From the team at CommAlert
During times of uncertainty, it is crucial for businesses to stay connected with their customers. Customers are looking for information, and are just as concerned about what is going on, as we are.
Some ways to engage customers are as follows:
- Create social media posts informing customers about what is going on regarding store hours, closings, etc.
- Share helpful posts from governments, health authorities, etc. regarding the current situation
- Respond to comments and messages from customers on social media within a reasonable amount of time
Once things return to normal, keep up the engagement! A good example of positive customer engagement is Belmont Sobeys in Edmonton, Alberta. During the pandemic, they identified a need for a dedicated time for society’s most vulnerable members to shop for the essentials, and had their store opened for one hour specifically for senior citizens and other vulnerable shoppers. Sobeys corporate office adopted their strategy and decided to extend this shopping event to most stores across the country. This created a very positive image of Belmont Sobeys, Sobeys in general, which will drum up more customers, and therefore more customer engagement.
If customer engagement is focused on during a pandemic, it can help to further engage customers when things return to normal. This is due to the fact that a fully-engaged customer represents 23% more revenue than average, according to Gallup research.