By Jamien Boulton
Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, staying connected your clients has become challenging for many businesses as communications have become harder to maintain due to social distancing. There are many methods and tools which one can deploy in order to ensure that business relationships are maintained and strengthened through this.
Keep Your Clientele Updated
Information and communication are key aspects of staying connected. In a time like this, while it is important to let your clientele know that they can continue to receive your services.
It is also vital to let them know about how you plan on keeping safe during pandemics such as this as well as how they can reach out to you to continue doing business during this time.
Another aspect which you should communicate to your customer about is the situation itself. Through this, the implications which the situation can have on both parties can be managed and leveraged in a manner that benefits you both.
Relationships are Key
It is vital that customers know that you are there for them and that you value their business. In order to do this, it is important to empathize with your clientele, let them know that you understand their situation and that you are there for them.
One method of doing this is by initiating CSR activities (as many Sri Lankan conglomerates have done recently) in order to show solidarity with the community. This shows that you care about your key stakeholders and the community to which they belong and that you are willing to do more than what is required of you.
Online Events
With social distancing becoming the norm during this time, events (which previously played a vital role in relationship building and communication) have now become impossible to hold in a traditional sense. Therefore, these events can be moved to online platforms in order to maintain the social aspect of the business while also adhering to the social distancing regimen.
It has been stated that working from home will become more acceptable once things return to normal, this can bring in a host of challenges especially in holding events which require the physical presence of people. Therefore, online events can be used as a method of minimizing the challenges posed by working from home becoming the norm.
Keeping in touch with your clientele is a vital aspect of any business especially when a crisis is imminent and cannot be substituted for anything else. Therefore, at this time staying connected is of paramount importance.
Although the current situation poses a great deal of challenges to all aspects of business, if faced correctly one can overcome this situation and in turn evolve your business practices in a manner which makes your business more resilient to any future challenges which may crop up.
