CorpComms Magazine

This will be a tough year. That being so, the focus for all communications professionals should not be surviving the turmoil, but how good communications can help organisations come out the other side stronger and better than the competition.

I think three factors will define this year's winners and losers:

1) Artful reputation management

Over the next 12 months there will be those that manage poor trading updates and redundancy programmes with aplomb and those that cock it up! For the latter group, the reputational damage will be long-lasting. Poor communications will put them behind competitors long after the recession is done and dusted. Communicating with the right tone and level of transparency will be essential.

2) Appropriateness of campaigns

Good organisations know that they need to communicate through a downturn. Campaigns should be driven forward so as to create a narrative around an organisation that is broader than the brittle measures of trading figures and job losses. But these campaigns must feel appropriate, avoid profligacy and be ‘real'.

3) Optimism

People like positive people. They buy from, or relate to, successful companies. Organisations that successfully manage difficult issues while campaigning both appropriately and with a sense of optimism will win the day. That's a tough nut to crack at a time of economic uncertainty. But nobody wants to engage with a lame-duck organisation that communicates in a way that conveys a sense of feeling sorry for itself.

So, this could be a positive year for good communicators. Challenging times bring out the best from the rest. They make careers and reputations. Let's rise to the challenge.  

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