Ensure You’ll Stay Relevant
Things Will Never Be the Same
One thing is certain about the COVID-19 outbreak: things will never go back to the way they used to be. As your small business tries to survive during this crisis, you also need to consider what’s going to happen afterward. Don’t assume that once the threat to public health has passed, things will just go back to the way they’d been before the outbreak.
One key consideration is that being confined to their homes will likely lead to many customers switching to online or otherwise remote solutions. You should not assume that post-coronavirus, they will go back to the solutions they’d used prior to the outbreak.
Interaction With Your Customers May Change
Let’s say you offer financial services. Until now, your customers may have chosen to come to your branch for personal interaction with your employees. They may have chosen these interactions over automated solutions for the perceived reliability and security of your individual, personal approach. Now, at a time of prolonged home-confinement for many, customers have gone over to automated, remote services.
After weeks or even months of use, your customers who preferred interpersonal relationships may now prefer your automated services. Before the virus outbreak, these services seemed too difficult or impersonal but now they have become second nature. If your plan was to go back to your pre-outbreak strategy once the outbreak has been contained, you might lose customers to companies that cater to their new needs.
Be Flexible
This crisis is causing a change in your customer’s buying habits. You must be flexible and adapt your services so that they are not only useful during the outbreak, but remain the best choice once everything has calmed down.
Communication with your customers throughout this crisis is vital in understanding their changing needs and relaying what your business is doing to meet those needs. Monitor the feedback and comments in your social media channels, use customer surveys, email response forms, and direct contact with your customers to share news and gauge their determine their satisfaction with your new solutions.
Stay the Best Choice for Your Customer
You earned the loyalty of your customers by solving their problems and meeting their needs. If you stay flexible during this crisis, you’ll continue to stay their best choice to meet their needs when this crisis is over.