Friday, April 1, 2011

Managing Customer Communications after a Natural Disaster

The Christchurch community has been in disarray following the recent earthquakes, with many grieving and some homeless. On top of community values, the lines of communication between companies and their customers are now more important than ever.

Customers grow to trust companies that offer relevant and timely information over sustained periods of time, backing up their words with action. It is the trusted, familiar companies that are relied upon after natural disasters - aftermaths are not appropriate times for commencing new relationships with stakeholders.

There's more than one list of crisis management commandments, but many are just expanded or situation specific versions of the five 'C's Model, where message strength is judged by how well it demonstrates concern, clarity, control, confidence, and competence.

Customers need to feel that a company is genuinely concerned for them and the message needs to be communicated simply and clearly – it is unlikely that a customer has time to decode complex information. It's about thinking how the customer will receive the message and what impression they will get from it. The medium needs to be accessible for the majority of people. For example, if the power is out, wired electronic media is not suitable. Lastly, companies need to have a clear idea of what is going on before making any statements. Nothing is to be gained from blame-placing or careless information-giving, nor is it reassuring if the customer perceives the company to have been completely unprepared. The information needs to be controlled and substantial to ensure the company is confident in its distribution.

The Department of Labour used this model to effectively manage customer communication following the Christchurch earthquakes and won an award for using newer technology and the available infrastructure by sending personalised texts and emails to customers with relevant advice and information. This effectively demonstrated concern in an easy to understand manner through an appropriate battery powered medium.

B&D Doors is another example of a company exercising customer communication and the five ‘C’s model. Garage door manufacturer B&D Doors’ Christchurch factory was damaged during the February earthquakes. Production was suspended during the week-long clean up, and during this time the company communicated frequently with its customers and employees. A Facebook page was created for employees to share the latest developments and for messages of support to be posted from friends and family members, as well as B&D’s Auckland-based employees to stay in touch with their Southern colleagues.

Even though B&D’s computer systems were down, daily email updates and pdf newsletters were sent to key customers advising of progress made and key milestones such as the recommencement of manufacturing and deliveries. Keeping key stakeholders updated was important, as they in turn had customers whose expectations needed to be met. The frequency and content of the communication gave important stakeholders the confidence that B&D was doing everything it could to restore operations as soon as possible. This was especially important as marketplace rumours about the damage to B&D’s Christchurch operation were grossly exaggerated. Feedback of B&D’s transparent and informative approach to customer communication has since been positive.

Where information is lacking and speculation left unchecked, the stakeholders do not get an accurate view of the situation and trust in a company weakens. Natural disasters call organisations to reach out to their stakeholders – their customers, employees and suppliers.

Keep on talking. Have a disaster communication plan ready. It is hard to adhere to the 5 ‘C’s model if caught completely unaware. After all, what good would a company be if it left you in the dark when you needed it most?