How To Keep Up With Your Community And Clients During COVID-19
Communicating is more challenging than it has ever been. Social distancing has had a severe impact on how we communicate, especially if you have a storefront or office. Today, I wanted to talk about how to keep up with your community during this challenging time. You may or may not choose to pause or slow down selling during this pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that you have to abandon your audience. Your audience needs to hear from you now more than ever before.
When you connect with your audience now with advice or even condolences, they will remember your well-wishes when it counts. If you decide to do anything after reading today’s article, I hope that you commit to choosing one form of communication and going for it.
1) Send Out Email Newsletters
Email communication is a great way to connect with your audience and let them know that you are still there for them. People are checking their inboxes, especially now because virtual communication is such a big part of everyday life. You should include more emails in your routine. Don’t ignore your email list.
If you don’t have an email list built already, create one. It’s hard to get people to join your list without some form of incentive, so I encourage you to create a quick checklist, list of tools, or eBook to grab your readers’ attention. What does your audience need most right now? Create something related to an issue you see popping up often if you want to build your email list quickly.
If you already have a list, but you’ve been neglecting it, consider creating a quick email to gauge the responsiveness of your list. You might have to do some email list cleaning to get to the best parts of your list.
Lastly, if you already email your list regularly, consider emailing your list in segments. Do you have something that a specific section of your list would like more than others? Consider emailing a part of your list who needs a little more love right now.
2) Host Virtual Meetings On Zoom (Or A Meeting Platform Of Your Choice)
Zoom meetings aren’t just for your employees. You can also use them to connect with your clients and customers. People are looking for human connection now more than anything. If you can, create a place for them to communicate with other people, brainstorm, or just commiserate.
For example, the website Brain.FM (a site that creates music that helps you get stuff done based on science) created group focus sessions on their YouTube channel. Every Tuesday/Thursday, they are using their product to stream live group focus sessions where they connect with their audience (and the public) while also promoting their service offering.
Many other companies have been using Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, and other meeting platforms to stream workouts, classes, happy hours, and so much more. What does your audience need from you right now? What is your zone of genius? How can you translate that into a live session? Depending on the company you’ve built, it might be related to your industry, or it might just be a chance to chat with other humans. Whatever it is, your audience will likely love to connect with you.
3) Get Personal With Social Media And Direct Messages
Another way to communicate with your clients and customers right now is through social media. Social media is extremely personal, and you should still be posting on social media right now. Most social platforms reward people who consistently show up on their platform, so don’t let that slip right now.
More than anything, you need to put the social back into social media. Direct messaging your audience and starting conversations in the comments of posts can go along way to boost your social media presence right now.
Those one-on-one conversations with your audience can prove immensely helpful, especially when it comes to keeping your business top of mind when things clear up, and sales pick up. Are you abandoning your audience when they need you most? I hope not.
4) Publish Content On Your Blog
Next, you could also regularly publish content on your business blog. People are inside, they don’t have a ton going on, and they are looking for answers to the questions they have. Most people have more time to read content, and the content you produce can help people solve important problems in their business.
Creating content may not seem like a number one priority for you right now, but I think it should be (although that might just be the content writer in me.) If you don’t have time to produce new content, hire it out, or at the very least, repurpose old content on your blog. Content marketing can set you and your company up as a thought leader and expert in your industry to new and current customers alike.
Related Reading: 5 Content Marketing Ideas For Human Resources Companies During COVID-19
5) Send Some Snail Mail
Last but not least, if you want to keep up with clients and customers, send some snail mail. You can quickly design and create a postcard to send to your clients using a site like Canva. From there, get it printed using a service like VistaPrint (or Canva’s printing feature.) People love snail mail, and this can be a great way to connect with your customers.
Here are some ideas:
If you’re a restaurant, send a missing you note to some of your best customers. Let them know that you can’t wait to see them back in the restaurant again. Give them a discount that’s valid when you open back up.
If you’re a software company, get some extra money in the door by sending a coupon code for annual membership to any customers who are paying month-to-month.
If you’re a non-profit, send a thank you note to some people who have donated in the past thanking them for the work they do for your organization.
Keep the postcards only mildly salesy. It’s okay to mention a product at the end, but don’t make the entire letter a huge sales message. You want people to consider your snail mail a kind gesture, not junk mail.
Conclusion
I know that everything feels disconnected during this unprecedented time. Whether you’re a software company or a sit-down restaurant, your customers and clients can feel so far away during this time. I promise that they aren’t as far away as they seem. With the right communication, you can bridge the gaps that seem so present right now.