These past weeks I’ve been confided in by multiple clients that there is big news on the horizon. While I will not be spilling the beans on the actual news, the process for how big news should be shared with the world is an interesting one to explore.
Here’s how it generally starts – usually in an offhanded way that leads to a closed door discussion:
Client: Alison, I need to tell you something in confidence. The firm is working on something that we’ll need to announce.
Me: Sure. What do you have going on?
Client: (Shares big news.)
Me: Congrats. That’s great. I have a few questions about that if you don’t mind.
Here’s the good part… my questions!
Who is “in the know” until the announcement date and how to do we “keep a lid on it” until then?
Preventing a leak is vital to communicating big new
Gossip is the enemy because people invent the parts of the story they don’t know – and love to share predictions as fact
How does this news affect our audiences? (Who will be asking WIIFM “What’s in it for me”?) In what order is the news announced? Potential audiences include:
Firm leadership
Firm employees (may not all be affected in same way – give consideration to special cases or those more/less affected than others)
Clients
Prospects
Referral sources
Member organizations/associations
Community
Vendors
Competitors
Media
What are the key take-away message points that we want people to remember and tell others if asked?
Satisfy people’s concerns so they can focus beyond their own needs being met
Point their attention toward the positive
Allow them to ask questions if appropriate
When is this happening? And how far in advance of this effective date should we make an announcement? What do we need to do to prepare?
Thinking through messaging for each audience
Writing or scripting message
Preparing the announcement team
What method of communication should be used to communicate with each of our audiences?
In person meeting
Phone call
Letter
Email
Press release – business publications, association newsletters, town paper of involved employees
Website
Social media
Advertisement in newspaper/trade magazine
Positive big news is exciting and can create momentum for your business in a variety of areas including morale and growth. Negative big news can be managed and the damage mitigated with proper planning. So, whether good or bad news is brewing, manage the message for the best results.
Need help thinking through these steps? I’d be glad to help!