Companies have a hard time serving their customers during the pandemic. We all hear, know, and talk about it. But what to do about it? How do companies maintain or even improve customer relationships during covid-19 pandemic? That is the only strategic question any leader needs to ask if they want to remain in the business and the answer is usually very simple. You have to listen to your customers, communicate proactively, reconnect with contacts and try new things.
Listen to your customers
This one is simple! Ask your clients or customers, Partners and employees they are doing, what's their situation and if there is anything that you can do for them during the pandemic
You can also ask them for feedback! show them you care to improve your business even during the Hard Times. When most of the operations are downsized, shops are closed and employees work from home, everyone has a little more time to give feedback. Do they say that ordering from you takes ages ? Customer service could be improved? Or your website could be improved? You can collect and record all the feedback in your project management app within your CRM, prioritise what you are going to focus first, assign it to relevant people and get it done!
Communicate proactively to relevant stakeholders
Your customers are relying on you and their success is often dependent on the speed and availability of your services or products. Hence, it is your responsibility to let them know if there are any covered restrictions that prevent you from delivering your product or service in the standard lead times.
Thanks to marketing automation and dynamic segmentation, you can easily contact your customers faster and personalise the communication for any customer based on selected criteria. with the right tools you will communicate fast and to all relevant stakeholders.
Reconnect with old contacts and connections
During the pandemic times, many people lack conversations and could be willing to spend time with you. One of the best things you can do is to browse your CRM and reconnect with customers and prospects with whom you haven't been in touch for a while. Chances are that your contacts might have forgotten about what you do, maybe there could be a new solution or products that you offer that they are not aware of, or that simply people changed companies and did something else. All of these are immense opportunities for growth. Don’t leave them unattained!
Pilot new and innovative projects
Your customers are also looking for new ways to grow their business. If your customers are not doing well, then most probably it is going to impact your company too.
These are the times when failing does not hurt. Try to find an area where you can work with your customers on innovative solutions and try new things! One of our customers in the B2B work tools business lost the majority of sales as companies stopped ordering from them. They were looking to find a way to get to the end customers - the do-it-yourself men and women, gardeners etc. - but they couldn't afford Investing in a new e-commerce solution. We offered a fast prototype of an e-commerce store with a special financing option that we get a royalty from sales. It's a win-win because we can sharpen our skills and test new solutions and the client is getting a new source of potential revenues.
For more information on how to ask for and collect customer feedback in the CRM, or how we can help your company with remote working and business growth, you can contact us here.