Times like this test a company, or entrepreneur. Your customers’ focus moves away from business towards other things. People are concerned about the wellbeing of their families, perhaps fearful of their future livelihoods. Your employees, if you have them, may also be worrying about what might come.
Read the official advice from WHO on protective measures against the Corona (COVID-19) disease
It’s time to really show that the people connected to your business are important and, in doing so, offer them reassurance that you’re committed to them and remaining stable and strong.
Every now and then events happen which may require you to do this. A financial dip, health scares and other unexpected goings on in the world around us.
But it’s a good time to break out the emails and show some compassion and understanding in the way you communicate. Even in business it’s ok to be human.
What to say?
For us at Minutemailer, as may have said before, we’re quite used to working remotely. So we’ve been sending messages to our users to tell them that Minutemailer is not going to be compromised in its performance because we need to figure out how to work from home.
And, of course, we want all our customers to know that we’re not taking our own responsibilities as humans lightly. We’re distancing ourselves to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Additionally, given that we’re all plugged into our various solutions for talking to, and responding to, our customer’s questions and problems, we’re letting everyone know that the ‘helplines’ are manned.
If we did have lots of employees, we’d be sending them regular emails about our protocols for staying protected. And also reassuring them about the various strategies we have to make sure their jobs are secure. Probably in a separate mail.
Many companies are also letting their customers know that they might be sending more mails than normal at this time, a means of staying in touch. It’s a nice, meaningful gesture.
Now is the perfect time for deploying email as a means of reassurance, love and the sort of value that goes beyond typical marketing. A time when staying in touch is more important than ever.
What is your main message to your customers and contacts in a situation like this?