Ukraine conflict: Seven steps to consider when marketing your business
Lucy Rennie
Business & Strategic Communications Consultant, Coach / Mentor & Non-Executive Director. Founder of “Joining the Dots” bridging the gap between young people & the world of work, business & entrepreneurship.
With the absolutely horrific and heartbreaking images and stories that we are seeing and hearing from the horrendous situation in Ukraine, it’s incredibly difficult to know what to do and how best to help.
I’m not going to lie, I’m finding it very hard to comprehend what’s happening and to watch the news, to see what’s going on and to try to make any sense of it all. As a Mum myself, seeing the images of those children is utterly heartbreaking and I feel so helpless.
I’ve been having lots of conversations with my clients this week about the situation and the complexity of knowing what to do or not to do as a small business owner is just as hard.?
You don’t want to be seen to be making empty statements or profiteering from the situation, but at the same time you know that staying silent and not acknowledging what is happening can be just as damaging and doesn’t feel right.?
I wanted to share with you my seven suggestions and key recommendations to help you to stay in control and manage the situation to the best of your ability. I would really be very interested to hear about your experience and your thoughts on the subject so please do get in touch and join in the conversation.
There are many aspects to this crisis that you need to consider as a small business owner and brand, and the strategy you take will depend greatly on the type of business you have and how you are impacted by the situation.
Firstly, I believe that as business owners we have a certain responsibility to our customers, our teams, our partners, our own families and ourselves to keep going and to ensure that we provide our products and or services to our customers and maintain as much stability as possible. The situation in Ukraine, doesn’t change the fact that you have bills to pay, people to take care of and many other key commitments that rely upon your small business.
If we stop what we are doing, then we risk creating other challenges and other potential problems for those around us.?
Secondly, with this in mind, you should continue to advertise your products and services, to ensure continued awareness for your brand and therefore the sustainability of sales and your business. I do recommend however some key steps below to ensure that you do this in the most appropriate and mindful way.
It’s all about communication! For those of you that know me, you know that I’m a massive believer in the fact that people do business with people and in light of the crisis in Ukraine, understanding this and really paying attention to how you communicate and how you behave as a business and brand is essential.?
So where do you start??
It’s time to go back to basics, to think about who you’re talking to and what they’re looking for from you. Remind yourself of your vision and your values, of what your business stands for and what is important to you. The more authentic, genuine and honest you can be, the more you can communicate with your own tone of voice and come from a place of integrity, the more effective your communication will be and the more you will connect with your customers and other key stakeholders.
Research carried out this week by Gartner found that “Eight in 10 people want to see brands take an action, but typical moves like making a statement or pausing marketing activity ranked low.” (https://www.marketingdive.com/news/ukraine-war-tests-whether-marketers-can-address-crisis-meaningfully/619838/)
What does this mean? As you can see at the top of the list is that people want to see brands taking action, such as reconsidering doing business with Russia or Russian partners or implementing specific initiatives in support of the Ukrainian people.
They also want to know that as a brand you’re doing everything in your power to ensure the safety of your personnel working within the affected regions. Importantly, people are concerned about continuity and want to know that as a business, you‘re taking action to minimise disruption to supply of your products and services.?
Interestingly, people don’t want to hear from brands about what they’re doing. They don’t want to read statements of sympathy and they’re not really interested in whether or not you are pausing marketing activity.
In other words, people want you to take purposeful action, to keep doing what you do best, but they don’t want you to use what you’re doing to promote or enhance your brand.?
If only it were that simple?!
It’s incredibly hard as a small business owner to know what to do for the best and in fact I believe that in situations like these, there are no right or wrong answers. We have to take each day at a time and think things through as much as possible, whilst learning, listening to your key stakeholders and adapting and reacting as quickly as possible.?
With this in mind, these are my seven steps that I suggest you think about as you navigate the uncertain weeks and months ahead.
Take some time out to take stock of the situation and to map out the potential implications for you, your business, your customers, your team and other key stakeholders.?
Ask yourself:
Again there are no right or wrong answers here, but taking some time to think about what could happen, how would it impact your business or your stakeholders is really important so that you can start to prepare in the most appropriate way.
It might be that you currently sell your products or services into Russia or Ukraine, or maybe like one of my clients, you have Ukrainian team members working for you in Kyiv.?
Once you have identified the potential implications and / or risks, it’s time to think about how you will deal with them? Creating a contingency plan, options or planning for how you will deal with each situation will allow you to prepare in the best possible way.?
2) Sense-check - Carry out a review of all your current marketing and communications.
Go through and sense-check all your current messaging, campaigns, advertising and emails and check to make sure they are still appropriate. Stop anything immediately that might be insensitive, distasteful or simply no longer relevant. Look out for humour, tone of voice, timing or other connotations that may now be inappropriate.
Check any future campaigns that have been scheduled or planned and put in place a regular time to review reactions, conversations and feedback from your audience and customers and continue to sense-check over the next few weeks and months.
Do expect that not everyone will react positively to your communications or marketing, no matter what you do and be prepared to act quickly and with compassion when engaging.
Acting quickly, the price comparison website Compare the Market has removed all their ads featuring its popular 13-year-old mascot, an animated meerkat portrayed as a Russian oligarch named Aleksandr Orlov.
3) It’s not about you. Think about what your customers and key stakeholders want to hear from you and want to see you doing.
This is the time to go back to basics, to make sure that you’re in alignment with your vision, mission and values and that you really act with intention and purpose.
Don’t overthink this, very often in times of uncertainty and crisis, your customers need reassurance and comfort, and knowing that they can still access your product or service may be all they need from you. They may also appreciate your help in maintaining some kind of normality and “business as usual” where appropriate, and so allowing your brand to continue to do what it does best, communicating consistently and marketing in the right way is also important.
领英推荐
“The best course a company can take is to stay on course as much as possible. Stay committed to the principles and mission that made the company succeed in different or better times, and resist the temptation to jump on the "brandwagon," unless it really makes sense to do so."
4) Take aligned action, but avoid tokenism and empty gestures.
Do take action and show your support, but make sure it is relevant, appropriate and that you’re adding value. As mentioned above, people want to see that you’re acting with integrity and doing what is right, at the right time.?
Some examples from the larger brands are;
Others are making and communicating clearly their decision to stop doing business with Russia or in Russia.?
But just as some brands are getting it right, others are not. At the time of writing this article brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and McDonalds are yet to announce any decision and are under political pressure to stop doing business in Russia.?
CNN and Applebees chicken came under fire for their lack of compassion and decency as they unbelievably blended breaking news from Kyiv with adverts for fried chicken.
Other brands such as Pantone have had a mixed reaction to their campaign. When they posted an image of the two colours, labeled?“Freedom Blue” and “Energizing Yellow,” not everyone was impressed with the gesture. (https://adage.com/article/marketing-news-strategy/how-brands-ad-agencies-respond-ukraine-russia-war/2402781)
I wanted to share with you a great example from more close to home, from my Mastermind client Rachel Spencer who owns Publicity for Pet Businesses (https://publicityforpetbusinesses.co.uk/). Wanting a way to help that would be in line with her brand, her values and would be easy for her customers and audience to take part in, Rachel has set up a JustGiving page for?Underdog International?a charity supporting families, children and animals fleeing the Ukraine and has already raised way above her first target.?
5) Add value. Communicate in a way that adds value, that is informative and helpful.
Be helpful rather than promotional. Avoid any empty statements with no substance, stay away from the coloured social media profile pictures that take two minutes and lack value.
Take responsibility as a small business owner and own your actions and communication. If your business needs to communicate with specific people or key stakeholders then make it personal and direct. Allow yourself to be vulnerable, ask your audience for feedback, ask them what they would like to see from you and invite their thoughts and opinions. Honesty, transparency and authenticity, which I know have become “buzz” words today have never been more important than in times of uncertainty and crisis. Be sincere in your approach.
Think about how you can create more value for your customers, be informative and helpful and then keep checking in to make sure you're still aligned.
6) Trust your gut.
I believe that you know inside of you whether what you’re doing is ethically correct and if you’re acting with integrity. You know if you’re doing something for the right reasons or not and so trust your instinct.?
And of course, if something doesn’t feel quite right or feels icky then don’t do it.?
Recognise that you aren’t always going to get it right, keep listening to your customers, your team and the feedback and learn from it.?
7) Ways to help.?
Finally I wanted to give you a simple list of ways I’ve seen that allow you to help and support the Ukrainian people in this extremely difficult time. Of course if you know any more then please do share with me.
- Donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal and the UK Government will match public donations to this appeal pound-for-pound up to ￡25 million.
(https://donation.dec.org.uk/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal.)
- Find your local drop off point and donate supplies such as blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, bed linen, tents, warm and thermal clothing, first aid kits, bandages, painkillers, nappies, toiletries, torches with batteries, toothbrushes, toothpaste and toys.
- Support Ukrainians and Ukrainian refugees directly, by booking a property on AirBnb, or buying digital Etsy products and asking them not to deliver the service. NB: Do make sure they are genuine Ukrainian people though and not those simply stating “Stand with Ukraine” and keeping then money. (https://www.airbnb.co.uk/ukraine/stays)
- Take care with what you share. You can use this tool to help you to check whether the information you want to share is fact checked and correct. (https://sharechecklist.gov.uk)
- 121 Strategy days. Book in for a 121 strategy day with me in March and April and 50% of the profit will go to the Ukraine appeal. Click here to book in for a free 20 minute consultation to discuss your project and objectives. (https://calendly.com/lucyrennie/20-min?month=2022-03)
I help businesses to achieve their goals with realistic marketing activities that make a difference. ?? Bringing new perspectives, ideas and solutions I can be there, as expert support, every step of the way.
2 年A very helpful and insightful piece Lucy Rennie. Some really good advice and a reminder that there are sensitivities to consider by businesses at this time for all concerned. We should think before we act and in my opinion definitely do something to help the people of Ukraine as well as Russia, who did not ask or in some cases even know about the invasion.
Project Sponsorship, Governance & Assurance | Author 'How to Sponsor Projects' | Transport Consultancy | Sponsor Coach
2 年Really thoughtful piece Lucy. It’s a difficult balance between showing support and being tokenistic for businesses. Your article sets out good advice.