What’s the new normal for customer communications?

2020 has been a minefield for businesses as they consider the complex issue of customer communications in a pandemic. No one wants their brand associated with poor messages and inappropriate content. Early on, we stressed the need to be sensitive, helpful and engaging.

Seven months in and everyone is adjusting to the ‘new normal’. The country is in tiers, but schools are back. And many people have been returning to workplaces and then back to their home offices again.

So what does that mean for your marketing approach? Can you return to promoting your business and having conversations with customers in the same way as before Coronavirus?

Customer communications post-COVID

The reality is that your customer communications may never be the same again. It’s clear that we are far from out of the woods with COVID-19 in our everyday lives, so it still needs to be considered in business marketing.

Now is the time to review your marketing to make sure it meets your business and customer needs in the new normal. Here are the crucial things to get right:

Be authentic

Authentic marketing has never been more important. Each one of your customers will have a story to tell about how their life has been impacted by the pandemic. They may have lost a loved one, been made redundant or struggled with the isolation of lockdown. Your business will have also had to adapt to survive. Show your human side and empathise with your customers in your communications with them.

Be agile

It’s also essential to remain adaptable. Your marketing strategy needs to be agile as the impact of the pandemic can and will change nationally and regionally over the coming months. You may want to consider moving your marketing spend online where you can update and pivot your customer communications more easily than in offline adverts.

Give customers what they need

What people really value at the moment is information they can trust and even a bit of light relief from the news headlines. If you have something genuinely helpful to speak to your customers about or something that will brighten their day then share it with them on your social media channels or through your mailing list. Marketing doesn’t need to push sales; keeping a positive presence in your customers’ minds is much more important in a volatile world.

If you would like an expert opinion on your customer communications then Amplify PR is a Southampton PR agency that has been supporting clients throughout the pandemic. Get in touch to find out how we can help you set the right tone in these unprecedented times.