communication Archives - Wellons Communications

Reopening communication tips for businesses after coronavirus

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Wellons team

As the COVID-19 pandemic was making headlines earlier this year and businesses began to close, there were many questions as to how businesses should communicate to customers. Now, as states across the country slowly begin to open up again, there will be many more.

Truly, what you do as a business and how you treat people during a crisis will be remembered. If you do it right, you can win and grow market share. If you do it wrong, the reverse is also true. It is imperative that businesses—regardless of industry—have a reopening plan for communications as well as operations.

The first step to reopening should always be following official guidance and doing your absolute best to ensure your staff and your customers or guests are safe. When you have that plan in place, consider the steps below to optimize your reopening communications.

Update your info. If your guests don’t know what your hours are or even if you are open, they definitely can’t visit, whether for takeout or in-person. Check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google and your own website. Search your business, and check the results. Does everything have your current hours and operations correctly listed? If not, fix it.

Communicate to your customers. You might be scared about blowback, or nervous that with new operations, you’ll be totally overwhelmed by customer demand when you reopen. But your customers still need to know what’s going on. Tell them! Update your website to reflect your new procedures, post on social with regular updates, or send an eblast. Again, if your guests don’t know how you’re operating, they can’t visit.

Be extra responsive. People are going to have questions, and they are going to have opinions. Now is the time to spend more time on call to answer those queries. Monitor your social media inboxes, your email inboxes and your phone line. It might help to brainstorm a few frequently asked questions and create a set response so everyone who is replying stays on message.

Monitor the situation. This is a crisis, and there will be a harsher spotlight on your business now than ever. People might not agree with your operating procedures, or they might not feel they are getting the same experience because of them. Now is the time to deploy your best social media listening tools. Monitor conversations you are tagged in or that mention your business and be prepared to respond in a way that diffuses the situation.

Stay top of mind. It’s not business as usual, but find ways you can continue to communicate with your guests. Post on social media. Send an email. There are a lot of messages flying around out there, and you need to ensure you are staying top of mind.

Learn from this. Did you do anything during the crisis that worked well? Perhaps you started a weekly virtual series, or deployed an awesome family meal deal. What can you continue to do even in reopening that would help move the needle?

We know you’ve heard this many times over, but these are unprecedented times. It can be tough to walk the line of communication during reopening. We hope these tips help, but if you have questions or are feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to reach out.

We, too, are a small business navigating this crisis. We can be your Orlando public relations partner, whether you are a restaurant, attraction or B2B company. Email Will at will@wellonscommunications.com or call 407-462-2718 and let’s start the conversation.

How to get the most out of your elevator speech

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Wellons team

Quick! When someone asks you “What do you do?”, what’s your answer?

Do you tell the questioner, in a single sentence, what you do – or do you focus on the benefits you provide your clients? Are you able to define, in as few words as possible, the results you deliver on behalf of your clients? Do you stick to that definition?

Emphasize the value you bring to your clients

We’ll start with our own business. When people ask members of our public relations account team “What do you do?” we respond, “We help our clients sell things.”

If the questioner wants more information, they will ask—and we’ll respond with a broader explanation of how we develop and distribute information that helps our clients reach their key audiences and helps them sell their products, services and ideas.

Too much information and too little time to absorb it

The avalanche of communications that has emerged in the 21^st century demands your communications be clear, simple, to the point and quickly and easily understood. No surprise, social media has led the way in creating the crowded competition for attention, to wit:

Every second, on average, around 6,000 tweets are tweeted on Twitter, which corresponds to over 350,000 tweets sent per minute, 500 million tweets per day and around 200 billion tweets per year.[1]
Every minute on Facebook: 510,000 comments are posted, 293,000 statuses are updated, and 136,000 photos are uploaded.[2]
3,607,080 Google searches are conducted worldwide each minute of every day.[3]
Ninety percent of all data was created in the past two years (that adds up to 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day.) [4]

The result of all this electronic overload has upended and revolutionized print and broadcast media, as well as other communications industries.

On one hand, social media and electronic communications provide an entirely new means of reaching one’s audience. On the other hand, the sheer volume of information generated by electronic communications weigh down one’s ability to take it all in, much less make sense of so much information.

“Just show me the baby”

The communications overload places a premium on presenting your message in a quick, easy-to-understand format.

To illustrate, there was a leading executive in the theme park industry who was regarded as a terror for those who insisted on long, windy explanations. The theme park exec would, in front of everyone in the room, cut them off and say, in a loud voice, “Enough. Just show me the baby.”

While it wasn’t pleasant to hear, it was his way of saying “get to the point.”

We agree with his philosophy (if not his manner of management); it’s important to present your message quickly and simply, as well as memorably.

Brevity is king

Eons ago, one of the key tools for PR folks was Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. The book’s benefit can be summed up as “omit needless words.” It’s an old philosophy, but it’s one that holds true today.

Because of the crowded communications field, we have shifted to presenting and absorbing information in headline fashion. We cannot communicate simply enough. And that means communicating in as few words as possible.

In a day and age when we want people to read white papers that detail everything you would like them to know about your product and service, no one has time to read them.

They’d rather get a postcard with one sentence and an interesting graphic that drives your point home.

We work simply, but effectively

Our team at Wellons Communication recognizes how quickly communications is changing.

We understand how to craft a message that will cut through the clutter, gain recognition from your target audience, and provide them the reasons it is important for them to do what you want them to do.

If you want to start communicating with simplicity and clarity, think about our approach at Wellons Communications. We keep it short and to the point, focused on making your message more powerful in its simplicity.

We help you sell things, which is the whole point of being in business.

[1] http://www.internetlivestats.com/twitter-statistics/

[2] https://blog.microfocus.com/how-much-data-is-created-on-the-internet-each-day/

[3] https://blog.microfocus.com/how-much-data-is-created-on-the-internet-each-day/

[4] https://web-assets.domo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/17_domo_data-never-sleeps-5-01.png

Let’s be clear: Why clarity is essential in your communications

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Wellons team

With a multitude of changes unfolding as 2017 moves forward, we are increasingly seeing what kind of turmoil can transpire if communications are not perfectly clear. Clarity Image

Ask yourself “How clear are the messages I am conveying to my clients, my associates, and my potential clients?”

Are your communications immediately understandable — or is your core message lost in a sea of techno-babble that few can understand?

Are your messages consistent? Are you saying the same thing, in the same way, every time you communicate your message?

Do your communications talk to your audiences…or at them?

Communications go well beyond what you may think

In business, communications start with the usual letters, memos and emails. But it also includes informative brochures, marketing and advertising materials, publicity and public relations information, websites, logos, and anything that represents or defines your product or service.

And that’s just a part of the communications process.

Business communication also includes tone and language and nonverbal behaviors. Timing, and the context that surrounds your message, can influence whether or not your audience will even see your message, let alone understand it. How you convey your message affects clarity.

Combine the complexities of communicating simply with the number of ways messages can launched — from Twitter to texting – and the importance of communicating clearly becomes even more magnified.

The seven C’s: an old idea that remains surprisingly up-to-date

At Wellons Communications, we adhere to the seven C’s, a notion originated by respected University of Wisconsin public relations academics Scott Cutlip and Allen Center in 1952. The seven C’s include:

Correct: From spelling and grammar to information, is it totally accurate?
Clear: Do you present one thought at a time?
Concrete: Do you say precisely what you mean?
Concise: Do you get to the point quickly?
Complete: Do you provide a means so your audience can reach you?
Consideration: Can everyone understand your messages?
Courteous: What is the tonality of your message?

Reminder: Communications are the bedrock of marketing

At Wellons Communications, we offer only one service: effective communications aimed at helping you sell products and services.

Yes, we dutifully subscribe to all the other esoteric qualities of public relations like brand reputation management, social and corporate responsibility, and organizational leadership.

But overarching those hard-to-measure intangibles is the need to generate sales. That’s where we aim 99 percent of our efforts.

We are either trying to increase sales or remove any barriers from making sales.

And that’s about as clear a message as we can impart.

If you want to learn more about how we can help you communicate – with an eye on positively impacting your marketing program, call me at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com.