eHealth Articles & White Papers

Controlling Your Message in an Economic Crisis

Linda Barnes - Vice President of Business Development

We typically think of a crisis in terms of natural disasters or tragedies that happen unexpectedly and we're in reaction mode from the start. Negative news stemming from an economic-related event, though, is every bit as much of a crisis for your organization.

And unfortunately, there is no shortage of difficult news for organizations to publicize these days. Whether hospitals are freezing budgets, cutting staff, reducing service line offerings, or closing clinics - the economy is giving all of us ample "opportunity" to review, and perhaps implement, our crisis communications plan.

The issue of control

As the marketing communications expert, hopefully you're working with your executive team to create the communications in advance of such an announcement. One of the important differences with an economic-related crisis is that you may have a little more time to prepare. That means you may have time to craft your messages more carefully. But it still doesn't mean you can control those messages once they hit the press.

The press release you send out likely won't get printed in its entirety. The quotes that you labored over on behalf of your official spokesperson often won't be included. The local television station will almost certainly not choose the sound bite from your press briefing that you would have hoped.

Compounding the control issue is the increasing use of social media that allows for the community at large to share their perceptions of the event. In days past, people talked about that bad news at the hairdresser or bridge club - overheard by a handful of people. Now, they post blogs or tweets that let hundreds of followers hear about how the layoff or reduced clinic hours negatively impacted them personally. Those individual stories resonate and gain momentum across the channels.

So what's a good marketing communications manager to do?

Most importantly, realize that the basics of crisis communications remain the same.

• Talk to all your audiences. If you're dealing with layoffs, you need to consider the employees you'll be letting go, the ones left behind with survivor guilt, your board, the management team, physicians in the recruitment process, current patients and their families, your community, the media, donors ... and more. Make sure your message is tailored to address their specific concerns.
• Over-communicate during the first few hours of the crisis. The public wants more information than you and your executives want to share. Be prepared to answer the tough questions from the start.
• Manage the continuing story. As much as you hope it blows over after the initial event, don't expect the crisis to end quickly. Undoubtedly, you'll have more information to share over time. And equally certain, the public will be adding to the conversation. Make sure you're listening to what's being said and responding in a way that is both timely and appropriate to the channel and audience.
• Use channels where you can control the message. Press releases and briefings are part of any standard communications plan. But you can't control what comes out the other end of that process. Make sure you're using channels that allow you to expand on the message and share the information that you want to be heard. Your Web, blog, Twitter, and You Tube sites are all channels where you can give as much detailed explanation as is appropriate for the situation.
• Link to experts that shore up your credibility. You don't have to be the only voice explaining the details or of what's happening.

The blame game

In addition to the basics, though, an economic crisis has some unique issues-especially the "why." A natural disaster isn't your fault. When the communications around an earthquake or flood are handled well, some organizations have even seen their community goodwill increase. In that situation, your executives may be very comfortable being in the limelight.

The same isn't true if the situation is perceived to be your fault. The perception may be that your hospital has to do layoffs or close clinics because of mismanagement. So your job is to:

• Think through who the best spokesperson is. Is it HR because they know the rules around employee layoffs? Is it your CEO because the buck stops here? Is it your CFO because she can explain the economics of the situation? Are all of those individuals equally comfortable in the line of fire? It's often more difficult to find your spokesperson for an economic crisis.
• Be the advocate for your audiences. With an economic crisis, your executives will likely want to pull back even more than they would in other crises. Expect lots of internal push-back about sharing too much information and be prepared to explain the value of your planned communications.
• Be sensitive to conflicting messages. If you're still building the new wing on your hospital and announcing layoffs simultaneously, expect criticism. You know that one comes out of the the building fund and the other from operating expenses. But that's not apparent when the media visits your website and sees the feature spot highlighting the new building plan. They'll be more interested in why you're still expanding, how you plan to staff the new area, and if the layoffs will impact patient outcomes.
• Set expectations appropriately. Your hospital probably won't gain any goodwill out of the crisis, regardless of how well you or your spokesperson does. Determine what you want to achieve out of the difficult situation and set goals accordingly.
• Consider creating a plan to restore your image and reputation. In an economic situation, re-establishing your reputation may be more difficult and take longer than expected. Work with your internal stakeholders to create a long-term reputation management plan to manage the process and protect your brand.

Think strategically

These are challenging economic times, and many of us find ourselves with difficult messages to communicate. The key is to remember the basics of crisis communications and think strategically about your audiences and your messages.

Being prepared and understanding how communicating during an economic-related crisis is similar and different from a natural crisis can increase the success of your efforts.