Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. That’s why it seems unfair that so many bore the brunt of the pandemic. Roughly 200,000 businesses closed for good, others buckled down and rode out the downturn, while some pivoted and prospered.
I work with hundreds of small businesses (SMBs) that fast-tracked digital transformation of service and support when lockdown ground business-as-usual to a halt. Following customer cues, they reinvented the ways they did business, blurring the lines between online and offline experiences. Now their customers don’t want to turn back.
Even if your business wasn’t impacted by COVID-19, now’s the time to embrace change. Chances are, your current and future customers already have. Here are five ways to get started.
Meet your customers where they are
Listening to customers is more important than it was before the pandemic. Pay close attention to where your customers are now, then tailor experiences to meet them. Collecting feedback isn’t enough — aspire to really connect with them, understand how you can help, and take action. Start by asking:
- What do your customers really need?
- How does your business meet their needs?
- How do they prefer to communicate: phone, email, text, live chat?
- Can customers reach you how they want?
- What questions do they have?
- Is your team prepared to answer them?
By answering these questions, you’ll streamline engagement and deliver customer experiences that’ll keep them coming back and inspire them to refer their friends.
Really listen to your customers
During the pandemic, we witnessed firsthand how enthusiastically loyal customers rallied around small businesses in times of need. Listening to and connecting with your customers is the first step toward fostering that kind of advocacy, whenever and wherever they need you. Prioritizing customer support and inviting feedback builds trust, and trust builds loyalty. And when customers feel loyalty to your business, they are willing to continue to buy your product or service, even in a pandemic. Ask yourself the following:
- Are you communicating with transparency and empathy?
- Are you facilitating an active feedback loop to hear your customers’ candid feedback?
- Are you using your customers’ feedback–positive, negative, or neutral–to enhance their overall buyer experience?
- Are you going the extra mile to show your customers you value their business?
At the end of the day, customers want to feel supported and appreciated–be there to help them get through the good seasons and the bad ones.
Extend and expand pandemic-required digital experiences
The world may have been forced into digital transformation during the pandemic, but while some customers simply got used to it, others embraced it. Let’s face it: calling, online chat, and interacting on social media is not just convenient — offering more ways to communicate creates new opportunities.
As businesses reopen, resist attempts to “return to normal” — it no longer exists. Keep those new channels of communication open and explore new ones. The more you optimize customer experiences, the more they’ll reward you with their business.
You may never conduct in-person business the way you did before but think of it as an opportunity. Apply digital experiences to the real world. Create content customers can engage with online and off, like testimonials, tutorials, how-tos, listicles, and more. Remember that different people engage with different types of content, so don’t just post articles and blogs, create videos, infographics, calculators, and more.
Clear the path to purchase
When you make it easy for customers to find the information they need, you make it easier for them to buy. Answer basic questions about your company on your website. Don’t hide sales and support contact information — make it impossible to miss. Get specific about what you offer and clearly communicate costs.
Many small businesses are hesitant to share pricing online because they want to showcase the value behind their product or service first. But transparency ultimately builds trust, and sharing these numbers upfront can actually help you win more customers in the long run.
Involve your employees in service and support decisions
Your employees are your business’s ambassadors, perfectly positioned to create a customer feedback loop. Give them opportunities to weigh in and influence service and support decisions. After all, if they’re not engaged and on board with your plans to improve customer experiences, they won’t become reality.
Just a few days into lockdown, businesses were forced to rethink the ways they served customers. Those that adapted, survived and thrived can maintain a competitive advantage by continuing to experiment with a hybrid online-offline strategy and expanding on what worked to retain loyal customers and win new ones. By remaining open-minded, nimble, and attentive, SMBs will bounce back stronger than ever.