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Besides our new and improved culinary abilities, the one thing we can all thank COVID19 for is that now when somebody uses abstract words like uncertainty, crisis, ambiguity – our minds are not at loss. They know exactly what this could mean.
It could be a day when you get ready to open your fancy boutique and realize you’re not allowed to. By Masters of the Universe. Or when you realize that everything you’ve manufactured is contaminated by a spoilt, stubborn mutant. And while these may be uncertainties you and I will witness only once in our lifetimes hopefully, others like take-overs, natural disasters, lockdowns are realities of the world we live in.
A successful business today needs to evolve to navigate through this volatile landscape. It must, in spite of it as well as because of it, get ready to move away from its business-as-usual practices to find those hidden in-roads that lead to its customers. Quickly and directly.
That’s exactly what we have here. 5 tried, tested, and proven successful ways to stay in touch with your customers. To keep that engaging tête-à-tête on and fruitful.
IN THIS BLOG
1. Hop on to the digital wagon – lock, stock and barrel
2. Segment your customers and tailor your communication strategy
3. Build stronger digital in-roads
4. Craft relevant content
5. Show empathy
1. Hop on to the digital wagon – lock, stock and barrel
COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of digital readiness like nothing else has. It’s told us, rather loudly, that the only way a business can continue unhindered is when its digital avatar exists. Just as prominently and effectively as its brick-and-mortar version, if not more.
Undoubtedly, then, COVID-19 has also triggered massive adoption of digitalization. Forbes reports a 129% year-over-year growth in U.S. & Canadian e-commerce orders in April’2020 and a 146% growth in all online retail orders. Numerous businesses from food to entertainment, to salons, and clothing brands have moved interactions and relationships to COVID-proof digital channels. Some bars in Beijing even continued to offer happy hours through online orders and delivery.
There’s no better time for you than today to take your business online. It is the most successful business development activity you will undertake to cater to dispersed consumers and workers. A reality that’s likely to stay much after COVID.
2. Segment your customers and tailor your communication strategy
Your customers belong to one of the following categories.
a. VIPs – these are your brand advocates who refer other qualified customers. Eg. social media influencers, bloggers etc
b. New – those who’ve hopped on to your brand wagon recently – last 1 to 6 months
c. Loyalists – those who have purchased the most over the last 6 to 24 months
d. Potentials – enquiries, customer segments you map to your buyer persona
Segmenting your audience will ensure you share relevant marketing and product information with them. Also, called Product Messaging. It ensures you craft custom messages suitable to a specific segment of your customer base with the exact product/offer for which they’ve indicated interest or are likely to be interested in basis your analysis.
Utilize competitions that reward customers. Online sales where orders placed within a particular time frame qualify for a free treat are good boosters. They are a good way to engage and are a great client acquisition tool.
3. Build stronger digital in-roads
Not just smses and emails, but webinars, online events, workshops, blogs etc. Eg: Urban Clap hosted videos of DIY beauty treatments when the COVID19 lockdown prevented its normal operations.
With 2.95 billion users, social media is a powerful tool, not just a platform. Use it to connect, share, identify questions, research influencers and other experts. Facebook Live, for instance, is a great free-of-cost marketing feature that you can use to answer customer questions or share relevant advice. Do remember, Facebook Live videos can be saved which you can then use for building other user-based content.
Update your Google My Business profile – it is the free listing that appears for your business on both Google Maps and Google Local Search results.
4. Craft Relevant content
Do not under-estimate the importance of building high impact, entertaining content. There’s a reason why TED Talks stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Your audiences will come back to you because time spent on your content was fun and informative. Not because it was boring but informative. Probably unfortunate. Definitely true.
– Build content that gives customers insights and timely advice to aid their online buying decisions.
– Design content that is scalable and can be utilized to reach a wide range of customers. Videos are hugely successful in this regard and also help replicate the effects of face-to-face interaction. Which, of course, is what you want your content to achieve.
– Keep your content transparent. Talk about the crisis you are facing and how you’re coping with it. Humanize your brand and open windows to build a connect at an empathic, emotional level.
– Find ways of weaving in human connect through webinars, conferences, interviews, Q&As. This will enable your customers to feel the energy of your organization and be drawn to it.
– Ramp up the frequency of contact and increase the time you would typically allocate to each customer.
5. Show empathy
If your community is facing the consequences of the crisis you’re dealing with, show empathy. Take pressure off from your customers by pausing paid memberships, offering flexibility in refunds, downgrades, discounts, or discontinuations.
As Mckinsey reports, “By consciously providing empathy and care during this crisis, companies can build a foundation of goodwill and long-lasting emotional connections with the communities they serve.”
It is a good idea to ensure that your digital efforts are corroborated with a human being. An actual person that your clients can reach out to OR an actual person who can contact clients who are showing stronger signals of disengagement.
At the end of it all, here’s a little Master Shifu advice for you.
Happy employees = Happy customers
Invest in building a supportive, productive, and fun working environment – NOT in spite, but especially because of the crisis tumbling down on you.
Well designed, and timely digital solutions will speak for you and take your brand far and wide. The human connection you build during such times, through your own face time and that of your employees, will always be the ultimate clincher.
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