The COVID-19 pandemic is a time when you’re going to need to increase your efforts to stay in touch with your customers. You’ll need to keep them up to date on the coronavirus’s movement, safety measures, and more. You’ll also need to let them know of any social distancing or mask-wearing standards you’ve set for their visits to your business.
Besides that, it’s always good to have excellent communication methods to keep your clients up to date on sales and promotions and such matters. The following is some information on improving customer communication during Covid.
1. Reach out and Follow Up
Many businesses make the mistake of not following up with their customers after they complete a sale or sign up for a membership. It’s important to keep in touch with your customers way beyond the sale’s closing. You can improve your communication by contacting your customers three days after they make their purchases to make sure that they are happy with it and don’t have any complaints.
You can also take the opportunity to talk to them about any additional needs they may have. It will mean a lot to the customers if you follow up with them. They’ll know that they’re more than just a sales number to you.
2. Give Them a Platform
You can easily improve communication between you and your customers by providing them a platform to ask questions and receive answers. They can use that same platform to post their suggestions or their complaints if they have some of those. Social media platforms will give you and your clients a perfect atmosphere to get in touch with each other.
A Facebook business page is probably the best way to go if you want to allow 24/7 communication between you and them. Twitter and Instagram are better for sending them notifications about upcoming sales, deals, and specials.
3. Send Them COVID Updates
You should put some extra effort into contacting your customers with the latest news on Covid-19. Many covid-19 exposure notification requirements and regulations are now in place. Therefore, you might be obligated to keep your customers informed about Covid anyway. You can have them sign up for text notifications.
The text notifications can tell them about cases in the area and new measures and precautions that are being implemented. You might even want to send them texts to remind them that they have to wear masks and practice social distancing when they come into your facility at any time.
4. Use Automated Customer Service
Automated customer service is a great way to improve communication with your customers. An automated customer service program can answer incoming calls and free up time for your customer service reps to spend on more pressing matters. For example, a customer might have a complaint that will take a half-hour to resolve.
Your customer service rep will have the time to tend to that person properly because the AI program is answering and routing incoming calls at the same time. It might be wise for you to invest in one of those programs. You might even come across a free 30-day trial. A 30-day trial can give you just the amount of time you need to assess how well the program works for you.
5. Conduct Surveys
Lastly, you need to gather feedback from your customers to improve communication and to shape your customer service practices around your clients’ needs. You can employ one of your own people to call various customers to ask them about their contentment level with the products and services, customer service, prices, and so on.
Analyze the survey results and make changes that will please your customers. You’ll know if the changes work because you’ll get feedback on them when you take future surveys.
Start Communicating With Your Customers Better Now
Those are a few helpful suggestions for opening up the lines of communication to your customers. Try one at a time until you fall upon the best practices for your business. Increasing your clients’ flow of communication will help you increase your profits and build more loyal relationships. It might get you a few referrals that you weren’t expecting, as well.
