COVID-19 - Bad News is Everywhere! Here’s My Bad News. What’s Yours?

I was showing my new colleague, Rachael, how I approach email marketing the other day. 

Our conversation was something like, “I find something relevant, powerful, and timely, and then see if I can use that broader message to help small business owners. That’s who we serve.”

The very first web page I opened, the Harvard Business Review, to show Rachael the process I use, grabbed me with the headline: Don’t Hide Bad News in Times of Crisis.

Not two weeks later we find ourselves in a bit of a crisis, now, haven’t we? 

If you’ve been on my list for more than two months, then you already know that “hiding things” is not a problem for me. I’m radically transparent, which may or may not be everyone’s cup of tea (and I’ve had my fair share of crises over the last few months, so pile them on, universe!).

You don’t need to “tell all” all the time (or really, ever), but you do need to understand the importance of transparency in the areas that really matter. Information vacuums can be devastating to employee morale and customer trust. 

Instead of “hiding” bad news (or your worries), put them out there responsibly, honestly, and in the most straightforward way, as soon as you have confidence in what you know to be true. 

“Taking the reputational hit today from the release of bad news is likely to earn — for leaders, organizations, and nations alike — dividends in the form of future reputational gain,” said the HBR article. 

The bravery of being honest when things aren’t perfect can help you gain trust in the long term. 

Employees, clients, vendors, landlords, creditors, and other stakeholders know if you’re willing to say hard things right away, you’re more deserving of their trust, and then they can “turn their attention and skills to the challenges of developing novel solutions to the newly visible problems.”

For example, I told my friends that my business was struggling because my major clients have pulled the emergency brakes on marketing. It’s humbling to admit I’m in some financial trouble! 

What happened? My friends activated! I ended up booking two photo shoots for later this month (outdoors and with appropriate social distancing involved) and might have a content production contract come through. Between those two things, I’ll be able to pay my rent another month. Phew! 

Now I’m telling you! Who knows what sort of back-burner marketing activities you might want to knock off the checklist, and now you know I’m free! 

What do you need? 

Clearly I have time on my hands. Not a ton of it (Hello, homeschool!), but some. So if you want to invest in marketing support work while things are slow (but your own business is totally f*#@^d right now, too), you have to tell me!!! Maybe we can work on a buy-now-pay-later plan, or see if our junior consultants want to learn something new to keep costs low, or maybe we can swap your toilet paper cache for my efforts at website refresh (only partly joking). 

It’s possible the coronavirus economy may work on a different currency than our everyday one. 

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“It takes courage to choose transparency — and wisdom to know that the choice is the right one for achieving the goals that matter to all. The crucial realization is that if you want others to speak up honestly with what they know, see, and wonder about, it has to start at the top, and in the light,” said HBR. 

Be courageous! 

Tell me what’s happening in your world, and maybe we can help one another through this.