6 Easy Ways to Keep Customers Engaged During COVID-19

Are you a small business worried about how to maintain client engagement as we circumnavigate coronavirus?

Here are simple tips and strategies for ensuring you keep a solid connection to your consumers while adhering to recommended (and mandatory) health and safety protocol.

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With many small businesses having to temporarily close or drastically limit customer contact as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, we struggle with the concern that clients will “forget about us” or go elsewhere when things get back to normal.

Therefore, it’s important during this time that small business owners take steps to maintain a connection with customers as much as possible. Here are six simple tips and strategies to keep your customers engaged during these restrictive times.

1. Communicate

Your customers want to know how you are handling COVID-19 and what measures you are taking, so take steps to tell them.

Place a statement on your website and social media channels describing how you and your business are handling coronavirus-related restrictions. Be sure to provide easy ways to contact you with questions or concerns.

For example: If you are a home construction or remodeling company, perhaps your protocol may include limiting vehicles or site visits to one person at a time only, avoiding direct customer contact, wiping down transportation before and after site visits, and sending invoices electronically rather than via mail or hand delivery.

Craft your message, and place it prominently on your website and pin it to the top of your social media channels.

2. Encourage

Urge your customers to reach out to you by phone, email, social media, or direct message for product-, business-, or service-related questions.

At a time when clients cannot see or interact with you in person, they may be seeking your knowledge and expertise now more than ever. Provide an open channel for your clients to get in touch and ask questions or request feedback.

For example: If you own a hair salon, encourage your clients to contact you with any questions or issues about hair care. This will get the client “over the hump” until she can come back to your shop.

This message can be communicated via social media content, blog post, or email, and should also be incorporated into your core message from Idea #1.

3. Stay (virtually) visible

Make sure you remain in front of, and available to, your clients – electronically, that is.

Not only do you want to maintain a virtual connection, but you should aim to continuously provide buyers with useful, valuable, and helpful information.

With COVID-19 restrictions, right now more than ever the internet is where it’s at, and social media is king. So publish quick snippets of content at least twice a week.

Make these posts inspiring and chock full of useful information and resources. Vary the content format by mixing it up with live videos, 30- 60-second recorded videos, text, graphical images, and resource links to keep things fresh, interesting, and helpful. Share these snippets directly to your social media feed as well as to your story.

For example: If you are a spa owner, post quick weekly videos demonstrating DIY tips and tricks to keep your skin healthy and glowing while quarantined at home.

4. Reach out

Take a few minutes to contact your clients by phone, email, or message just to check in.

Stressful times lacking normalcy can cause people to be fearful and unsettled. Don’t underestimate how a familiar and friendly voice or message can restore a sense of calm. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated or lengthy – just a simple inquiry into how they and their families are coping, and if there is anything you can do to assist or mitigate a need.

5. Offer more

This may sound anathema in a scenario where everyone is sacrificing, but now is the perfect time to extend your offerings by providing products or services you normally wouldn’t or haven’t in the past.

For example: If you are an interior designer, offer free virtual consults via video. Teamviewer, Zoom, Loom, and FreeConferenceCall are all popular video/screen sharing tools; and even a simple FaceTime or Skype session will do the trick. Likewise, if you are the owner of a brick-and-mortar store or location, offer curbside pickup, home deliveries, or shipment of product; just be sure to follow strict sanitary-practice guidelines.

6. Reassure

Remind and assure your clients that this WILL end.

Again, during times of uncertainty, it’s easy to fall into a stressful mindset. Help ease your customers’ anxiety by emphasizing that this will not last forever, you are here for them now, and you will be here for them when this is behind us.

Wrapping up

These six simple steps will help you keep customers engaged during COVID-19, help them through this difficult time, and allow you to expand how you communicate with and connect to your audience.