Scientists say that a baby laughing is one of the four most pleasant sounds to the human ear.  Baby laughs, water flowing, thunder and applause. All are beautiful music to our ears and brains.

A baby’s cry, however, is universally despised. In fact, it’s right up there with listening to your tone-deaf best friend murder your favourite song.

We’re hearing the words ‘tone deaf’ a lot these days. People are pointing their fingers at politicians, businesses and billionaires saying they are tone deaf to the realities regular people face. 

Musically, it’s not that some people can’t sing. Their brains simply can’t process differences in pitch, so the terrible sounds aren’t their fault at all.

On the other hand, COVID-19 tone deafness is inexcusable, and for business owners being tone deaf might cost them more than their reputation – it might cost them their livelihood.

The next 90 days

In North America, we find ourselves a good six weeks or so into this pandemic. Frustrations are mounting as we collectively understand this is truly going to be a marathon and not a sprint.

It’s time for businesses to recognize this new reality, flush their long-term business plan and strategize the next 90 days to survival.

It’s time to lead in a conscious and responsible way with both intention and purpose. To make the right moves quickly while being responsive to current threats and open to new opportunities.

It starts with not being tone deaf to the realities of this crisis.

“We do have to feel the proverbial room and ignore the LinkedIn amateur hour. People’s lives are, directly as well as indirectly, at stake. It’s time for the grown-ups to talk.”

– JP Hanson, Marketing Week, April 2020

LinkedIn amateur hour. Those self-anointed gurus who want to stick to their business plans and keep on selling. Their tone deaf emails land in my inbox and my skin crawls, it’s like I can hear their fingernails on my grade school chalkboard.

Yes, it’s time to let the grown-ups talk. It’s time to listen to the experts and follow science-based crisis communications advice if you want to emerge alive after the next 90 days.

That starts with acknowledging there’s a crisis, it’s not business as usual and it won’t be any time soon.

Getting through the crisis

How to do that? There’s a simple formula:

1. Add a pop up to your website that acknowledges the crisis and what your company is doing to support its clients.
2. Add a web page to your site outlining in greater detail the ways you’re adapting your business to serve clients better. Think about COVID discounts, donations to local causes in need, resource libraries and more.
3. Drive your clients to your website to learn more through an email, a blog post or your social channels.

We’re in this together, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help with messaging, coming up with business offerings, or technical execution.

We’ve put our heads together, poured over best practices and created a 90-day crisis recovery planning process. We’ll help you keep your revenue safe while you work to keep yourself and your family safe. 

With gratitude,