It goes without saying that lives of people across the world have been turned upside down during this global health and economic crisis. The decisions you make now regarding how and when you communicate with customers will have a long-lasting impact on your relationships.
- Share the information customers need to know on a timely basis. Reassurances that their business is being handled, changes to processes that are relevant to them, and directions on what they need to do next are vital as they adjust their own processes.
- Personalize your message strategy. Don’t just deluge your entire customer base with emails or post broad statements on social media. Identify the general and specific messages different customers or segments need to hear from you now. Then determine the best tool for communicating these. Broad organizational messages can be issued via multiple, far-reaching channels, while customer-specific reassurances are better handled via Sales or Customer Service follow-up.
- Examine your message tone. While your brand voice may usually be enthusiastic and funny, many will perceive that as inappropriate in the midst of a crisis. This is a fine line to walk – humor helps us get through many dark periods, but it’s risky and hard to execute well. Right now, competency and caring are the themes to focus on.
- Review scheduled messaging in your marketing automation and CRM systems. Suspend or adjust timing and messaging as needed, before a business pitch goes out that you’re unable to support…or embarrassed to have sent.
- Provide additional resources that might be of interest. Companies who already had remote teams in place prior to this crisis have shared many tips on how to be productive and maintain connections. It didn’t take long for videoconferencing tips to circulate as well. Look at your existing content for opportunities to update or repurpose pieces to make them relevant in the current environment.
- Ask how you can help. Most importantly, be a partner. Companies and employees are struggling now and new problems are likely to occur the longer this shift goes on. This is the time to be flexible and address potential worries so people can focus on moving forward.