Communication Is Key
The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a truly uncertain and unprecedented time. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to communicate clearly and effectively with current clients and prospective customers. With that in mind, a few tips and recommendations:
- Update your Google My Business, Bing Places, and Yelp profiles with COVID-19 specific information on your business status, current days/hours of operation, and any adjustments you are or will be making. For many customers, this is the first (and sometimes only) information they see when they search for you. It’s vitally important that this information is accurate and complete. Updates can be added in the form of a COVID-19-specific post/announcement, as well as other data elements. If you aren’t yet managing your own Google My Business and Bing Places profiles, we strongly recommend that you claim and curate these. In addition, there are many other benefits like higher rankings on search engine result pages—especially local area searches.
- Add a banner/notice to your website with COVID-19 specific information and any adjustments or practices you are or will be making—or just let your current and prospective customers know somewhere on your website that it’s business as usual if that’s the case.
- Keep your social media accounts up to date. Haven’t posted recently on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Now is a great time to do so. If you haven’t yet set up social media accounts on the major platforms, we highly recommend doing this. Even if you don’t have time to post on a daily basis, that’s fine—there’s a full array of other benefits to setting up social media pages for your business or organization.
- Email your customers. Use your normal email newsletter format to reach out and inform your existing customers. If you don’t send periodic email newsletters and communications, now would be an optimal time to start.
What to Say
Some messaging ideas when communicating with your customers include:
- Thank them!
- Detail any changes to days/hours of operation, business practices, etc.
- List any new or updated refund, cancellation, or payment policies
- Make sure they know how to contact you
- Any other information about what your business/organization is doing and how it affects them
If you need any assistance or advice with the recommendations above, please let us know. We’re happy to provide as much or as little help as you need—whether it’s social media management, choosing an email newsletter platform, writing copy, updating your website design, or full-service management of your communication needs.
We are certainly in this together and despite the tough road ahead, trust that we will both emerge from this crisis even stronger than before.
Stay safe and healthy!
