Every business is currently attempting to navigate a new normal due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. While not every business may be able to provide the exact same goods or services in exactly the same way, they should be able to maintain communication with their customers to continue to provide a positive customer experience during this pandemic. The experts say that customer value management is critical during this time of uncertainty, when no one is exactly sure when, or if, life will ever go back to the way it was prior to the coronavirus. Make sure that during this crisis and pandemic you continue to deliver a positive customer experience for your consumers.
Empathy
First, every business should show empathy. Many customers that will read a brand’s email or a company’s advertisement will have lost loved ones to the COVID-19 virus. In other cases, customers are simply not in a joyful mood and feel substantial amounts of stress and anxiety due to the pandemic as a whole, the fear of contracting the virus, the fact that they were laid off from their job, or more. Consumers are frightened, which led to toilet paper hoarding and hand sanitizer shortages. Take the time to acknowledge these customers where they are and show empathy toward their situations and show how you could potentially provide assistance. Ask your customers what they need from you, or what they would like to see. Use this as an opportunity to open a dialogue and discussion and grow deeper with your customers.
Customer Value
Most people are experiencing hardships to varying degrees. Some people are simply staying at home, working, and ordering groceries to their door. Others are struggling to feed their children as a single parent with no ability to work as their place of employment was in a service industry. Take time to recognize the hardships your customers are facing and see if there is a way to provide value. Some distilleries throughout the United States used their machines and resources to stop making their own products, and sell hand sanitizer instead. How can you provide value to your customers that is relevant during this global pandemic?
Communication
If your business makes the decision to communicate with your customers, and you are deciding to provide both empathy and value to your customers, you should also communicate these effectively and directly. Customers are not in the mood for clever or confusing and want real answers to their very real problems. If you are offering curbside pickup or offering free delivery make sure to explain this quickly and efficiently. If you are offering discounts for healthcare workers or first responders, make that clear. Find ways to provide value and explain that value to your customers in a clear way that they can understand and that they will find useful and valuable.