During my career, I've seen more than a few execs shrink Comms and Marketing teams (and their budgets) because of economic downturns. In nearly ever case, it was a huge mistake. Why? Because these are your brand experts and reputation specialists – just the folks you need at the table for strategy, messaging and morale when times get tough.
Economists are pointing to signs of an impending global recession; so, here are five reasons to BUILD your communications team RIGHT NOW. (And if you can't hire FTEs, now is the time to find expert consultants who can embed with you and your team.)
1) Comms pros can help you protect your image, company or product from bad reviews, unfair press and more by creating *proactive* internal and external communications plans and then working those plans every day. It's all about playing offense and knowing how to block and tackle.
2) The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer found that distrust is now society's default emotion. (Stay tuned for findings from the 2023 report, which comes out next week.) Comms teams' coalition building expertise can help businesses build rapport and fuse connections between disparate groups – consumers, nonprofits, and even governmental agencies.
3) Comms teams can boost the bottom line by making employees feel valued and supported. In the long term, these good vibes turn into better productivity and stable retention rates.
4) And if retention issues do arise, Comms is HR's perfect partner to help streamline two-way communication and build new and meaningful ways for the business side to hear employees' concerns.
5) In times of economic trouble or in periods of crisis, Comms pros can guide the C Suite toward messages that put humans first and showcase empathy at every turn.