Video Transcription
Today's topic is: how do you prepare to reopen your business and put yourself in the best possible position during this recovery phase?
Your marketing is going to need to shift from lock-down mode to recovery, but before we can even get to the "new normal," we have to get through the complexities of this in-between reopening phase.
So, what are some marketing things that you should be doing?
Hi, I'm Tom Malesic, founder and president of EZMarketing, and you're watching Ask EZ. This is where small business owners go to get real answers to their marketing questions.
Communicate with your customers
The first thing that you absolutely must do is communicate with your customers. Just like I said when all this started, the #1 thing you need to do is tell your customers what's going on.
When you reopen, you need to tell them. Don't just flip the sign on the door from 'closed' to 'open' and expect them to show up.
I have a great example of this. We have a client who is allowed to be open, but his main service is almost down to zero. We sent out an email promoting a secondary service that he has, so that people could call and make an appointment.
Within 24 hours of sending that email out, he got 65 reservations and found out that people were sharing that he was open and available on their Facebook page. What a great example of how just communicating with your customers makes a HUGE difference.
Make sure that you communicate any changes in your business, such as hours, or how you're operating, or any new guidelines that they might need to follow.
Talk About New Safety Guidelines
As we start to reopen, your customers are going to be curious about what new social distancing policies and maybe cleaning policies are you going to have in place to keep them safe?
I'm sure you're going through lots of plans internally about how you're going to accomplish this and what are the specific details. But it's going to be really important that you communicate these plans to your customers and your employees.
Things like: is everybody going to be wearing masks? How often are they going to wash their hands? Are you going to limit traffic in common areas? Are you keeping distancing between employee workstations? Or maybe limiting the number of people in a meeting? And how are you handling all those customer interactions?
Be Prepared for a Surge IN customers
Depending on your industry, be prepared for a surge as things start to open back up. Businesses like gyms, salons, and restaurants are very likely to see a high surge of customers coming back in the door.
I know I can't wait to get a haircut!
But if your business isn't ready for all these new customers, it might create
a negative customer service experience.
Don't Wait to Start MarketING
There's light at the end of the tunnel, but don't wait until June to start your marketing. For most businesses, it takes time to move people through your sales process and to get them to buy.
If you want business this summer, make sure you have your marketing in place right now. If you don't, you're already behind.
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