As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, businesses are starting to prepare for the real possibility of a second wave. If that happens and the second wave locks the UK down again, businesses might have to close their doors, which means they lose access to their customers. All is not lost though because there are a few ways businesses can connect with their customers, even if the country is locked down again.
Social Media
Social media is seen by most as the best way of reaching customers, regardless of everything else that might be going on. Almost everyone has at least one social media account. To ensure you can reach and connect with your customers, you need at least one account on every major social media platform.
Since Facebook remains the biggest social media platform, it would also be a good idea to have a Facebook page that features all your product and services. On there, you should provide relevant information about your business, so customers have all the information they need without having to call, email, or visit your business.
Once you have your social media accounts and pages set up, you should also set up an automated answering system. These are chatbots that can answer questions about your business, tell your customers about the availability of your products and services, and give them any other information they might need. Chatbots are very easy to set up and you can find some guides on how to set them up and have them answer the most commonly asked questions.
Creating a Business App
Almost everyone has a smartphone these days, which makes reaching them through a business app easier than it might have been a few years ago. The cost of having a business app developed is also falling, which makes this the perfect time for businesses to get one.
When getting the business app, it is important to ensure it is an app that your customers will be happy to download and use. The way to do this is to make it intuitive to use by following proper user experience guidelines. It is also important to ensure that your business app works on every mobile device. The best way to do this is to have it undergo thorough testing. Ideally, this should be done at scale so that you can ensure compatibility with as many mobile device models as possible.
To get enough testers to test your app on such a massive scale, you should talk to Global App Testing. They offer remote mobile app testing where you hire testers to go through your business app to ensure it works as you envisioned. Their mobile app testing services also make it easy to find bugs that your developers might have missed, which ensures you ship the best app possible.
Launching a Website
Every business should have a website, as having one offers many different ways of connecting with your customers. Although a lot of businesses use their websites to display their products and services, you can use yours for a lot more. For example, you can use it to collect your customers’ email addresses so you can add them to a mailing list.
After you have collected enough email addresses, you can use them in your email marketing campaigns. Because of the way things are right now, a lot of people do not want the hard sell. This means the best strategy right now is to let your customers know you are there for them and to get in touch with you should they need to talk or anything else. Doing this is a good way of establishing real human connections and it makes your customers know they matter to you.
Your website should also have a “contact” section so people know they can get in touch with you. As a precautionary measure, do not leave your email address exposed, as you do not know who might copy it and where it might end up.
Send Personalized Letters
If you collect physical addresses on your website, sending personalized letters is a good way of letting your customers know you are thinking of them. Make sure the letter truly stands out due to the many spam letters a lot of people receive these days.
Inside the letter, you should let your customers know you are just checking up on them or even let them know what is going on with the business. You even can top it off with a coupon code for your online shop.
Host an Online Event
Hosting an online event is another great way to connect with your customers. With good organization and timing, it could also prove to be a very profitable endeavor for you. If you do not want to incur any expenses, there are a lot of free options that you can take advantage of. These include Facebook Live and Twitter periscope.
There are lots of different things you could do during the live event. The most obvious one is a questions and answers session. Here, customers can ask anything about you or your business and you get to answer all the questions they have. Second, you could interview another business owner or a member of the audience. It is always good to get new ideas and be exposed to new ways of thinking and doing such an interview is a good way of doing both of these.
Third, you could use the online event to showcase your products and services. This is especially useful for businesses that sell complicated or highly technical products and services. To keep the engagement high, you could also do a giveaway during the event. Just ensure you have promoted the event long enough so people know there is a chance of being rewarded if they attend your event.
A lot of businesses are also doing live series. This is where they do an event every week or two at a set time. This is especially useful for businesses that do not have a large customer base, as doing the events a few weeks in a row will increase interest in your business and nab you a few customers in the process.
Start a Blog
If you already have a website, you should consider adding a blog to it. A blog gives people a platform where they can read about your business and what you have been up to. Ensure the material is relevant and helpful, so your customers become regular readers and more likely to share your blog with others.
You should also allow comments on your posts. This not only increases engagement, but it also gives people another avenue to get in touch with you.
If you do not have a social media manager, you could also connect your blog to your social media accounts and pages. This way, if you post something on your blog, it gets posted on your social media pages. This has the twin effect of letting people on social media know you have a blog and increasing the chances of them visiting your website if they have not yet done so.
Staying in contact with your costumes is already hard enough, but it could get even harder if a second wave hits. The tips above are a good way for businesses to do so while keeping safe and their costs low.
