COMMUNICATION CORNER

COMMUNICATIONS

CORNER

Riley Watson

BIA Manager of Marketing & Communications

1. Extend your online presence

Keep your customers engaged by frequently utilizing social media, online webinars or newsletters. Use these tools to share your knowledge about the industry, showcase what you have to offer and demonstrate yourself as a leader in important industry conversations. Moving away from traditional advertising methods has proven to be beneficial as well. With more people working from home, billboard and radio ads are not as effective as they used to be when aiming to capture viewers’ attention. We live in a digital age. Don’t get left behind! Keep up with your customer base by placing ads where your target audience will most likely see them — online.

2. Make your website userfriendly and your service customer-oriented

Online shopping has skyrocketed during the pandemic. Having a userfriendly website and excellent online customer service is important. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and consider setting up live-chat bots or FAQs on your website to provide a seamless customer experience. Offering COVID-sensitive services is also important. Although we hope to come out of the pandemic soon, it’s still important to prove to your customer base that you care about their safety and comfort. You can do this by wearing masks and offering no-contact delivery on the items you sell. In addition, creating an online store where customers can purchase goods or services rather than coming into a store can help your business maintain customer interactions.

3. Tell your customers who you ARE, not just what you sell

Now more than ever, people are seeking to purchase from companies that align with their values. They want to see who they are buying from and support businesses that contribute to the causes they believe in. Participate in current events and put a face on your brand. This creates meaningful human connection and lets customers know their money is going to a good place.

4. Make customer retention a priority

Make sure your customers are rewarded for their loyalty. It’s no secret that the pandemic has impacted customers’ finances, so make sure to reward them for spending their hard-earned cash on your business. You can do this by offering discounts to returning customers or certain groups of people such as healthcare workers, in order to keep their business.

5. Businesses that work together, win together

Partner with other local businesses when you are advertising. The pandemic has had a significant impact on small businesses, so by partnering with them you will be communicating to your customers that you care for and support their communities. This will expand your potential pool of customers into markets that you may not have had previous exposure to.