By: John Lavey | Hammock President/COO

In uncertain times, you work in a certain way.

So said Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin on a Zoom chat from his empty office earlier this week. Corbin’s two NCAA baseball national championships with Vanderbilt could pigeonhole him as a school and sports legend, but anyone who has heard him speak knows his leadership style and wisdom transcend sports.

So what does Coach Corbin have to do with healthcare marketing? Well, his comment about how to work in uncertain times made me think about the last time we faced such uncertainty—the economic downturn of the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009.

Hammock’s founder, Rex Hammock, wrote a great blog post then, titled “Don’t Hunker Down Your Brand During a Recession.”

As Rex wrote, “The term hunker down means two things: One is related to preparation for some type of pressure you’re anticipating. The other relates to hiding. I fear that a lot of business planners are confusing the first type of hunkering down—anticipating and preparing—with the second type of hunkering down: hiding.”

Rex noted that how companies respond to tough times defines them. For sure, many healthcare companies are carefully deciding the best way to navigate this pandemic. But it’s important that you don’t hide, go away or stop communicating.

Use this challenge to survive, adapt, thrive and raise your visibility. Successful organizations understand that it’s critical to continue to be available to help customers and to communicate even more.

What has been your approach? Are you hiding or are you working with certainty?

(Image: Getty Images)

About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.