As the COVID-19 crisis has escalated, businesses have increased their requests for marketing communications and website updates. A common question we’ve been asked is “How should I communicate my response to the virus to my customers?”
Whether your business has been forced to temporarily shut down, is operating in a limited capacity, or is still fully operational, it’s important to keep the people who utilize your services in the know. That way, they can continue to use your services or return as a loyal customer once we overcome this crisis, and we will!
So, how should you get your message across, and what should it say?
5 Methods for letting your customers know
If you have an important message that you would like your customers to see, there are a number of ways you can communicate critical information.
Maybe you have different hours or a different process.
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Maybe you’re fully operational but working remotely.
If you are fully operational, you want to be sure prospects are not the least bit hesitant to contact you!
Here how you can get across your message and say, “Hey, we’re still open!”
1. Website Updates
Create an alert banner on your homepage either above your navigation bar or as a sticky footer. Ideally, you should use this space to give your customers a brief update and link to more information.
COMMON QUESTION: Should I shut down my website if my business is temporarily shut down?
If you are shutting down temporarily, do not take down your whole site! It will leave your customers wondering what happened, and it’s terrible for SEO.
Let Google continue to crawl your site, and consider adding a banner in the meantime explaining the circumstances and your estimated time of return.
2. Blogging
Have a blog on your website? Take advantage of it. We’re all going through this experience together, so blogging is a great way to share helpful information your customers can relate to.
Write about what you are doing to help your customers and how you are helping them continue to accomplish their goals.
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Because the COVID crisis is new, there’s even an opportunity for SEO. Think of questions your customers may be asking that no one has answered yet.
Keep in mind the seriousness of this situation, and make sure your message reflects that.
3. Social Media
Customers want to hear from their favorite businesses during COVID-19.
A survey by 4A’s Research found 56% of respondents were “pleased to hear about brands taking actions like making donations of goods and services.”
Additionally…
- 40% said they “want to hear what brands are doing in response to this pandemic.”
- 43% said it’s “reassuring to hear from the brands I know and trust.”
Only 15% said they “did not want to hear from brands at this time.”
If your business has been actively working to help people during the crisis, you should spread the word and inspire your followers or other businesses to do the same!
Share how you are helping your customers or the local community.
Share your work culture, whether it’s your team working collaboratively on a Zoom call or in the field taking proper precautions.
Share your blog content and provide helpful information to your followers.
Share the message you’ve created in your website banner along with your informative page about the preventative steps you are taking.
4. Email
Tons of emails are being sent about COVID-19. If you’re like me, you’ve read your fair share and have been eager to see what companies are doing to combat the virus and cater to customers.
…Or, maybe you’ve sent them all to spam. 🤦
But, email is a fast and direct way for you to get in front of your loyal customers, and as mentioned before, nearly half of people want to know what’s going on.
In your email, you can share helpful blog posts, information about the actions you are taking, and what customers can expect moving forward.
5. Advertising
The COVID crisis has caused many businesses to scale back on services they use or even shut down altogether. While this may affect your business, it doesn’t have to stop you from bringing in new customers that need your help during this time.
Let people know you are available and ready to help!
If you are running any ads on Google, Facebook, or any other platform, change the language to focus on what people need most from your services or products during this time.
Start communicating about your COVID-19 response now!
Everything has to be timely and relevant, so don’t delay on letting people know.
In a previous post, we talked about how humanizing your brand was becoming a big trend in communicating with customers. It’s playing an even bigger role now, more than ever.
We need to adjust to how people are interacting in the world and humanize our approach in order to build trust during this time. Together, we can get through this, and your business can play a positive role in this crisis by taking action and being transparent about your response.
