Well, it’s official. The Coronavirus has reached panic proportions. It’s in part because it has now eclipsed the amount of those infected from the SARS virus. Here in San Diego we actually have a confirmed report of one person being affected.
I’m fine by the way, thanks for asking.
Here’s the thing. The pandemic will start to affect economies soon, and not just for the stock market. We’ll soon start quarterly corporate earnings influenced. Goods produced in Asia will get delayed, if not outright canceled, from coming over to North America, Europe, and other continents.
Many companies find themselves at a quandary here from a crisis PR standpoint of the fear of the unknown. No one’s quite sure how this will play out. So for organizations big and small, just keep communicating. Keep showing empathy and action. Tell folks what you know, don’t over speculate, but talk about the actions you will take based on the knowledge in front of you. Leave yourself some openings to change the course as things develop.
In most incidents, I don’t tell companies to over-communicate in a crisis PR situation. In this case, it makes sense. Be sure to over-communicate to your employees, your partners, and your stakeholders, too. If included in the conversation, they will stick by you regardless of the circumstance until this Coronavirus pandemic subsides.