A New Way of Doing Business

If you are wondering if this is the new normal or what the new normal will be you are not alone. Watching the news can be stressful for business owners as they watch businesses close their doors, permanently or temporarily.

For some, staying open means changing. And that can be a good thing. Everyone is changing right now and learning how to do every day tasks online, so this is a less risky time for many businesses to move to online features that can be business saving and money saving.

As businesses try to upgrade and update their practices, they will need to market this to their employees and their customers, so while it may initially seem like a technology and sales issue, it will become a marketing and customer service issue as well.

A few weeks ago we wrote “How Can I Grow My Business Without a Physical Location.” We discussed adding chatbots, video tutorials and customer conferencing.

Here are some other great ideas to engage your customers.

Virtual tours

Business owners who have a physical location spend a considerable amount of time making sure that physical location is on brand. The location, the space, the colors, the layout and maybe even the smell all convey to their customers who they are and what the business is about.

Losing that physical location can cause mourning. Many have truly poured themselves into their locations.

If you still have the space and plan to continue to have it, give your customers a virtual tour. Using your website and social media you can set up video tours to show all who you are.

If you no longer have that space, chances are you have some space that screams you! Give them a tour of the warehouse, the home office, the route you take to get items out into the mail or whatever you think may show your customers who you are.

Video introduction to your business

We probably say this in every blog--video content rules! It is the most viewed content across all platforms.

How about a video that talks about you, your employees and your products. It can even be a video series. There are a variety of platforms to use.

Get Marketed

Now it is time to think about how those new features of your business can be marketed to your customers.

First- consider that this is a new initiative. And like all new initiatives, this needs a marketing plan.

And like all marketing plans, there needs to be market research, an understanding of your potential and existing customers and their needs and their wants.

But while much of the marketing strategy will be the same, what is different is the time and the reason for the change.

It is important to consider tone. Something companies get criticized for these days is being “tone deaf.” This is often used when companies look like they are capitalizing on a tragedy or when they are not recognizing a struggle or fear of their customer base.

So during the market research portion of your planning, business owners need to look at more than the typical demographics.

Reach out to your marketing professional today. At PTM we are ready to help you move forward!