Local PR Agency Thought Bubble Participating In Back To Business Project
By Meredith LeJeune
Businesses across the nation have been forced to shut down or operate at limited capacity as COVID-19 continues to impact our day-to-day lives. We’re starting to understand that what we initially presumed to be a short-term interruption is more likely to be a long-term disruption with no playbook for such unknown variables.
Businesses must work harder than ever to plan and create strategic messaging while we ride these rough waters. To guide businesses through this murky time, a group of public relations and communications firms across the U.S. have joined forces to create “Back To Business,” which matches company owners with an agency offering a complimentary phone strategy session to jumpstart a public relations effort.
The pandemic pause has thrown the world of commerce into havoc, changing the way we maintain our businesses, and leaving an uncertain path in the future for how we will operate. Business owners need to reset and rethink their plans for the future. Preparing for a post-pandemic environment calls for assessing losses, while creating different ways to generate revenue. What does the future hold? Only time will tell, but by starting to plan now, business owners can have a leg up in what could be a new way of doing business.
According to a Goldman Sachs survey of 1,500 business owners, 96 percent of them said they have been impacted by the outbreak. Only 13 percent feel confident about their contingency plans to maintain business. Fifty-three percent say their employees do not have the ability to telecommute, and 51 percent say their business cannot operate beyond three months.
The “Back to Business” initiative was founded by Amy Kovar, owner of Franklin, Tennessee-based integrated marketing communications firm Gray Public Relations. The concept took off when she shared her idea with agency owners that are a part of Solo PR Pro, a professional membership group of PR professionals, and boutique and micro-agency owners.
“There was overwhelming support for the initiative,” said Kovar. “We are coming together to do what we do best. I may not have the skills to sew masks but I can help guide others with best practices and ideas for lessening their company’s financial impact during this time.”
How Can Businesses Participate?
Business owners interested in taking part in the initiative should email: BacktoBusiness@graypr.com. You will be asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to help identify your most pressing needs. You will be matched with an agency that’s most suitable. The agency member will give you a 60-minute consultation.
Meredith LeJeune owns Thought Bubble Communications. She is a participating member of the Back To Business Initiative
mmobley@thoughtbubblecommunications.com, or email BacktoBusiness@graypr.com.
LinkedIn: in/MeredithLeJeune Instagram: @ThoughtBubbleComm