With the enactment of the CARES Act, businesses have begun filing their requests for emergency SBA (Small Business Administration) loans and the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) to stay afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. While this support for businesses is much needed and welcomed, the rollout of these programs is a crisis communications disaster. There’s no consistency from bank-to-bank on loan documents, and the SBA continues to make up the rules as they go along.
Every business owner I’ve talked with is complaining loudly right now. The frustration is legitimate, but it also demonstrates the quickness and the uncharted nature of this crisis. The sad reality is that we’re all making this up as we go along.
While businessowners can and should apply for this much-needed support from the CARES Act, they should not forget the role that crisis communications and public relations can play in helping a business survive a crisis and thrive after a crisis.
For businesses on the brink of closure:
Be honest and vulnerable with your customers.
Companies fighting to even reopen at all need to get vocal, and they need to be blunt. I’m not talking about asking for a handout, but rather a hand up. The hardest communication for many businesses owners is the most necessary one. You need to be vulnerable and ask for help. Tell your loyal customers they need to join the fight if you are going to survive. View it as a badge of honor that you have customers willing to join your fight, not as a mark of shame. Accept their embrace, because they won’t offer it if they don’t know you need it.
If bringing in some cash now will help you stay alive, ask for people to buy gift cards that can be used when you eventually reopen. Restaurants still offering take-out, make sure your customers know how important it is that they place weekly orders. If you can still ship items by mail or you’re able to have people drive to your location for pick up, make sure your customers are aware of their options. Make it easy for people to help you, and they will.
Share your story with the media.
In addition to talking directly to customers through email, social media, and phone calls, consider reaching out to local reporters to share your story. Explain how you’re fighting to stay open and be honest about what happens if you fail. Media love the little-guy, and if you have a story you’re willing to honestly share, you might become one of the examples they choose to share. The publicity of your sob story doesn’t make you look weak. Instead, as your customers come to your defense, it makes you look beloved and needed in the community.
Here’s the thing- while a news story might help, you still need to go direct to your customers as they are far more likely to make a purchase than some stranger who sees your news story and learns about you for the first time.
For businesses that expect to survive the crisis, but don’t know what the other side of it looks like:
Identify opportunities.
President Obama’s former Chief of Staff and the former Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel famously said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
What opportunity do you now foresee that you didn’t think you could do before? Is there an opportunity for your business to fill a void during this crisis? Can one of your current products or service be slightly shifted to benefit people who must stay home, or essential care workers, or even people who are sick?
Need some inspiration? Walk through your warehouse and look at your inventory. Do you have a lot of a specific product sitting on a shelf that’s just collecting dust? If you can’t think of a way to utilize that product in the current crisis, consider donating it to a local non-profit organization. That could make a great news story too!
Share relevant stories with the media.
Between all the bad news stories, media are also telling stories of businesses succeeding and adapting to the current crisis. Share your positive story, just be humble while doing it. It won’t come across as inappropriate as long as you don’t over-hype it and make wild claims like it’s THE solution to the crisis. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers, it’s okay to share your efforts if you are trying to help your community.
Start planning for the future. Now.
Now’s the time to imagine what you want your business to look like AFTER the crisis. Jumpstart that transition now while fewer people are looking and there are fewer roadblocks (including roadblocks created by current customers and even your own employees).
Go and stake your claim on that new mountaintop before anyone notices. That way, when your competitors later start down that same path, you’re already positioned way in front of them and ready to take immediate action when the economy begins to rebound.
As soon as you get those first wins, loudly promote your achievement through the media. Nothing cements the position of a company better than claiming victory and success while others are just starting to consider how to compete against you.
The SBA and PPP stuff will work itself out in the coming days and weeks. Don’t let yourself lose sight of protecting and growing your business, the real pot of gold.
-Josh Weiss, President, 10 to 1 Public Relations
Need help communicating in a time of crisis? Learn more about how we help businesses of all sizes and industries before, during, and after a crisis hits.
