How do we connect during a crisis? During this crisis, many small business owners are facing new challenges. Communicating with customers requires more focus and depth than ever before. In Mat Zuker’s latest article for Forbes Magazine, he cites Jay Mandel. Jay Mandel runs The Collective NYC, a marketing consulting team focusing on a customer’s experience. It is important for a business to understand their mission statement and values in order to re-enforce marketing strategies.
Information Is Crucial
Each customer browsing your business’s website needs to understand your hours of operation, any limitations to service and what is being done to ensure cleanliness. Providing this information, establishes to your customers your seriousness of precautions. Your customers will appreciate this.
If your financial situation allows, donate to charities, focus on employees, or offer discounted or free products. Your brand’s scope will bolster with the customer by marketing this information.
Utilizing The Customer’s Time
Most customers are adhering to social distancing guidelines put forth by their state and the federal government. It is important to exhibit to your customers how your brand can be utilized beyond your brick and mortar. Zuker cites how universities are beginning to offer free online classes. Telecommunication companies are offering two months of free service to low-income families. Thinking beyond your storefront to put your service or product into your customer’s virtual hands is important.
Remember To Entertain
Each passing day, customers are looking for new stimulation to help the time go by at home. Movie companies are making the best of the situation by sending theatrical releases to online streaming services. It is not always necessary to make your customers laugh, but it might be within your branding to aim for content geared towards warmth, humanity and empathy.
The metric for engaging your customers is changing. It is moving beyond views and shares to quality feedback or social impact on your community. Cited in Zuker’s article, Social Media Today warns of virtue signaling. This means declaring a set of values, but not following through on the actual deeds.
This is a great opportunity to consider your marketing strategies for when this crisis ends. What will your business look like once you are able to open the doors? How are you able to stay relevant with your competitors? These are questions that need answers. However, today we must do our best to accomplish what is in front of us.
Read Mat Zucker’s full article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matzucker/2020/04/01/content-in-a-crisiswhat-brands-can-deliver/