The COVID-19 virus is sickening and killing people and economic activity the world over. The speed with which society has had to react to the virus and curtail business operations is unprecedented. Many business owners are shellshocked and wondering how to keep their enterprises afloat with vanishing demand, sick or sheltered-at-home employees, and suppliers shuttered.

But there are three things leaders can do to help their businesses and their communities weather this storm. And they're simpler than you might think.

1. ​Focus on your customers and their needs -- Your existing customers have a lot of needs and questions right now. Don't wait for them to come to you. Proactively reach out to them. Go above and beyond to serve them and their needs right now. With clear actions and messaging, remind them why they originally selected you as a partner.
   
   
2. Communicate and act in an authentic, caring way -- Be real, be honest, and be simple. Don't overcomplicate or confuse. If you don't have an answer yet, admit that. But talk about what you're doing to get to an answer. Demonstrate empathy in both words and actions. Determine what your company can do to serve the greater good of society during this challenging time. Corporate Social Responsibility never has been more important. Those companies that are helping out in concrete ways today will be remembered tomorrow.
   
   
3. Only market those products that are particularly relevant today -- Prospects and current customers are only going to buy what they absolutely need right now. So don't try to sell them something they don't need. Understand their current needs and offer the solutions you have that meet those needs. If your product or service is not considered essential at this moment, find a way to donate your company's time or resources to essential services and share what you're doing. The good you are doing will carry some weight right now.
   
   

Now is not the time to retrench or embrace fear. Nor is it a time to be bold or insensitive. But a clear, compassionate, service-oriented approach to business operations and marketing can resonate in today's world. The benefits you reap from that approach will help you and your business get back on your feet more quickly when the the virus peters out and the economy inevitably bounces back.

The company and celebrity names read like the Who's Who of the business world: Carnival Cruise Lines, Tiger Woods, Malaysia Airlines, etc. All of these entities and individuals have faced a crisis of some sort, either of their own making or through an action perpetrated against them. 

How they managed that crisis, what they said or didn't say, and what actions they took or did not take as a result of that crisis had a profound impact on their reputation, how they were perceived, and their brand.

In today's 24/7 media news cycle and with instantaneous opinion sharing through social media, word of a crisis can spread faster than electrical current. Also, when you consider that the brands of these entities or individuals are valued in the thousands or millions of dollars, it's easy to see why any negative change in perception about those brands could impact their monetary value. 


When someone loses trust in a person or a company, they are less likely to associate positive feelings with that person or company . Clearly that could impact whether someone would want to purchase any products or services from or speak positively about that person or company.


That makes it critically important for companies, organizations, and highly visible people to have a crisis communications strategy that accounts for their key stakeholders and enables them to proactively communicate about the crisis facing them. 


Doing so with a sensitivity to those impacted by the crisis and the actions being taken to resolve and learn from the crisis can make all the difference in helping a person, company or organization be seen as credible, compassionate, contrite, and committed to improving in the future.

Most of us are saving money for our future retirement. It may be a little or it may be a lot but if we have any financial sense we know that in order to have resources for when we no longer are working, we need to save some money now to have a future return on that investment.

So why is it that so many small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations don't think that way when it comes to investing in their brands? Why do so many of them prioritize so many other pressing concerns over making sure that their organizations' brands have strength and resonance to deliver sales now and in the future?

It likely comes down to not understanding the return on that initial outlay. Here's what we can tell you:

• An organization with a strong brand and a clear value proposition is much more likely to be well understood by their customers and competitively reviewed as an option by their potential customers
• An organization without a clearly understood brand will not be understood or preferred in the marketplace
• An organization that invests now in building its brand through clear communications and marketing that are based on an understanding of what its current and potential customers want and need are more likely to see a faster return through higher sales

The question is why are you not investing more in developing your brand today? Like saving for your retirement, you can't afford not to do so.

With the end of winter, Spring brings a round of freeway and road construction in many American cities and states.

This year has brought an even larger spate of construction projects as many states and municipalities have started construction projects on freeways, expressways, and roads that have needed to be maintained, rebuilt, or expanded for many years. In many cases, these construction projects have been delayed or postponed because governments didn't approve funding for them amid competing priorities or the perception that construction wasn't as critical as it seemed.

However, those who use those roads and are stuck in massive traffic jams or receive damage to their vehicles due to crumbling roads and bridges would beg to differ as to how critical those road upgrades might be.

Now, as many of those construction projects start at the same time people are dealing with a lot of gridlock and pain as they dodge construction barrels, closed roads, and the like.

In much the same way, many companies and organizations think that they can delay the creation or renovation of their brands and communications messages. They may think that investing in building or rebuilding their brand identities is not critical for today and that it can be put off to tomorrow.

But as customer confusion about a company's products or services mounts and sales decline, suddenly a weak or unclear brand can loom large.

It's important to not wait until a company's infrastructure of sales is crumbling before a brand is strengthened or launched the right way. By making investments in brand identity, messaging, and communications strategy now, companies can avoid customer pain and confusion later. 

The to-do list never ends when building a business. As an entrepreneur and business leader, everything falls on  you to accomplish: From writing the business plan to determining a list of prospects to getting a handle on market opportunities.

Finding and getting sales is critical in the early stages of a business. But what happens when you start running into dead ends and sales prospects don't seem interested in buying? Do prospects not seem to understand your company's value proposition?

As newer companies yearn to reach that next level of growth, far too often they don't realize that they have not done a sufficient job building a strong, easily understandable company identity that can help prospects clearly identify how that company can help them accomplish their goals.

According to Kasper Ulf Nielsen, an executive partner of the Reputation Institute, "People's willingness to buy, recommend, work for and invest in a company is driven 60% by their perceptions of the company, and only 40% by their perceptions of that company's products."

Perception of a company is shaped by two interrelated factors: its brand and its reputation. A brand is made and owned by a company. Reputation is not.

A brand is a company's identity, values, experience, and attributes that explain how it meets the needs of its target customers. It also explains the company's values and the approach it takes to fulfilling those needs through the company's products, services, and way of doing business. A company's brand is created and managed through effective corporate communications and marketing.

A company’s reputation can significantly affect the achievement of its business goals. Reputation encompasses views from influencers and stakeholders in society about that company. Those influencers'  views, whether positive or negative, are derived from their direct experience of the company, what others say about it, and what the company says or how it behaves in public.

Without an effective brand, a company's potential customers won't understand how it can meet their needs. Consequently, their neutral or negative opinions about that company will negatively impact that company's reputation in the marketplace, which could impact that company's long-term financial viability.

A well-defined brand is critical for a business to grow and to connect successfully with customers who want to purchase its products and services.