5 Ways to Delight Your Customers During COVID-19
Exceptional times call for exceptional measures. Now most of Europe, and the rest of the world, is advised to stay home, our (marketing) world is being turned upside down.
Although it may not be in a good way, it might leave you looking for ways to use your time valuably.
When it comes to delighting your customers during a crisis, you might find that the principles stay the same, but under different circumstances.
1. Listen, learn, adapt – fast
Learning from your customers’ feedback, should always be high up on your priority list.
However, during times of crisis, the need to act fast is likely to be even bigger than before. Make sure your team is ready to offer tailored support where needed.
Boasty, branded advertising, for example, can be “not done” for some brands at the moment. So why not shift to helping your customer in creating educational and inspirational content for the coming months.
It helps brands stay top of mind until everything goes back to “business as usual”. After all, you’re hired to come up with fresh ideas and to look at things from a different perspective.
Be ready to take on that role when things go south for your customer.
2. Focus on opportunities, without being opportunistic
Crises tend to bring out both the best and/or the worst in people. As a company, it can be a good time to show that there’s more to you than numbers.
Leading by example will win way more sympathy than crawling back into your shell until it’s all over. Engage and inform your team, so you can all be aligned on a different approach in these exceptional times.
3. Be transparent
Is there anything more annoying than having to let people down because you can’t deliver?
Right, being the person let down.
Times of crisis force you and your customer to deal with many uncertainties. Therefore, be as clear as possible towards your customer as to what you will be able to help them with, and what not.
Though it might seem appealing to say “yes” to everything, the reality is, you are possibly restricted by this crisis too.
Having to come to the conclusion that you promised something you can’t offer after a lot of valuable time has passed, will do you and your business more harm than saying “no” once in a while.
You want your customer to able to trust you deeply at all times. So it’s all about:
- communicating clearly
- providing frequent updates
- being reliable
4. Think about your own people too
Do not lose sight of your own team, it is as simple as that. Your people might be expected to deliver big extra efforts during this time. In order for them to bring their A-game, bring yours too.
Let them know you’re there for any questions they might have, check in with them regularly and be proactive in sharing information that is valuable to them right now.
5. Let your customers know you’re thinking about them
During a crisis, businesses will cut costs. That’s how it goes when uncertain times are ahead. This is the time to delight your customers though. For example, you could create special anti-churn offers so your customers are less likely to leave.
However, customers don’t only stay for the money they save. Go all in on customer experience. Be available via different channels such WhatsApp, social media, email, etc.
What’s more, set up a team that will strive for an ultimate experience to leave your customers with warm feelings about your brand or company.
Nonetheless, not all of your customers are going to be able to afford your service or product when a severe crisis drags on, but that doesn’t mean all love is lost. When clients are ready to leave, make sure to give them a positive farewell experience. Make sure everything goes smoothly and thank them with a creative farewell message.
Get creative this year with a thoughtful card or maybe a selfcare package for their hard-working team. You get the idea. Being creative is key.
No one will remember the time you sent over a bottle of bubbly like all the others, but they won’t be likely to forget that time you made them laugh when all else seemed to be hitting the fan.
Conclusion
When a crisis hits and times get tough, be a person your customers AND your team can lean on. We recommend keeping these things in mind:
- Create an agile way of working now, so when setbacks arise, you’ll be able to act quickly and effectively.
- Be ready to act accordingly when both your customers and your team look your way for advice
- Keep sight of opportunities, rather than roadblocks
- And the most important one for now: stay home, stay safe, and wash your hands!
We’re all in this together.
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