How Should Your Business Respond To Rising Coronavirus Concerns
Updated: Jun 23, 2021
The safety and well-being of your customers and employees need to be the top priority for businesses and companies. The Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has put sanitary measures at the forefront of everyday activities. This can change the day-to-day of a business, but it does not have to stop daily business.
With fears of the coronavirus spreading, it's time to take a step back and see what your business can do to bring calm. This begins by educating both your staff and your clients.
How to Create Awareness For Your Employees and Customers
Educate Your Employees
The best way to educate your customers is to make sure your employees are informed as well. Undergoing training on proper hygiene will go a long way to prevent the spread of any contact-born viruses. This includes 20-second hand washing, hand sanitizing, and avoiding hand contact.
Here are a couple of tips on approaching your team when speaking to them about the coronavirus.
Do Daily Updates
a. Information is being updated faster than we can catch up. It's essential to be on top of what the CDC and government inform us on. By doing daily updates, you are keeping your employees informed accurately and, in turn, relaying the best information back to your clients.
Beware Of Hype
a. News outlets love showcasing the best headlines that will garner them the most clicks. These headlines provoke unnecessary overreaction that increases misinformation in public. Try to keep the hype over these news headlines under control and bring everyone into more reasonable expectations.
Use Credible Sources
a. Following the CDC and the information they give to the public is your best bet. Avoid repeating news that you read from social media and others who do not have the credentials to be giving out health information. This will keep your business credible and safe.
Create Reassurance
a. As a business leader, your workers will look up to you and follow your lead. Be sympathetic to the situation and reassure your employees that you have their best interest in mind.
Create A Clean Environment
a. By creating a clean environment, your office/services will be less likely to transmit any viruses. Offer hand sanitizer in the break room, and encourage your employees to wipe down their desks and keyboards.
Notify Customers
This step is easy! The best way to tone the tension down is to inform the public about the different ways the virus spreads and behaves.
Take this opportunity to reach out to your email list about some measures that the CDC has published. This way, your audience knows how to combat the virus and how to prevent its spread.
Sending them an email with this poster from the CDC can be a significant first step. The CDC further explains the spread of not just COVID-19 but respiratory diseases. This poster will help break down the best ways to avoid spreading the virus.
By notifying your client base, your business begins to build trust and a connection. You're looking out for the health of your clients, not just their business. This communication is valued and will resonate as a voice of authority to your customers. Information is essential, and by proving it, you'll bring ease of mind and, in turn, lower the fear of reaching out and doing business with you.
This is a vital time to be responsive and transparent with your customers. In the future, it may pay off to be prepared to answer questions about how your business will be running. Mention different measures that your business is doing to showcase that you're there for them.
Inform your customer base of the information you expect them to be looking for. Stay in touch through social media, create videos and posts to keep your business and customers connected through the process. Let them know how you will start handling any delays that your business may have due to the virus.
How To Position Your Company In Regards Of The Coronavirus
With the potential decrease, or change, in a customer's availability to do person-to-person business, it may be challenging to generate new business. As an owner, these are the times to get creative. Get out of your comfort zone and adjust your marketing plans to stand out from the competition.
This is the time to start looking at the market and capitalize on what the competition is doing. While our competitors are dialing back their business, you can start ramping up and being the leading force for your industry.
This is our approach for BrandRep.
We believe that by offering our lowest pricing for digital marketing in years, we can do our part to encourage businesses not to hold back. We have temporarily lowered our pricing to accommodate a fluctuating market during these challenging times.
Don't Let This Hold Your Business Back
The Corona Virus has started to affect different businesses and organizations around the world. You don't have to go far to see the real-world examples presented to us. This may give the impression that companies are in for a bad time, but it doesn't have to be the case. There are many ways that your business can pivot and come out victorious.
How To Approach The Crisis
Look For New Opportunities
Let this be an opportunity to start exploring different marketing ideas. If your competition starts cutting back costs and shrinking, take advantage of that! This can be an excellent opportunity to become the leading provider for your industry by investing in marketing campaigns.
BrandRep can help you figure out how to capitalize and reposition your business during this time. Look into the different services we offer, such as Paid Ads, Social Media Posting, Review Generation, and more!
Present An Alternative
If your customers are worried about interacting with businesses at this time, then we can adjust! This can be accomplished by presenting your services in a health-centered manner.
If you own a brick-and-mortar store, showcase that you're providing hand sanitizer at every entrance and enforcing a no-contact environment. Have sanitizer wipes on every desk, and offer the option to make a phone call appointment instead of in person.
If meeting face to face cannot be avoided in your line of work, try doing conference calls! If your services require you to travel to a location, a video call can provide a great alternative. By offering options to your clients, you present yourself with more value over your competitors.
Help Those In Need
We are all trying to take care of ourselves while trying to minimize the day-to-day disruptions. Learning how to adjust and stay on top of the virus spread can be difficult but not impossible.
Most customers are worried about getting sick, and you can help them ease their concerns. Your business can become a leader by moving forward, being an example of proper hygiene management, and minimizing the spread of the virus. Your customers will feel more confident purchasing your products or selecting your services, knowing that you're taking their needs into concern.
For Additional Information: CDC Guidance for Businesses and Employers