Everything is going virtual, right? Zoom meetings. Cloud-based accounting. Online banking. VOIP phones. Website portals.
The pandemic has forced businesses to figure out new ways to work online.
How do you market right now?
Tip #1 – Create an Awesome Service Experience Online
Let us say you own a restaurant. It has been forced to stop due to Covid 19. First question is – can you shift to takeout or catering?
How do you create an awesome service experience online?
First, look at all the points where your customer “engages with your business”.
In a restaurant these touch points are:
- Phone
- Website
- Waiter/waitress
- The Food
- Parking lot
- Front entrance
- Host/Hostess
- Physical layout
- Bathrooms
Moving the restaurant online, the touch points are:
- Phone
- Website
- Delivery man/woman
- The Food
- Packaging
- Extras
- Cleanliness of delivery vehicle
See the overlap? Five are the same. Three are new touch points.
Now, walk through each touch-point and re-engineer this business for awesome experience.
This could include:
- A re-designed website, with the daily menu and specials on the front page.
- An online-order-portal. This is where customers order and pay.
- Spiffy branded uniforms for the delivery people.
- Branded, colorful packaging.
- Training for the Team in scripts you want said as you deliver food.
- Scripts for answering the phone.
Systems for phone answering are critical. Answering the phone on the second ring – every time – creates consistency. Consistency at this time wows people. This has them keep coming back.
Tip #2 – What is Old Can Become New Again
Marketing can be offline. You can be bold and try “new” things.
When everyone is marketing online, try something old: direct mail.
Direct mail may surprise prospects. They are not getting much mail. Odds are they may read your letter.
The big challenge is a lot of businesses are working from home. Where to send your mail? Getting the right address will be crucial.
Direct mail must be followed up with a phone call.
My coaching is trying a small number to start (25-50 leads). Then call each one the following week.
Take a problem solving, non-salesy approach. Few businesses want to be sold to in a pandemic. Do you have a service that can fix a problem or save them money? They may be eager to listen to you.
I hope this helps. Thanks for reading…