I’ve been preaching this to my own clients, so I thought it would be good to also remind the group of things you can do for your business and/or your customers’ businesses.
Now is not the time to go quiet, although while I say that, don’t be that guy sending out useless emails.
Communication Checklist
- Add temporary hours to Google My Business
- Add a short post to Google My Business that gives a statement of your availability and activity
- Take this same information and use it to create a blog post
- Bonus points are provided for a heart-felt video embedded into the post
- Update your website contact page with your temporary hours (add these and don’t take away the existing hours)
Items to Proactively Communicate
- Are your offices open
- Staff availability
- Hours of operation
- Safety of in-person activity
- What can still be done online
- Interruptions to services or product shipments
- Status quo services and product shipments (aka what isn’t being altered)
- Instructions for how customers can alter existing appointments with you
- Is it still safe to <insert your activity with clients>
- Event changes or delays
- Cancellation policies if applicable
- A reminder that this situation is constantly changing and more updates will be coming from you
An Example of Success
My sister in law Kristie had to close her barre studio because it was a state mandate. She is working to get online classes going. She is a new small business and this could close her permanently.
She recorded a heartfelt video, accompanied by tears, to tell her community what she is doing, set expectations on online class arrival, and to thank them for supporting her in the past, now, and hopefully in the future. She posted it to Facebook with comments open.
Watch her video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=250847506081361
What did this do?
Set expectations, answered questions, reminded people that there is a human behind the business, and engaged her audience. The love poured in comments.
As much as she hated recording that video filled with “ums” and a few tears, it was exactly what her members needed to hear.
Be like Kristie. Be proactive, be human, and communicate.