With the coronavirus outbreak, social distancing is proven to be the only solution to save the world. Most countries have announced lockdown, and people are stuck inside their homes. Although this decision is beneficial for public health management; on the other hand small businesses are suffering due to this self-quarantine situation.
Most business owners around the world are concerned about the long-term effects of Covid-19. However, many other operators are experiencing increased activity levels on their platforms. The list includes businesses in the areas of mass distribution, pharmaceutical, agri-food, and logistics. With the rise in demand of key services and products provided by these industries, people are now looking for creative ways to stay connected to their clients and continue to assist in servcing the public during these challenging times.
Many customers won’t even notice any difference in the availability of essential products and shipments. But they need to realize how hard the logistics companies are working to serve the market. Even with the threat of coronavirus spread, the people in the logistics sector are serving clients day and night. However, many of these professionals might still be worried about how they can establish solid connections with their client in this highly pressured market. Well, businesses need to create a crisis-based communication plan to lead a solid marketing message in the market. The plan must be extended to the customer-facing staff, social channels, business website, and customer service teams as well.
Below we have listed a few essential tips that you need to follow to stay connected to your clients during Covid-19 crisis:
- Show some care:
Make sure you send some valuable messages to your customers regarding awareness related to the crisis. You can offer them some helpful resources to stay safe. Emails, social media, and other online platforms can help you better spread the message of care snd support among your target audience.
- Follow proactive communications:
Your customers are more dependent on you in these difficult times. Make sure you announce the impacts and changes to your business on a regular basis. Don’t disappoint your customers by not serving them with the desired information; rather, make an effort to build a reliable connection with them. Proactive communication can also free up your logistic management staff, and they can spare more time to handle other vital tasks.
Why not consider creating communicating with your audience via push notifications, SMS, emails, chatbot introductions, IVR systems, headers, homepage modals, and dedicated web landing pages. This will inevitably increase your companies visibility and reassure both your customers and clients alike.
- Show the human side of the business:
It is time to show some humanity with sensitive and authentic response. For instance, the CVS and Walgreens took the initiative to waive off fees for prescription medicine during the covid-19 pandemic. Many small businesses are also making efforts to serve their customers with special offers. The logistic business owners can also decide to offer free delivery for customers with the higher age groups or within some specific radius of their business. This kind gesture can boost the reputation of your business in the competitive market.
- Inspire your clients:
In this difficult time, those who are surviving should offer assistance to others. You can also set an example of shining corporate citizenship. Prefer to do all that you can do to please your customers. You can share a donor portal, donate products, assist with coordination collection, offer essential services, and communicate with the clients in a sensitive manner.
- Audit content queue:
The next task is to review the entire message stream, including transactional emails, promotional conversations, and social media activities as well. Make sure you spare some time to review your push notifications, SMS and look for the need to make any shift to serve the audience in the crisis. If some message appears offensive, it can damage the reputation of your brand. So, it is better to improve your communication strategy and build stronger connections with the audience.
- Train your spokesperson:
It is important to find a key spokesperson that can stay in the active conversation with media, customers, staff, and the public. Make sure he/she is trained well to deliver the most valuable and consistent content. The spokesperson should have the talent and skills to communicate via different channels. These communication leaders should handle a variety of subjects positively and engagingly. Poor messaging in the hour of uncertainty and crisis may affect your brand image in the market. .So, you have to be more careful during critical events.
- Have a solid plan:
We understand that no one plans for such uncertain situations. But when the crisis over the entire world, the logistics business owners need to serve customers to the best of their ability. And in order to achieve this goal, they need to create a solid action plan. Proactive planning may help you to avoid obstacles on your way to success. Motivate your staff members to perform better and take collaborative actions to build trust in the currently strained market.
- Use TMS software:
In order to manage your logistics services more effectively, you should start using TMS software. These advanced tools make it easier to manage shipping, inventory, and other product-related activities. With this, you can stay up to date about the position and location of your goods. Using these advanced software tools, allows your company to become more reliable during the hour of crisis.
There is no doubt to say that the world is suffering hard due to pandemic and the logistics sector needs to work hard to serve people during these devastating times. Make sure you follow a healthy and proactive approach to lead the market and remember to show humanity and compassion whenever possible. Businesses that will build a solid brand during these difficult times can look forward to a long-lasting brand image customers will look up to and respect well into the future.
Author Bio: I’m Jaylin: SEO Expert of Leelija Web Solutions. I am a content manager, and the author of freeopenbook.com and a full time blogger. Favourite things include my camera, travelling, caring my fitness, food and my fashion. Email id: [email protected]
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