Hell in a Handbasket

By Jason Ickert, Senior Director of Business Development, ENERGY Transportation Group

Everything you've planned for in the last six months…all of the painstaking work you've put into mapping campaigns, building content, planting lead magnets, sequencing messaging, building value propositions, planning and budgeting meetings and events…everything came to a screeching halt and we have found ourselves in an unchartered waters. 

We're asking ourselves, "How do we survive this? What will our new normal look like? What should I be doing right now? How does success look like on the backside of this?". 

There are several services in the logistics space that are essential in OH Shit! moments. If yours is one of these; an immediate example in transportation might be trucking or air freight, then it's go time! Amplify your value proposition or crisis-specific solution for this moment in time.  

However, be cognizant of the market, because your 15 seconds of fame will end just as abruptly as it started; at which time you'll need to re-evaluate your message and the delivery vehicle.  

If your product/service is not the "In Case of Fire, Break Glass" type then I think the best action is to hit PAUSE. Take a breath, and then explore your WHY. Your WHY is your purpose, cause or belief. Ask yourself "Why are we doing this? Why this message?" 

Evaluate. Is this message appropriate for right now? Is our message empathetic to the situation? If not, what should be our message? How will our messaging be perceived by our audience?

Inform. Make sure to provide clarity to the situation. Identify the impact to your audience, your industry, and all of its participants. Suggest possible outcomes and exit strategies…all without pushing a you-focused or your brand-focused solution. There doesn’t need to be a call to action. 

Resonate. Check your feedback loop. How is your message being perceived by your audience? What feedback are your prospects/customers giving to your front-liners (Sales/CSRs/etc.)? This might be as simple as watching for what social emojis is your audience using?  

There have been a number of high profile examples, even during our current crisis, of what not to do. Don't be those guys. Fortunately, for us as a society, and more specifically as a band of revenue generators, there are more examples of the right thing to do.  

Stay Safe. Stay Healthy. We're all in this together.

This blog post is based on the podcast below. In this podcast, Jason Ickert, Senior Director of Business Development for ENERGY Transportation, and Asher Fredericks, Marketing Manager for Rizing HCM, discuss Revenue Generation Under Quarantine. Listen to it using this player or download it and listen on the go.

Jason Ickert is Senior Director of Business Development for ENERGY Transportation Group. He is a seasoned commercial leader, individual contributor, and has been a valuable member of several executive teams. Ickert is hyper-focused on delivering a phenomenal customer experience (CX) that is unparalleled in the third party logistics (3PL) space. He serves on the TMSA Board of Directors and is chairman of the Membership Committee.