They want to hear from us

We have had crises before. Veteran business people and executives would remember the challenges they had to face during the Asian financial crisis in 1997. It was a challenging time. I have had business friends close down their businesses. Perhaps the more recent blow to the economy happened in 2007-2009 recession that occurred in America. But if you were to compare the crises then to what we are experiencing now, the truth is that they are incomparable.

In the past crises, you still went to the office to work, retail stores remained open. While massive retrenchments and layoffs happened, the vast majority of businesses remained open. But this one is different. I have never seen empty streets of major dense cities the way I saw it during the early days of the lockdown. People were asked to work from home and internet connection became the lifeline of communications and work. And here is one of the unique occurrences of them: as a parent, you do not just work from home, you are not only a spouse or a partner, but you become a teacher, which is something many people are not prepared and this makes the current situation a lot more complicated and challenging.

Conferences now are all online. Ever since the lockdown, I have been privileged to speak in company townhalls, anniversaries, marketing activities for company clients, prospecting clients, etc. While I miss all those major on-ground conferences, I credit those beautiful days to beautiful experiences I have had in the past. And then focus my energy and attention to keenly observing the blessings, benefits, and elegant features of the present. Zooming in and out of the webinars, I have stumbled upon the beauty of the current situation. I can now request participants to type in their questions, and I get to answer them. This activity was arduous to execute in the past. People were either shy, nervous, or extremely edgy because they had to rush to the restrooms to relieve themselves, and they all wish not too many people would be asking too many questions and praying that answers would be short and sweet. Others were afraid to ask questions because their leaders and bosses are all seated on the front table and might “judge” them for their questions. Today they can safely ask away through chatbox and hide under the name: “Anonymous.” There is even a feature wherein instant polling can occur. These were features and activities that were difficult to execute during pre-COVID days.

I treat every participant as a client, and through these experiences, I realize that they want to hear from me. They want to converse; they merely wish to express and vent their fears, worries, and frustrations. I may not have all the answers that would satisfy their questions. Still, feedback later indicates that they appreciate the real show of care and compassion they sense during the presentation and, most specifically, the Q&A portion.

Here is my takeaway from all these webinars I am doing. Customers are expecting for you to speak to them during these moments of uncertainty. I would suggest that communicating with the clients should not be delegated only to the account officers, but the leaders should spend time conversing with their key clients themselves. Nobody can provide a definitive answer to the questions they may be asking, but clients appreciate the effort. They will remember you as a supplier or a business partner that cares. It doesn’t matter how much you know, but if a company or a leader comes across as uncaring, then adverse effects will happen because customers or clients have long memories. Therefore, the old saying from Theodore Roosevelt has become a cliché today but still hangs true: “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” This principle does not just apply to individuals, but it certainly applies to businesses as well.

(Connect with Francis Kong at www.facebook.com/franciskong2. Or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. over 98.7 DZFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.)