How do you communicate with clients during a crisis?

Does it matter how you communicate with clients during a crisis?

Client communication is vital during a crisis. A business crisis is not a new term in the business world because unexpected events happen daily. The current COVID-19 pandemic is a unique one since it affects businesses worldwide simultaneously and in an almost similar manner. It is both a social and financial crisis for companies and employees. The persistent spread of the pandemic is changing the way we work, live, and how we interact, thrusting business leaders and employees into new territory. During this uncertain period, businesses must ensure that communication is ongoing, accurate, and transparent.

In October 2020, a crisis struck my business. Cancer struck in our family, and the lens tightened into survival. I had recently hired new staff and had just onboarded a new client.

Here are three thoughts to provoke you, two ideas to inspire you, and one item to act on!

Read more at olindaservices.com/blog

In today’s podcast, we ask, “What can we learn from crisis? Can it teach us about our leadership style and our business resilience?”

A strong vision, courage, integrity, humility, strategic planning, team management, and focus make a good leader. Great leaders find the balance between business foresight, performance, and character. So, when there is a crisis, the team would expect the leader to use all of these qualities to inspire them and offer direction.

Your business can be faced with crises like COVID-19, service failure, or PR damage. How you respond says more about who you are and how you lead, than it does about the problem itself. It is challenging and emotionally disturbing with a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic strikes. This type of crisis has never happened before and was sudden. The pandemic is unfamiliar and uncertain; there is a need for effective responses and strategic behavior from business owners.

Business owners learn from crises and they should develop a fundamental crisis response plan. You can find out more about developing a business crisis plan by visiting my website, olindaservices.com/blog, and search for the keywords “business crisis.”

Today let us focus on what a crisis reveals about our leadership style and business resilience.

Here are three thoughts to provoke you, two ideas to inspire you, and one item to act on!

What to do after a business crisis!

Look at these possible scenarios;

1. It is Monday morning, and your computer refuses to start.
2. Your son hugs you and knocks over your cup of coffee - all over your laptop!
3. You get a call that Dad is in the hospital with a heart attack.
4. Someone is intentionally writing bad reviews about your business, and you have done everything to make it right.

All businesses deal with crises at some point. These could be a data breach, IT shutdown, brand damage, data loss, or even a global pandemic like the current COVID-19. A business crisis can be anything that is a significant disruption to your workflow or normal daily operations.

These situations can impact a business, whether large or small. Depending on the intensity of the crisis, there could be loss of existing and potential clients, damage to business credibility, reducing operations, and threatening employee's lives. At worst, it could lead to your business closing. Without proper strategies and plans to deal with a crisis, it is not easy to recover.

Several weeks ago, we spoke about planning for a crisis. How important it is to have a plan B.

1. Plan Thoroughly
2. Crisis Management Plan
3. Communication is Vital

Now let's look at the next phase. Today let us focus on strategies to get back into action after a crisis.

Here are three thoughts to provoke you, two ideas to inspire you, and one item to act on!