Your customers are confused, your clients are stressed and Britain… well, Britain is angry. Here’s our MD Ellen Widdup’s advice on how to manage the fallout.
Today’s Budget is about to drop, and it’s chaos.
Not polite, organised chaos.
More like the dog’s on fire, someone’s crying in the utility room, and the group chat is exploding chaos.
Even Rachel Reeves has admitted the country might be “angry”, and honestly? Fair.
We’ve got plans for tax threshold freezes, pension pokes, mansion taxes, sugar taxes, EV levies, ISA cuts, wage rises, benefit rule reversals, and at least three U-turns so dizzying they should come with a seatbelt.
Which means one thing for brands:
You cannot stay silent. But you absolutely cannot wing it.
So here’s how to respond like a grown-up.
Spoiler: they’re not reading the full Budget document.
They’re reading headlines like “stealth tax raid”, “pension clampdown”, “mansion tax incoming” and “Everything is terrible (again)”.
People don’t remember detail. They remember vibes. And today’s vibe is: “Oh God, what now?”
Your job is to cut through that fog with calm, human clarity.
So our first tip is don’t post anything until you’ve had a biscuit.
Brands often rush to be first. But first is rarely best.
First is usually wrong, confusing, or accidentally political.
You need a moment (and ideally a custard cream) to ask:
Then you talk.
Nobody wants a paragraph about fiscal headroom or gilt yields.
They want clear answers to questions like “Will my bills go up?” and “Does this affect how we work with you?”
If your audience leaves more confused than when they arrived, you’ve failed.
If they leave thinking, “Oh, thank God – someone’s explained it like an adult I trust”, you’ve won.
You may need:
For customers:
Short, clear: “Here’s what’s changing and here’s what isn’t.”
For clients:
A mini briefing: “What this means for your business, your sector and the next quarter.”
For staff:
Reassurance: “Your job is safe. Here’s what we know so far.”
For social media:
Crisp, helpful posts that don’t sound like a political rant or a GCSE economics essay.
Budgets, crises, surprises… they’re all opportunities to show that you are informed, calm, helpful and understand what matters to your audience.
Silence kills trust and clarity builds it.
Today is not the day to post a “Happy Hump Day!” graphic.
Today is the day to show up like you’ve got your act together.
Let’s be real: the Budget is a labyrinth. A maze. A bureaucratic escape room with no snacks.
You need a team who can:
✔ Read the whole thing so you don’t have to
We voluntarily swim through 80-page PDFs.
Please respect us in this difficult time.
✔ Tell you what actually matters
And what is just political seasoning.
✔ Spot the sector-specific nuggets
Finance? Construction? Hospitality? Retail? Professional services?
Different industries feel different hits.
✔ Stop you posting something regrettable
You cannot be the brand that accidentally tweets a spicy hot take.
✔ Create calm, on-brand messaging within hours
No doom.
No drama.
Just clarity.
✔ Keep your clients and customers from spiralling
Because anxiety loves a vacuum.
Step 1: Breathe.
(Important. Underrated.)
Step 2: Work out which Budget changes affect your audience.
Threshold freezes? Pension changes? Benefit shifts? Minimum wage changes? Business levies?
Step 3: Draft simple messages for each key group.
No jargon.
No politics.
No panic.
Step 4: Publish calmly and consistently.
One good update beats five frantic ones.
Step 5: Follow up tomorrow.
New questions always appear once people have had a sleep and a grumble.
Budgets are noisy.
People are stressed.
Everyone’s confused.
The country is, apparently, angry.
But brands that communicate well today – with warmth, clarity and confidence – will be remembered long after the headlines move on.
If you want help turning Budget chaos into calm, customer-ready comms, the Satsuma team can jump in, decode the jargon, and shape the messaging that keeps your audience informed, reassured and firmly on your side.
Preferably before the next policy U-turn lands.
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