It's easy to be disconnected during the shift to more virtual work, shopping, and living. When everyone was comfortable and able to walk into your brick-and-mortar business, building relationships with customers came naturally. Now, your face-to-face interactions are significantly reduced. The question to ask yourself, as a business owner, is "have you let this impact the relationships you build with your customers?" If you have, there are several strategies you can put into place which transcend the shift to virtual business.
Reach Out - Don't be afraid to reach out to prospective customers, or current clients who have visited your website and created a cart, or bought from your business. Most website engines offer services which allow you to see who has visited, created a cart, and purchased in a simple format. Take the time to follow up with email, text, or a good ol' fashioned phone call. I do recommend phone calls as a first effort as it is more personal to hear a human voice. If there are too many calls to make, or if you have customers who you are certain prefer text or email, adjust accordingly.
Respond - Make sure you respond when a customer reaches out. This includes phone calls, texts, emails, and especially reviews. If you dispute the impact of digital reviews, you may want to reconsider. Across industries, approximately 90% of consumers read reviews prior to making a formal inquiry to the business. What are they looking for? They are reading reviews AND they are looking to see if and how you respond. Take the time to do this personally. Negative reviews are an opportunity to improve. Positive reviewers appreciate the acknowledgement as well. Some software will do this for you automatically, however I recommend a personal touch.(https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/01/15/online-reviews-and-their-impact-on-the-bottom-line/#548c23525bde)
Leverage Social Media - If you don't have a social media account for your business, create one today. Learn about the social media platform that best fits your target customer demographic and use that platform. Post questions, DIY tips, educational information, etc. Operate off of the 80/20 rule: 80% relationship building, 20% sales. This is another area to make sure you are engaged in responding to inquiries, comments, and reviews as well.
Surveys - Want to know how you can better serve your customers given the changed/changing environment in 2020? Ask them! Think about what you information you need and what short and long term changes you can implement into your business. Send the survey with an end date and then remind people to fill it out. Customers want to feel heard and this is a great way to listen virtually. Also, if you include a comment field, be sure to respond to any comments which require it.
For more details on how to implement any of the above ideas, please contact our office. We are happy to help you grow your business and serve more clients.
Stay healthy & be well!
