What I learned about Crisis Comms from Child #3

28th April 2020

I have four kids. And I learned a huge lesson from Child #3 (I ought to give them names)…

She came into my study, interrupting me during a customer call. Later, I told her not to do that again.

Soon after, I was on a video call – not phone. She sneaked in, kept quiet – but then leant across and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

Which was beautiful (the customer loved it) but wasn’t what I’d meant!

And the lesson I learned?
    
       Your Call To Action (CTA) must be clear

Especially now, when it’s easy for virtual messages to get lost in translation.

One way to do this is by stating the FIRST STEP you want people to take.

So, if you end a Zoom chat with “Our customers hate the lockdown! Help them!” – they won’t know how to start. So they won’t.

Instead, you could add “As a FIRST STEP, you could call them, and suggest new ways you could help. Or if Customer X loved something you did, proactively contact Customers Y and Z and share it with them.”

Now they know what to do, they’ll do it.

Good old Child #3!

Action Point

As a FIRST STEP, review your last email or think back to your last meeting. Did it end with a crystal clear CTA/FIRST STEP?

Then, make sure your next CTA has an obvious FIRST STEP!

Finally, for more advice, visit andyboundsonline.com

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