Chillax! Counseling Clients During Economic Turmoil

Any lawyer thats been in the business awhile knows often the first job of a good counselor is to be a... counselor. Clients will come to you with worries, personal, professional and legal. During these gut wrenching times now is your opportunity to calm client fears and win loyalty for life. How does a legal professional make that connection? Here are some tips courtesy of PR pro Corey duBrowa, President, North America, Waggener Edstrom.

• Explain the reality: The financial markets have become a complex ecosystem. The universe the government is attempting to regulate is so complex that's it's going to take time to set things right. In the meantime, it's not the job of regulators to fix everything. Instead, it's about all the players taking control.

• Double down on employee communications. We have found that a constant open dialog between leaders and employees is even more essential during economic uncertainty to ensure your talent is confident of your vision—and that you attract the type of talent that sometimes moves around during times of uncertainty. Mark Anderson, who publishes the Strategic News Service newsletter at Washington State, calls it "Going into the tunnel and coming out of the tunnel." Brands that sustain momentum and thrive will keep internal communications strong while also communicating the brand externally. Disciplined employee communications is key to that because employees really are your brand ambassadors in good and bad times.

• Don't utilize every communications channel at your disposal. Counseling clients to develop networks of relationships is key—use digital tools and increase direct dialog with people. Then also continue your "story" with mainstream media.

• Embrace the notion that being authentic is important every day—not just in bad times. We need to create a business environment that allows stakeholders to see into the company. Sustaining all of these behaviors over time can help to create permanent change. Go back to your client or company's core values and remind them to be representative of who they are. Authenticity is essential for growing, sustainable companies and brands—especially if you want to inspire confidence and credibility during tough economic times.

When we talk with clients and prospects, what we're trying to tease out is, "What is your innovation." We focus on the "Three I's": What are they doing to Influence markets, Inspire customers or Improve lives?

If we can help clients self-identify those things and wrap a narrative around it—especially one that creates an emotional connection with stakeholders—then they win and we win. When Microsoft talked about putting a PC on every desktop—well, that was audacious. But they did it in large measure.

It's the ability to translate your data to a narrative that informs an emotional connection. That's what we aspire to do and that's what you must do, especially in times like these.