81: What You Need to Be Telling Your Audience Right Now About Your Pandemic Plans

If you've been watching the ads, no doubt you notice a theme or hear it. The somber music tells us we are all in a time of uncertainty, but we are all going to get through it together. And how do we know? Because every brand with an ample ad budget tells us we can. This week on the podcast, when the music stops, what your audience really needs to hear from you. The podcast this week was inspired by none other than my cpa, a story. He was headed to the hospital with heart trouble. How's that for an opener? But he took the time to text me to ask if I had a moment to speak with him. I said, of course. Well, technically, I texted, of course. Fifteen minutes later, he calls me from the waiting room at the hospital to tell me he was watching something on television. He saw an ad for a bank. And this ad bothered him. It bothered him so much that there was a delay for him to go to the hospital to. To the emergency room to see a doctor about a heart issue and to rant to me about this ad that he saw on wcvb. That's the local ABC affiliate in the Boston television market. Now, the name of the bank does not matter because most ads are the same. But his beef was the script, the copy. Now, first, the setup. He told me on the phone that there's a CEO of the bank. He's looking right into the camera from the office, from his office, and he's speaking about the pandemic. Now, here's a point where I needed to interrupt because I had to ask him where the CEO was in the shot. Was he behind a desk? Was he sitting on the desk? Was his bum on the side of the table? And my CPA responded, I don't know. I think so. Does it matter now, Host note? It does, because anyone who has worked with me in the past or who has listened on this podcast knows I am all about the video. I'm all about leaders speaking to their customers, to their stakeholders, directly on camera. So whether it's an ad, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, pre recorded, whatever it is, I like the idea of leaders coming out from behind the desk and speaking directly to the camera. Thus the audience. It builds transparency and trust. Nothing is buried. So it's straight out of my playbook. But anyway, back to the story. When I asked him, he said, I don't know. He was talking to the camera. So he's telling me that when he was listening, he was listening to the words and he was hearing the same thing. We're all facing challenges, and here at the bank, we're facing challenges, too. He wanted me to know, this is my accountant, that this bank that he was watching was helping him and the customers in good times and in bad. Okay, I'm thinking, all right, I agree, the script is a little threadbare, but the accountant goes on. He said the CEO wanted to tell me me that the bank was here for me in the past, the present, and the future. My accountant said, that's it. Here for me before, now, and in the future. Now. I knew why he grew weary of the script, but I was curious why an accountant was in such a tizzy over the script. Because they think about numbers, they don't think about copy. And why did it bother him so much that he would rush to call me to tell me why? He hated this ad, especially when he was on the way to get his heart checked. And his heart, no doubt, was racing when he was speaking to me. But I asked him anyway, what is it about what the CEO said that bothers you? And he replied, nothing. He said, nothing, not a thing. And that's what bothered me. They wasted all that money, which I figured that's why the accountant got upset. But they wasted all that money to tell me nothing. And it annoyed me. And he also told me that he knew I would understand why he was so annoyed. And he was correct. I did. I sent him off to his appointment. And here we are, the inspiration for the podcast. What should the CEO of that bank have said to his Boston viewers on television and social media? Now, I'm not going to entirely blame that bank or that CEO because there have been a slew of maudlin and soupy voiceovers and CEOs and company leaders looking in the camera and telling us why we are all in a time of uncertainty. Take a listen to some clips from this video I found online. It was compiled by Sean Haney, and he's a YouTuber that goes by the name Microsoft Sam. He created a clip called Every COVID 19 Commercial is exactly the same. And this is what we've learned. That a lot of companies have been in business just like the bank for a long time when we first opened our doors. Since 1926, since 1978.

For 60 years.

For 75 years.

For over 80 years. In 90 years, over 100 years.

And people apparently need people.

We will do what we've always done. Take care of people.

We're people.

People, people, people, people, people.

Do not forget the families, family, family.

Family, family, family, family, family, family.

Of this. Even now, especially now, especially now, right now, now. More Than ever.

More than ever today. More than ever today. More than ever.

Hey. These times, in times like this, at.

Times like these, during these difficult times.

In these troubled times, challenging times, trying times, in these times of uncertainty, during.

This time of great uncertainty, during these uncertain times, during these uncertain times and.

Uncertain times, thankfully everyone is here.

Con Edison is here to help. Here to help. Our teams are here. We are here.

We're here.

We're here. Here for you. Here for you. We're here for you. We're here for you. We are here for you.

All right, you get the idea. Anyone who has written any copy over the past seven weeks have written the same words one time or another. It's nice to share compassion through copy, music and video. But what's the message? What's the intent? Where is it? If you are a communicator, a writer in pr, marketing, social media, a leader who is writing an update to staff or an article for the news leader, I know you want to strike the right tone. Share your compassion for your employees and your customers. You want your company's message to be one of hope, care and concern. Everyone does. You don't want to come across as tone deaf or be a trend on social media as a social media fail. But in order to do this, you need to know what to say. You need to know what to write. But the problem is is that the pandemic is ever changing and ever unknown. You are nervous you're going to get it wrong. You don't want to make a reputation management mistake that would make you even more stressed and even more anxious during this pandemic. Now, I believe that communicating your company's mission, values, offerings to your customers is more critical and important than telling them how you feel. I get it. Everyone else is doing it. Everyone else is writing from the same script. And you don't want to be that one jerk off who doesn't care about the customer. But how about being the company that shows compassion and care by telling your audience what they need to hear? How you are there to serve. On today's podcast, how to convey compassion without all the music. I'm going to share a three part framework for communicating precisely what your audience wants to hear from you right now. Step one is the refocus. Step two is the reset. Step three is the retool. These are three steps in a framework that are going to help you build precisely what you need to say. Now, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, the 2020 survey that was done in late March, 89% said brands should make products to help with the crisis. The COVID 19 crisis and 9 in 10 of the respondents said companies should protect employee safety and well being and serve as a moral compass when it comes to getting people to take the virus seriously. What we're hearing from that study is that customers do want to hear compassion. They do want to see compassion by the products that you make and the service that you do that it helps people in this time of cr. But how can you do that with your messaging by not just showing people with all the platitudes and the music that you care. Step one. Refocus your message. Tell the audience what you do to help them and not yourselves. Don't tell your audience what you are doing to make yourself feel better in this time of uncertainty, create less uncertainty. But by sharing what your business is doing to help the customer, how are you making your customer's life easier, less stressful for them to interact with you? Use less description, more do. What does that mean? We've updated our commitment to serve you. Becomes we offer curbside service every day from 9am to 6pm Notice the difference? We want to help ease the pain of these trying times. Becomes we are waiving late fees until 1st July 2020. Demonstrate your capabilities rather than tell us, show us what you're doing. If you are a bank that was there in the past, you're here in the present and you will be there in the future. Tell me why. Tell me what you are doing for me right now that can help me right now so I will remain a customer in the future. All right. Step two. Reset expectations. That means tell the audience what you know and what you don't know. We are all living, working and surviving in this pandemic. We are all fighting in the same fog of war. This uncertainty is certainly our new normal. That means we can make a reset to expectations. Also our customers expectations. We are never going back to how it was. But where are we going? Well, no one knows. And it's okay to say that. Have courage in your copy and in your other communications to admit you don't have all the answers. Have the courage to say, we might not know what operations will be like in the next six months, but for the next six weeks we will provide X, Y, Z. Showing some vulnerability nowadays is not a statement of weakness. It tells the customer, you know I'm in it with you. I know how you feel. Because I know how I feel. That's why I'm doing this for my employees. That's why I'm doing this for my customers. Our restaurant is still closed to diners, but we have special pricing in takeout service. Our gym is closed to customers, but our trainers are offering virtual workouts online. It's a perfect time to reset the expectations of your customer. Step 3 the Retool Tell the audience about the changes that you're making. Now. Here is one known in this time of unknown that every single business had to change the normal way of doing business. Every single business, mine included. Everyone needed to pivot and some businesses did a better job than others. But now here is the time to embrace a change. Embrace the uncertainty by trying something new. It's one silver lining to this coronavirus outbreak. Everyone is. Well, I shouldn't say everyone, but most people are giving businesses and companies and organizations and heck, even people a grace period. No one is expecting perfection. And if someone is expecting perfection, you don't want them as a customer anyway. So what does this mean about the retool? If you want to try something new, now is the time. From a leadership perspective. If you've never spoken to your customer on Facebook live, try it. YouTube live, try it. If you've never written a statement to your organization, if you've never written a statement to your board members about what you're doing day to day, bring people people behind the scenes. Tell your employees what it's like to be a CEO or a business owner. Bring your customers in behind the scene. Show them through video. Tell them the changes that you're making. If you need more sales but you're operating in a state where non essential businesses can't open their doors, well, now's the time to try digital selling. Even if you're not digital savvy, figure it out or someone on your staff will figure it out for for you. People are allowing the change. The expectations have changed. So now what a perfect time to retool. If you want to introduce a new product, now's the time. Want to introduce a new dish? Try it and take out, beta test everything. Now here's an important part about the retool though. Don't just do it, do it. But then ask for feedback. People will appreciate the effort that you're putting out there. So even if it's not perfect, even if the meal frankly stinks, give people an option to tell you. Use this time as a focus group. Hear from people. Hear from them in person. Hear from them on social media. Now's the time to listen. A few weeks ago I spoke with marketing expert Chrisa Fabric and she was telling me about how small businesses in particular can survive this economic downturn and survive this interruption called COVID 19.

Yeah, every entrepreneur and business owner has had at least one of those totally out there ideas, right? Well, if that's something you can deliver in this time and it's something that people might want or need, this is the time to try it. Why not? You know, if business is down or gone, you might as well try it.

What Krista was communicating was all about trying something new. Change up the rules, the regulations. Remember, everyone is offering a grace period and people have the patience for change. Customers understand you are trying to provide a service or a product during the pandemic, so use their patience as a way to try and bring back the profit. You can watch my interview with Christa Fabric in its entirety on my YouTube channel or subscribe to the podcast where you will hear the bonus episode now we are months into the pandemic and we have no end in sight. The uncertainty is going to be there for a while, but with the state slowly reopening with different rules for different types of businesses, it is probably more critical now for your communications to be clear. You want to keep the compassion, of course, but focus on the content. That's what's going to save the day. Don't tell the customer what you think think they need to hear. Tell them what they want to hear. The answers Balance transparency with service. Open up conversations. Listen to your customers. Listen to your employees. Invite feedback. Keep that conversation loop flowing. So step one Refocus your message. Tell the audience what you do to help them, not to help yourselves. Step two the reset. Tell the audience what you know and what you don't know. There is power in saying you don't know something. And three the retool. Tell the audience about your changes. Let them in on the progress, the trials, the tribulations, but also the successes. We look to experts and leaders to show us the way. However, if the way is unclear to everyone, including you, there is still admiration in the attempt. Anxiety is just a word for false danger. You can rid the customer of their anxiety if you give them information. The safety is in the information. You build trust with information and you can break it with silence. That's all for this week on the podcast. If you want to share any of your ideas on this the podcast, head on over to the website molly mcpherson.com podcast and look for the button to share your ideas with me. Or if you have someone that you would like to be a guest on the podcast. I got a great email today with someone about a guest that I cannot wait to have on this podcast. And also, do not forget to subscribe. I have recorded a number of bonus episodes that are available only two subscribers, hence one is going to drop this week. Thanks for listening to the podcast. That's all for now. We'll speak to you again next week.