Black Lives Matter. How’s Your Business Faring?
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”
Thomas Jefferson
Yesterday I read a news article announcing people are sick of businesses cranking up their PR machines to join the Black Lives Matter movement. Not because they don’t believe in the movement. But because the vast majority of companies are full of BS.
I agree.
Starbucks putting out t-shirts saying “it’s not a moment it’s a movement,” meantime behind closed doors they’re still grappling with their own diversity policy following the arrest of two black men in a Philadelphia Starbucks because they didn’t purchase anything. Nike has been extremely outspoken their support for BLM - so why then is their leadership team white yet their primary target market - the people they make their money from, black?
Judge a company by their actions, not their words.
If you’re a CEO who issued a public statement in support of BLM or sent an email to customers expressing outrage, at least you did something.
But words are not enough.
And if that’s the first time you’ve directly communicated with your customers in a very long time that’s not good either.
For the vast majority of companies, that initial communication will be all that happens. There will be no follow up - and certainly no follow through as companies move onto dealing with the next crisis. But your customers won’t forget.
Don’t let this be you.
Here’s some advice:
Be honest, transparent and prolific in your communications to your customers. If your company has made screw ups in this area, it’s far better to acknowledge them and counter-act the damage with an extremely robust change plan. Better you disclose hiccups than the media. And don’t just communicate once. Schedule frequent updates and share wins and things that are not going quite as smoothly as you had hoped. This strategy takes immense courage - but once you have won your customer’s trust, you’ve just achieved the holy grail. Your bottomline will reflect it.
If your voice has been absent from your marketing, I advise you change this immediately. This is what will build trust and establish confidence in leadership, especially if your organization is lacking in diversity. Lee Iacocca did this exact thing to bring Chrysler back from the dead in the 1980s. He became the voice and frontman of Chrysler and became famous for the phrase ‘of you can find a better car, buy it.” People need people to trust. Not big faceless corporations. I call this Personality Infused Marketing (what we are known for) and its power is a game-changer for your organization.Be honest and prolific in your communications to your employees - and give them a leading role. Don’t be like another well known sport retailer and have your employees blow the whistle on your “public stance.” Your employees are powerful agents for change and it’s better to harness their energy for good, then let them air their dissatisfaction publicly en masse.
Do you have a diversity strategy? An implementation plan? A line of accountability? If not, it’s highly advisable you get these created, and fast because you can bet your competitors are already on it. Your customers are watching and so are your employees.
