Managing Message in an Acquisition

For executives, delivering bad news is always difficult. This is particularly true when a company is sold.

An acquisition can be traumatic. It can arouse feelings of suspicion, dread and even anger among employees. For many, such news reminds them of life’s uncertainty – and how their time, talent and sacrifices can quickly be discarded. For executives, an acquisition often solidifies their legacy as failed leaders.

A commonly-cited statistic is that 70% of acquisitions fail to achieve their anticipated goals. There are many reasons: incompatible cultures, management in-fighting, changing markets and poor transition planning, strategy and execution.
However, many problems in acquisitions can be traced back to communication. These problems are rarely rooted in one strategic error. Instead, they produce a slow death by a thousand cuts.

Before announcing an acquisition, it is critical to establish a communications plan. You need to coordinate and control the distribution of information, to ensure a consistent and correct message is delivered to internal and external parties. This plan, approved by both parties, will include all objectives, steps and timelines for shaping and distributing message. It will delineate what can be said, who can say it and to whom. It will also identify all unknowns and potential variables at the outset.

In developing a communications plan, you need to appeal to three disparate audiences: the general public, customers and employees. By crafting the right message for each niche and scheduling the release of information simultaneously, you will avoid confusion and inconsistency.

Here are strategies applicable to each group:

General Public: It is critical to control your message and get it out ahead of the press. Here’s how:

• Issue a press release to all outlets (newspapers, radio, television, industry associations, trade and business magazines) listed on your media distribution list. Address the standard who, what, where, when and (most importantly) why.
• Conduct a press conference or one-on-one interviews with targeted outlets (local newspaper, television or radio stations). As part of these events, have responses prepared to answer questions like these:

How will this sale impact your operation?

· Will there be any jobs lost? How many? Which departments? Will these be salaried or hourly jobs? What are you doing for the employees who will be displaced?

· Why was your company sold? When did you make this decision?

· How will this change impact your employees? Your customers?

· Tell us about the new owners. Where are they from? What type of

work do they do? How long have they been in business?

· What are the benefits of this acquisition to your company? What strengths does this new partner bring to the table? How will this change your business model?

· When will the sale be finalized? How long will the transition take? What will be involved with the transition?

· How much was your company sold for? How will the previous owners and executives remain involved in the company?

· What do you see as your company’s legacy in your community? What about your legacy in your industry at large?

· What was the reaction of your employees to this news? What about your customers’ reaction? What about your personal reaction?

In addition, have key information – executive bios, photographs, company overviews and chronologies – ready for the media well in advance. Be sure to supply talking points to any potential media contacts, to ensure they don’t deviate from message.

Even more, prepare a contingency plan, in case some reporter breaks the story before you are ready. Limit the number of people with advanced knowledge of the acquisition. Otherwise, expect those whispers behind closed doors to eventually filter out.

Once the sale is announced, stay on the public relations offensive. Institute a series of events and announcements to stay in the news cycle, so you can capitalize on your momentum and build good will. Here are some ideas to consider:

·Host open houses and events in communities where you have a presence.

· Issue press releases in subsequent months outlining positive developments.

· Facilitate additional contact between local media outlets and new leaders.

· Perform community outreach, such as purchasing sponsorships, maintaining a presence at local events or devoting labor and money and personnel to a specific cause.

On a larger scale, fold the acquisition into a broader marketing or re-branding campaign. Target current customers, prospects and lost opportunities using mediums like print advertising, direct mail, tradeshows, e-mail and sales calls. Tout the benefits of the new partnership to these parties. Demonstrate how it solves known pains or provides new opportunities.

Clients: An ownership change can breed anxiety among customers. As a result, you must provide greater personal attention to your strategic clients. Assure them that this change is positive and will have minimal impact on your relationship. To do this, employ the following strategies:

· Have your executives make calls to their c-suite counterparts to announce the sale and answer any pertinent questions.

· Distribute a formal e-mail to all customer contacts announcing the news.

· Have your customer liaisons make calls to their counterparts at various levels of the customer’s operation to answer further questions. Your representatives should have talking points to demarcate message boundaries. These points should address the following:

· What does this acquisition mean to me? How will this affect our day-to-day operations?

· What are the benefits? What are the potential drawbacks? (The answers will likely need to be tailored to each customer.)

· Who will be my contact? What types of changes should I expect to see in the coming months?

If there are further questions – or certain customers are upset – there should be a clear chain of command to escalate their concerns.

After the announcement, the new leaders should immediately reach out to key contacts. They should personally introduce themselves, establish a relationship and make arrangements to personally visit these customers.

Please note that your competitors will see the sale as an opportunity to create uncertainty and pick off your customers. As a result, you will need to be even more relationship-focused than ever.

Employees: You have probably heard the cliché that employees are your best assets. However, this is especially true than during an acquisition.

A sale announcement will be unsettling to some employees and traumatic to others. As a result, your message must be reassuring. You must assuage their fears to increase morale, maintain quality and discourage defections. Since it is human nature to initially perceive change as a negative, you must work to position it as a positive. Here are some suggestions to achieve this end:

· Hold a meeting with all staff to announce the sale. This meeting should address the following questions:

· Why are we being sold?

· Am I going to be laid off? (How safe is my job?)

· How will my job change? What can I expect in the next 3-6 months?

· How will this impact my salary? Benefits and insurance?

In addition, outline the new chain of command and to whom employees should address questions.

· Have new leadership introduce themselves through a company-wide e-mail that establishes expectations and the plan of attack for the upcoming months. Management and support staff should also be regularly briefed after the sale to alleviate anxiety.

· Look for opportunities, such as company gatherings, where employees can interact with the new regime. Similarly, look for ways to create extra buzz around the office, such as contests and company-paid lunches.

In transmitting message to the general public, customers and employees, you must choreograph all steps to be executed in a 1-2 day window. This obviously creates a flurry of activity, but also increases the probability that your message will be disciplined and all stakeholders stay on the same page.

Jeff Schmitt spent 14 years in the call center and publishing industries. He has worked in marketing, sales, copywriting, training, quality control, project management and legal compliance. He lives in Dubuque, IA and his e-mail address is [email protected].