The past two days, I’ve watched as many businesses and organizations—large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit—figure out creative ways to stay in business while at the same time creating additional (i.e., previously unavailable) value for their audience. This is a win/win strategy! For example, I’ve seen:
- A group of church marketing experts who are offering congregations free advice on how to quickly establish livestreaming and online community options
- A marketing firm that is offering a webinar on how to better manage your marketing during a crisis
- A drug store that is offering free delivery of prescription medications
- A nonprofit consultant who is offering a free tip sheet on how to communicate event cancellations
This is just a few of the many examples I’ve seen. These things cost the businesses very little, but they are delivering something new that will really help their customers and clients. In each example, they started with a simple question:
What can I create/do, right now, to help people, that is in alignment with my core business model and values?
In less than a week, we’ve been flooded with an unprecedented amount of information and commentary about the problem: COVID-19. Very few of us (possibly none of us outside medical and science fields) actually need more info about the problem. What we all need are solutions—ways to cope, manage, and possibly even thrive during this crisis.
What added value can you offer others—on top of what you typically offer—that will actually help people to survive (and maybe even thrive) during this crisis?
Figure that out and do it! It may be just a seed today, but you better believe that people will remember what you did to help them, and before long you’ll start to see the fruit of your kindness.
