How To Pivot Your Message During A Crisis
I talked about learning to pivot your message in a previous blog post about how to keep selling with integrity, and I have had a lot of people reach out to me saying how much they loved the post, but that they weren’t sure how to pivot their message right now. The fact is, a lot of the problems our clients were facing before the current crisis have changed. People are now facing new and unexpected challenges. And if you want to learn how to pivot your message right now, you need to understand these new challenges and change your messaging to acknowledge this very large elephant in the room.
How To Pivot Your Message Like A Boss
You might be wondering how the heck you can pivot your message right now. How can you sell photography to people right now when half of the world is in lockdown and unsure when it’s going to be over? How can you continue to sell something that is definitely not considered a “vital service” right now?
1. Remember WHY You Do What You Do
I do love Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why”, but I think sometimes people can get too stuck on this deeper purpose and what it means to them, without really understand how that relates to their clients and the products and services that they offer. But what about when you think about your clients’ WHY. Why do they need photos? What do photos represent?
I believe that photos are actually incredibly important to people right now. They give us the opportunity to do the following:
1. They provide escapism, letting us re-live happy memories.
2. They help us to feel closer to the people we currently feel so far from.
3. They paint a picture of happier times and remind us that this will pass and we will have them again. They give us something to look forward to.
When you re-connect with what you really do when you take someone’s picture, you can find a way to keep communicating with your clients in a way that they can relate to right now. So get a piece of paper and start writing down why what you do is even more important right now.
2. Be Sensitive & Lead With Empathy
The truth is, even if a couple were looking for a wedding photographer before the crisis started, they are probably in a completely different headspace than they were 6 weeks ago. Whilst you don’t need to talk about the crisis in every message that you communicate, you should be sensitive to these new challenges that people are facing. What are some of the feelings people are feeling right now?
– Lack of Freedom
– Missing friends & family
– Missing the sports & activities they love to do
– Financial uncertainty
– Restlessness
– Loneliness
– Boredom
In order to pivot your message to connect with them, you need to understand that they are feeling these things and be empathetic to this in your messages. Understand where people are right now, and develop a plan to help them overcome these new challenges. You can absolutely still place your services as the solution, you just need to do it in a way that connects with how they are feeling right now.
3. Keep Showing Up
At the moment, it’s almost impossible to overcommunicate with your audience. The fact is, many people are bored and looking for escapism. Many people are spending more time online and connected to social media than they usually would. And whilst it might seem like you are constantly posting, emailing, and blogging, it’s very likely that your audience is only seeing a handful of what you are posting. If you truly believe in what you offer, and you know that you can help people make their lives better by giving them something to look forward to, you owe it to them to keep breaking through the noise, showing up and making them remember that you’re still here, you understand what they are going through, and that you want to help them picture a brighter future when this current blip has passed and things return to normal again, which they will.
What Now?
If you need help working out how to pivot your message and show up for your clients at this time, I’m offering 1-on-1 mentoring sessions for 50% off during the whole of April. Together we’ll craft an action plan for you so that you can come out of hibernation and start showing up for your audience who really need to hear from you right now.
Book Your Mentoring Session Here
Photo by Alice Lodge Photography
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