How courses, resorts and other golf businesses should communicate during crisis - Golf.com

Let your audience know that this is a fluid environment, and plans may change.

Similarly, avoid the temptation to make definitive statements in a fluid, changing environment. Explain to the public, for example, that while your club is staying open for now, that may well change. The public understands uncertainty and changing plans. They don’t, however, take well to pronouncements presented as rock-solid that turn out to be, as Nixon’s press secretary said during Watergate, “no longer operative.”

Don’t think you’re going to spin this.

Don’t be too clever by thinking you’re going to find a cute hashtag, slogan or some other “spin” that’s going to make this issue go away. Unfortunately, there’s more than a few marketing and PR people out there who’ll try to convince you there’s some slick magic bullet you can use. I can assure you, it doesn’t work that way. In a crisis, the key is to present honest, accurate information in a timely manner. Spin too much, and your audience becomes dizzy; bend the truth too far, and it’ll snap back like an errant flagstick to the face. Rather than thinking about what you can say to get out of this, think about what your audiences really need to get through it.

In the end, I suspect, golf businesses — and the sport as a whole — will fare better than most as other entertainment options become less attractive. But that doesn’t mean organizations in the world of golf shouldn’t be thinking about effective communication in a time of uncertainty or crisis.

You may not need the club today, but it’s always good to have it in your bag.

James F. Haggerty is an attorney, author and crisis communications consultant. He is the President and CEO of PRCG | Haggerty LLC, and its sports marketing brand, PRCG | Sports. Jim is the author of Chief Crisis Officer: Structure and Leadership for Effective Communications Response (ABA Books), recently released in paperback.

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https://www.golf.com/news/2020/03/15/golf-business-crisis-management/

2020-03-15 19:10:26Z
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