President’s Blog: Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis

[From time to time, Oregon’s President, Judd Plattenburg, provides commentary for the Oregon blog about the state of the business, industry, and community affairs.]

4.13.20

The Beat Goes On:

Yes, we are still working at Oregon Printing Communications, as we are considered an essential business in accordance to the State of Ohio’s Stay-At-Home order. We are following all guidelines set forth by the CDC and the State of Ohio Health Department and are continuing to keep the safety and well-being of our employees, customers and vendors our top priority.

We are working normal business hours and have communicated with all our supplying vendors to ensure no disruption of service or goods. We are offering curbside pickup or loading your car, we are constantly disinfecting all touch points, and of course, we are respecting all social distancing guidelines.

What We Know:

In times of crisis, good communication is essential.

We’re finding that our customers need to communicate vital information with their people, be it their customers, employees, students, donors or whoever they may be. Through post card and personalized mailings to announce event changes, email blasts to encourage new ways of interacting with their business, or the proper signage or floor graphics to denote new COVID requirements, or any sort of messaging, communication is critical.

In two specific industries, non-profits and the education sector, we are realizing even more need than usual for increased communication:

On Non-Profits: I was listening to an interview with Russ Hodge, principle of the Hodge Group out of Columbus and a Certified Fundraising Professional, and he was talking about the importance of staying in front of constituents. It might feel like the wrong time to ask for funds, but it is still critically important to communicate with past and potential donors, tell them where your non-profit stands, and inform them of how you are keeping your mission in front of you, despite any challenges that you are facing. If you are suffering financially and your need is greater than usual during this time, it is OK to ask for donations with the correct messaging – we can help. 

On Colleges and Universities: We have quite a few universities sending mailing to their graduating seniors. Imminent grads are tomorrow’s donors and universities know how important it is to keep the line of communication with this group open. And, despite the crisis, this sector still needs to recruit and communicate with their incoming class, perhaps more often than ever before given the possibility of changes to orientation dates, move-in schedules for dormitories, or even fall schedules.

In Review:

These are strange times indeed. I don’t know any more than the next person where this crisis is all going to go or when we’ll get back to some version of “normal”, but I do hope that one positive outcome is that it helps us pull us together (figuratively, not literally) more than we have been in a while. I also hope all our customers, vendors and team members, and community stay safe and healthy.