10 Strategies for Companies Coping with COVID-19

I'm not going to sugar coat this at all. We have to be strong and vigilant now, more than ever before. Our livelihoods are at stake. We are looking at the very real possibility of companies being wiped out...hell, even...

I'm not going to sugar coat this at all. We have to be strong and vigilant now, more than ever before.

Our livelihoods are at stake. 

We are looking at the very real possibility of companies being wiped out...hell, even entire industries facing irreversible and insurmountable declines.

Now is not the time to throw in the towel and so in that spirit, I'd like to share with you 10 strategies or ideas that you might want to think about deploying.

1. Add value part 1 - (and to hell with cynics) - Microsoft Teams has been offered to businesses free for 6 months during the corona virus outbreak. With people shifting to working from home, this becomes the ultimate "try before you buy" sampling effort. Does it matter what Microsoft's intent is? Absolutely not. It's helping.

2. Add value part 2 - Pornhub is offering free access to Italians during their quarantine period. This might sound trivial or even inappropriate, but again...who cares? We all want a happy ending, don't we? Opportunism with a bit of personality goes a long way. Apologies to all the puns.

3. Customer obsession is still mission critical - This is not your customers' problem. Do not penalize them. Airlines are not doing enough to help out their customers. Waiving change fees because the flights are still operating doesn't cut it. If I'm canceling my daughter's flight back to college because there is no more college or my flight to Austin because SxSW is canceled, I should get a full refund versus a credit towards future travel with an expiration date! Seriously! I spoke with American and they said they were in line with the policies of the other airlines. I challenged them to LEAD; not FOLLOW.

Hilton on the other hand has been tremendous by applying full refunds to bookings, regardless of when they were purchased AND regardless if they are non-refundable.

4. Loyalty is more important, now, more than ever - You're going to need your customers big time when things normalize. Why not consider a proactive e-mail that tells your most frequent customers you have their backs and will protect their elite status or at least adjust it accordingly? 

Marriott has done a great job of doing this (in an e-mail to Bonvoy members:

We are focused on how the coronavirus is impacting our Marriott Bonvoy Members and have made some important updates to our loyalty program to provide greater flexibility when planning future travel. Specifically, we have paused points expiration until August 31, 2020 allowing Members ample time to redeem their points. In addition, we have extended the expiration of suite night awards (SNAs) with an expiration date of December 31, 2020 by one year to December 31, 2021. Lastly, Members who currently have an active Free Night Award (FNA) expiring in 2020 as part of their credit card benefit, annual choice benefit, promotions or travel package will be able to use it through January 31, 2021. We understand that earning status for 2021 may also be on your mind. As the current situation is still evolving, it is too early for us to make any changes. We will keep you updated on all loyalty program changes through our Marriott Bonvoy member benefits website.

5. Don't forget about your employees - PLEASE. I just flew back on American Airlines and spent a fair amount of time talking to some very nervous flight attendants. They have every right to be nervous. When the airlines are all grounded and they will be, the go to corporate move is to retrench employees. Don't give in to this urge. Protect them. To hell with profits. Protect your people. Wall Street will have to forgive you. And if they don't, we won't forgive them. Starting from scratch is a lot easier than digging oneself out of a bottomless hole...and in order to pick up the pieces, we'll need people. 

6. Employees must compromise as well - Whole Foods has come up with a recommendation where workers share personal time off (PTO) with those who are sick. Donating time off balances things out and ultimately spreads the burden between the whole company. In doing so, it prevents the worst case scenario...layoffs (see point 5.)

7. Be vulnerable and be honest - Companies shouldn't fear being transparent about costs challenges or asking employees or even customers to chip in, chime in or cut them some slack. Is it far-fetched for companies to focus on zero profits for the remainder of 2020? Breaking even seems like a win to me. Collaboration versus competition is another way that enemies can temporarily become friends. A ceasefire so to speak!  

8. No room for fat cats - this is where the C-Suite and Board have to lead by example and check their greed at the door. Companies that take bold moves to forego executive bonuses (in part or in full) in favor of keeping employees employed and/or taking care of local communities will be rewarded by grateful customers and employees. I'm pretty sure if the 1% did not take home a salary - or at a minimum, a bonus - this year, they'd be just fine... 

I cannot emphasize this point enough. Take a page out of celebrities playbook right now and step up - personally and professionally. Steph Curry and his wife, Ayesha, are making a donation to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and said they want to provide more than one million meals while the schools are closed.

9. Remember the recession - companies that continue to advertise during recessionary times, reap the reward for doing so. Naturally the messaging and tonality have to adapt to and respect the current conditions, but there is something to be said for keeping the homefires burning.

OR....here's a stretch idea: what if corporations donate their air time to PSA's and media companies donate their media dollars to charitable efforts? 

10.  Humor works well...until it doesn't. If you're a corporation, stay clear. As an individual, you probably want to exercise extreme judgement in a public forum. Weird Al Yankovic chose not to do a cover of My Sharona. Sooner rather than later, it's not going to be funny, but in the interim, we kind of rely on our late night hosts to find the lighter side of this crisis and take our minds off the heavy stuff. I don't think it's a good idea to stop production of our late night talk show hosts. We need them more than ever. 

To summarize: we're all in this together. Employees. Customers. Communities. Yes, even (some) governments. Compromise and collaboration are going to be key in order to get through this crisis. 

I urge corporations out there to think about taking longer term proactive (versus short term reactive) steps in order to take actions TODAY that ensure a viable, healthy and profitable TOMORROW.

I am available to talk you through this. To brainstorm. To strategize. I offer this to you at NO COST. With NO STRINGS ATTACHED. 

Good luck all!