With a vaccine now finally available, dare we be cautiously optimistic about the future? It’s been such a turbulent year – and continues to be crushingly frustrating for many service providers facing ongoing restrictions. In the face of continued uncertainty, however, we must not only see the wood for the trees but understand what we need to do to be ready. And we need to be ready right now. Here we explore the Four C’s of ensuring your communications are in check for a post-pandemic world.
Customer
For good or bad, 2020 has changed us all. We shop differently, communicate differently and behave differently. Life feels more fragile and things we took for granted seem so much more important. And for many of us, purpose is now seen as equal to profit in the world of business. It’s fanciful to think that when the world reopens, we can just simply pick up where we left off because if not much else is the same, why should you be?
Start by asking your customers what’s changed for them and analyse whether the role you play in their life or business is still relevant and necessary. Some will take far longer to recover from this year than others so give people the time they need to dust themselves off and get going again.
Now look at your own brand and messaging. What seemed luxurious and aspirational in 2019 might now seem vulgar and out of touch. Focus on your tone of voice as a business, from phone manner to social media captions to emails, and ensure everyone in the team understands what you stand for as a company and perhaps more importantly, what you don’t stand for.
Culture
So you and your team have adapted to working remotely and, by and large, you’re impressed (perhaps even surprised) at how well everyone has coped. It may not be for all of us long term – some of us simply can’t work remotely – however there has been a major shift in your company culture whether you realise it or not. This year has humanised employees and clients alike and given us a new level of empathy for those in our circle. But what about those lofty plans scribbled on the now dusty office whiteboard?
Now is the time to assess your company culture – do your values as a business still chime with reality? What are the goals, short and long term, and is everyone aware of them? What is the business trying to achieve and do you all know how you’ll get there? Running a business right now is littered with concern, confusion and anxiety but that doesn’t stop you having a goal. There is no shame in taking a different route or shifting the goal posts to align with market conditions, but you must remove any ambiguity from the common and overarching goal of the business. Hint: it’s not the same as it was in January 2020.
Content
Yes, the good old days were fun. Yes, we all did some brilliant work and yes, we were successful at it. However, the good old days are sadly just that – old. It’s highly unlikely you’ll be replicating 2019 in 2021 so don’t continue to pump out content that is now irrelevant. There is no problem with reminiscing *occasionally* but your content should focus on what you ‘can’ do now, not what you ‘could’ do. How often do you see Amazon marketing (on social media or otherwise) about a fantastic kettle it sold in 2019? Never. They tell you about the best kettle for 2021 and why you should buy if from them and no-one else.