Tuesday 12 May 2020

Your PR Emerging from Lockdown

The reputation of any organisation can be built on how it adapts to a crisis and how that organisation’s customers responds in the aftermath.

In my many years of working in public relations, I have been witness to many crises in global, national and local PR, and I have found that the key to emerging unharmed from catastrophe is to address the concerns of your audience directly while maintaining a constant stream of communication.


Stay in touch with your customers

The current government-imposed lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic is having a devastating impact on businesses, but the way you handle the crisis now is crucial as it will have a direct impact on the behaviour of your customers in the future.

When consumers finally come out of lockdown and start spending money freely again, it's likely that they'll choose the businesses that have kept in touch with them during the quarantine period.

However, in order to attract customers to spend their money on your products and services, they need to be given a compelling reason to do so. Staying silent will not encourage them to take action, so it's essential to communicate with your consumers and keep them updated on what you're doing while staying relevant.

Start planning ahead now!

Your post lockdown PR needs to start immediately. One of the first things that you need to do is to re-learn consumer patterns as consumer spending habits are changing. Prioritising main concerns over ease of purchase, social distancing and hygiene and communicating this to your audience effectively is essential.

Always ensuring that you follow through on your promises. The lockdown regulations are also a fantastic opportunity for local and online brands to attract customers, as people are currently either reluctant or unable to travel long distances.

In fact, 60% of all shopping has moved online too and telling your customers and new customers that you are now selling on the internet is an ongoing piece of work.

Consumer behaviour can change in the blink of an eye, so after three months of lockdown and a slow transition period of easing restrictions, it's likely that consumer habits will have changed for good.

To be prepared for this change and get a head start on your business promotions, get in touch with our expert team at redheadPR today by filling in our online contact form or by dropping us an email at sara@redheadpr.co.uk

Don’t leave it too late to tell your audience what you are doing.  Regularly and correctly.