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3 Ways Small Businesses Can Provide Comfort to Customers During COVID-19 by @DeborahSweeney

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Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels

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In April, I was able to catch a Salesforce webinar on stories of resilience that was co-hosted by Mark Cuban. During the webinar, a listener wrote in to ask his advice for marketing and messaging during this time. His response was simple and transparent: at this specific moment, small businesses need to connect more than sell.

Behind every sale a small business makes is a customer. Right now, that customer is scared or at least a bit worried about something during COVID-19. Small businesses can provide comfort to their customers that go beyond making a purchase from their storefront. Here are a few ways you can get begin spreading kindness as quickly as today.

Add a handwritten note to orders.

Small business owners are currently working from home and have adjusted their daily routines accordingly to safety/shelter in place structure. As we take the time to make healthy lunches and add meditation to our schedules, how about setting aside 20 minutes to hand write thank you notes?

Put aside 20 minutes daily (if not more) to write physical thank you notes to customers. Not sure what to write? Keep it simple. Write a few sentences thanking them for shopping with you. Talk about how much you love to use the product they purchased or where the inspiration to create it came from. If you’re artistic, add an illustration to the note.

Encourage shoppers to stay connected by including your contact information, including social media handles, website link, and where they may sign up to receive a company newsletter, at the bottom of the card. Customers will be surprised and delighted to see a thoughtful thank you note included with their order.

Engage on social media.

Most individuals spend roughly 90 minutes on social media apps. Our amount of screen time has likely increased significantly during COVID-19. As customers and potential customers scroll through their Instagram and Twitter dashboards, your business has plenty of opportunities at hand for how it may engage and connect on social.

  • Repost content. Share the love by spreading it on your social accounts. Fill Instagram Stories with image reposts from customers excited to receive their new products. Retweet tweets from customers about positive interactions with your business.
  • Respond to comments. Whether these comments are made as a private message or publicly to your social media page, write back in a timely manner to thank customers for their kind words or address any potential issues or concerns.
  • Follow customers. Depending on the platform, follow your loyal customers back. They’ll be thrilled to see their favorite small business follows them!

Take a phone call together.

Many entrepreneurs, including business consultants, PR executives, and real estate professionals, are accustomed to taking calls and meetings with clients. We may not be able to physically meet with customers during this time, but that doesn’t mean we are unable to connect over the phone. Pick up the phone and call clients with whom you have developed a rapport together.

What’s a good icebreaker to open with for this kind of call? Why not start by asking, “How are you doing?” It’s an ordinary question that has an extraordinary impact. Clients, established and brand new alike, are ready to talk. They want to highlight professional and personal aspects of life that are going well, ask for help where they need it, and update you with news on major changes or trends in and out of the industry.

Use this time to have a heartfelt, open conversation. This is one of the greatest opportunities you have to connect on a transparent level. Your kindness and understanding will pay back incredible dividends into the business. Make the time for a long, candid chat. It will pay off in the long term — and is absolutely worth it.

 

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO of MyCorporation.com which provides online legal filing services for entrepreneurs and businesses, startup bundles that include corporation and LLC formation, registered agent services, DBAs, and trademark and copyright filing services. You can find MyCorporation on Twitter at @MyCorporation.

Reaching Your Customers: 4 Ways to Increase Customer Interaction

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by Kara Masterson

It is difficult to run a business if you don’t know what your customers want or where they are. Therefore, it is important that you develop strategies that will increase interaction with those who are most likely to buy your goods or services. In addition to interacting with your customer base, it is also important to listen to what they say and take their feedback seriously. Otherwise, they may not want to interact with your brand.

Talk to Customers While They Shop 

If you see that a customer is having a hard time choosing a product, be sure to ask if there is anything that you can do to make the process easier. In some cases, a customer may mention that there isn’t enough selection or that the prices are too high. Customers may also mention a desire for more information about the features or benefits of an item.

Talking to customers while they are checking out is another great way to reach them while they shop without being too intrusive. At a minimum, customer service employees should ask if customers found everything OK and if there is anything else that they may need. If the lines are long, ask the customers if they are put off by the wait and if there is anything that can be done to improve their shopping experience.

Offer Incentives for Customers to Complete Polls or Surveys

You know that time is money and that data is important to running your business. Therefore, offer your customers some incentive to take a poll or otherwise offer their feedback through the mail or online. For instance, you could offer a $20 gift card to anyone who returns a survey or $1,000 prize for one or two lucky respondents who are chosen at random.

For the most part, people love to give their feedback as long as they know that someone is listening. The chance to get a gift card or something else of value for their time is a bonus that they will surely appreciate. It also acts as a good reason for a customer to shop in your stores or online for more merchandise.

Make Use of Social Media

Many successful companies like ACN Inc, Microsoft, and Amazon use social media regular in their marketing campaigns. Social media is a fun and easy way for brands and customers to interact with each other. You can choose the tone and style of your social content to best meet the brand’s culture as well as the expectations of your customers. Tweeting witty quotes or responding to customer questions are common ways that brands use social media to interact.

Pictures submitted by customers and customer testimonials are also popular. Brands may also benefit from having YouTube shows that allow customers to ask questions or otherwise make themselves a part of the content. It is important to note that YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google.

Sponsor Public Events

As the sponsor of a charity walk or youth sports team, you will be able to hand out branded clothing, pens or other materials. This gives you a chance to talk to customers and get a sense for what they want and need. It also allows a company to interact with their patrons on a more personal level, which can strengthen relationships and increase brand loyalty going forward.

If you want your business to thrive, you need to do everything possible to keep open lines of communication between the brand and its customers. Whether you choose to use social media or through online polls, it is vitally important that you have a feel for what your customers want and need. Doing so can better tailor your product lines or marketing efforts to meet those desires.

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Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from Utah. She enjoys Tennis and spending time with her family.