Marketing During Crisis | The Right Messaging at the Right Time

Written by Dario Hudon-Verrelli
Written by Dario Hudon-Verrelli
Written by Dario Hudon-Verrelli

Digital Marketing Strategist | Marketing Lecturer at Mount Royal University | Co-Founder of Work Nicer Coworking

In This Article ...

One of the questions we’re getting from entrepreneurs & businesses right now is, ‘How do I market during a crisis?
It’s a very large question that needs to account for the following variables:
  • Your target audience
  • Your product
  • The current crisis
So we’ve gone ahead and created a OVERLY simplified Crisis Messaging Framework to help you:
  • See where your audience is in the crisis
  • Understand their emotions
  • Help you identify what the right messaging to overcome their current barriers should be

How to use this Crisis Messaging Framework?

It’s important to note that Frameworks don’t just give you the answer, you use them to find the answer, like a compass.

Below you will find 3 PHASES of the current crisis.

WTF PHASE – Your audience is trying to process the immediate crisis. They’re not thinking about anything else.

PRE-NORMAL PHASE – Your audience has settled into a routine, though an unfamiliar one, it helps them think about more than just the immediately future.

NORMAL PHASE – Your audience understands where the crisis fits in their life and is now concentrating on the future again.

Using this as a guide of where your client’s are within the crisis, we now consider what their EMOTIONS are by placing ourselves in their shoes and asking questions as they would:

  • What’s important to them right now?
  • What can’t they do?
  • What are they stressed/ worried about?
  • What would help them?
  • Can you help them?

The EMOTIONS are the barriers you need to overcome. You overcome them by acknowledging their concerns, use the same words. We’ve provided an example of a simple barrier and how a company’s messaging can overcome it at the bottom of the framework.

Remember, Your messaging should get to the root of your audiences emotions. Your goal is to overcome their barriers and match their immediate values.

 

In maintaining the ethics and transparency of AI use, we leveraged AI tools to enhance the insights shared here in this article. Learn more about Why the Ethical use of AI is Important to Your Business.