We are living times of disruption, that’s nothing new. Disruption in the manner how we communicate, work, move, consume, relate with each other, how we see what happens around us and, above all, in the manner how we come to value certain issues to the detriment of others.
Disruption is common to all industries and sectors of our society, it’s global. In the particular field of communication, a privileged place as an observation post for this new reality, the big issue is whether this disruption has rendered our role as communication consultants more difficult or rather more strategic.
In order to answer this question, it’s important to figure out how communication consultants can help their customers in this new age. We don’t know yet how this new normal everyone talks about will be, but we have some indicators. Employees, consumers, decision-makers, business partners, investors and the media will be paying more attention than ever to what companies and organizations communicate, they will scrutinise the authenticity and relevance of their actions and see if they are aligned with their purpose.
This relevance will take into account the manner how an organisation protects its employees, namely in matters of mental health, how it defends jobs, in its actions within their communities and how they contribute to solve social issues. But, these causes have to be truly fundamental for society.
Communication is more important than ever, but it has to be work based on data, in a clear, transparent, creative manner and using different channels. Communication agencies and consultants, due to the nature of their involvement with organizations, have characteristics that make us a unique and strategic partner.
This value lies in the fact that we are at the intersection between the knowledge we have of the organization – vision, business objectives, barriers and opportunities – and the mastery of communication tools in different disciplines, from corporate communication, crisis management, media advisory, internal communication, social media and digital.
The need to speak clearly, in a transparent and genuine manner, aligned with the purpose and with the imperative to give visibility to the role that leaders play in this process will require an alignment between marketing communication, products and services and the institutional and corporate dimension of brands. I am sure that the topic of communication has gained visibility and reputation as a strategic area. More risk analysis and more medium-long-term strategic planning will be carried out.
Consultants have been following a path of diversification of skills in the manner how they master different channels and communication platforms, ensuring that narratives are accessible to all audiences, at all times. The speed of adaptation shown by this sector has been remarkable. The management of this crisis is here to prove it. It was necessary to stop, analyse, redefine and advise our customers, all at the same time. This sector has very competent professionals with many complementary skills, which allowed us to come up with a solid and quick response. Everyone needed, and needs, true and quality information, whether internal or external to organizations.
It has already often been said that the positive side of this crisis is the fact that it has forced an acceleration, not only of digital transformation, whether in work, education or health, but in our ability to be more creative and agile. We have all suffered the impact of this crisis, not all in the same manner, but we managed to come out stronger and with our own development strategies duly realigned.
Communicating will not be easier, but it is undoubtedly the most strategic dimension of a brand or organization in the recovery phase we are about to experience.