Opinion

Communicating in a crisis – what’s the etiquette?

15.4.2020

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Really? A vacuum cleaner review, an article on the latest Lego bricks and posts about our in-house mobile subscription? Finding the right tone is never an easy task. Throw a crisis into the mix and it gets even harder. Find out how we’re dealing with this tightrope walk at Digitec Galaxus.

What’s appropriate and what’s a no-no? A question many communication pros are confronted with at the moment. Social media managers, advertisers, PR people and brand professionals of all kinds are currently unsettled and cautious. And we’re no exception. Not a day goes by without discussions about whether we should be promoting our mobile subscription or posting a vacuum cleaner review, for example. Finding answers often proves quite tricky. What’s more, our daily business must go on. We run an online shop with a practically endless range of products. That was the case before the crisis and will continue to be so during this pandemic. To our customers, we are a reliable source of all types of articles – nappies, home office equipment, clothing, games, garden furniture, you name it. We really do have pretty much everything.

Online sales channels are more important than ever

With many brick-and-mortar shops closed and people confined to their homes, the importance of online shops is greater than ever. Countless specialised shops have moved their businesses online. However, it would be presumptuous to speak of positive effects. After all, our digital world greatly depends on many physical things. Take the sophisticated logistical processes that are being pushed to their limit, for example. Within an incredibly short amount of time, we managed to recruit 200 people to help us out at our warehouse in Wohlen. With this additional human power, we’re trying to keep our delivery delays in check. The far-reaching effects coronavirus will have are difficult to predict – even for experts. But one thing is clear. A recession would affect us all. Nonetheless, the daily business continues and that’s a good thing. Customers rightly want information and our site needs to remain up to date.

Our approach

Firstly – Transparency is key. Since the beginning of the crisis, national and regional media representatives have made their way to our warehouse in Wohlen to report on how we are managing in these hectic times. Provided that we have the time and the resources, we will continue to cater for them in the future.

Secondly – Complaining? Not our thing. It is what it is and that’s our communication philosophy. Delivery bottlenecks, delays and other nasty issues that go hand in hand with this crisis? We publicly talk about them on our page: delivery delays.

Thirdly – There’s more to talk about than corona. Take a look at a few examples from our editorial team below. As hard-nosed as this may sound: life goes on.

Fourthly – Entertainment is important. Our social media channels offer live dance workshops, workout sessions, meditation meetings and cooking classes with Simon Balissat. Bon appétit!

The basic rules of communication should continue to apply before, during and after this crisis. Self-importance and depreciatory «isms» will be avoided at all cost. At least that’s one thing we can hang on to in these uncertain times.

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Rico Schüpbach

Public Relations Manager

rico.schuepbach@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm passionate about my job as a PR story writer. I've always been fascinated by advertising, magazines and media products of all kinds – from trashy Britney to highly intellectual Judith Butler. When I'm not at work, I enjoy spending time sharpening my critical view of society and deconstructing clichés. Nothing's more unneccessary to me than falling back into outdated role models again and again.

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