there wasn’t a prominent mention of these interruptions on the homepage (the company has since added a notice at the top of its site).

Example: Outerknown

What’s right about this: This is the perfect balance of caring and commerce. The company rightfully recognizes that customers might not be “in the mood to shop,” but also offers them comfy clothes to wear while in quarantine.

Example: Famous Frames

What’s wrong with this: While you can’t argue with the sentiment here, nothing about this email serves the customer in any way. It only serves to clog up their inboxes.

Example: Huckberry

What’s right about this: This is not a time to be thinking about profits, as hard as that might be for businesses who are closing their stores and seeing sales fall off the cliff. Customers will remember how you showed up in this moment of need. This kind of response by Huckberry generates goodwill and long-term brand loyalty.

Example: Marriott

What we like: Arne Sorenson spoke directly to his community of employees and customers in a heartfelt and honest five-minute video. The communication was even more impactful given that he’s in the middle of a battle against pancreatic cancer.