Staying at home is important. And so is staying connected with your customers. At a time when your business needs all the support you can give for growth, you also need to address customer concerns and improve your engagement with them.
There is a fine line that you must walk between being insensitive with ‘business as usual’ and scaremongering through constant reminders.
So here are some things you can do when communicating with your customers during this current pandemic
Let them know you can be trusted
First things first. Let your customers know that you’re taking necessary precautions expected during this time like monitoring the health of anyone engaged in the production, packaging or delivery of their goods. Build trust by being proactive with this information.
Let them know how your store is being affected
Are your supplies being delayed? With border being shut and lock downs in place, are you having to substitute material or innovate with production? Keep your customers up-to-date on the challenges, struggles and solutions you are experiencing so they can understand inadvertent delays or impact on products too.
Offer trustworthy options for payment and shipping
If you have not yet done so, this is the time to enable digital payments and contactless delivery on your online store. Use tools like chat options or the announcement bar on your online store to keep customers informed and up to date quickly.
Keep contact alive, open and honest
Send email newsletters to update customers and keep your phone number, social media handles as well as live chat buttons clearly visible on the homepage of your online store. Become more visible on your social media channels by posting more often and stay simple, clear and honest in your communication about the situation. You win more hearts and more customers this way than by pretending to have everything under control when in fact no one in the world does at the moment!
If you are looking for ideas on what to post, consider product highlights, updates and changes to business operations, or posts about overcoming current challenges in unique ways. Watch parties and live streams are popular ways to engage with your audience too.
Encourage buying
Establish some ways that can continue to bring in more sales even after the COVID-19 situation improves. For example,
- Loyalty programs
- Store Memberships
- Gift Cards
- Offering special deals or packages.
- Discount offers
- Free shipping Policies
Adapt to changing consumer behaviors which might comfortably continue as a part of your store policy.
This is not the time to hesitate. The current novel situation will impact ecommerce for years to come. While businesses are still figuring out how best to respond to the pandemic, you will need to continue to engage with your customer responsibly and towards the best interest of your business as well. Leverage and use the assets like digital marketing efforts to stimulate and sustain consumer demand for your brand.
So even as you stay at home, stay resilient, and above all, stay inspired!
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