Businesses and organizations are pushing through the effects of the pandemic on the economy, their industry or their customer response. At the time of writing this, there is no such thing as "after COVID-19" however experts are learning more each day. While everyone is searching for the next normal, it's important to consider how the virus has affected your client relationships and customer service.
If your business relationships have stalled, here are tips to win back clients after COVID-19.
Communication is Key
When the pandemic forced individuals to shelter-in-place, many businesses rushed to acclimate to working remotely. If your operating hours, events or other in person activities were affected, your customers may not know that you're still in business. Instead of watching your retention rate falter, reach out and let your clients know that you're still up and running. Use all of the communication tools available to you such as:
- Email marketing
- Social media
- Brand website
- Blog posts
Inform clients of any changes to your schedule or operations, if you haven't already. If your business is small or a one-person shop and you had a personal working relationship with your customer, you might also reach out via telephone.
Show Clients You Care
The pandemic, protests and other challenges of 2020 have revealed that we're all longing to connect and be heard. When you connect with your client, take the opportunity to check in with them. Ask about their business needs, of course, but also ask how well they're managing otherwise. They may have fallen by the wayside because their business is struggling or they're struggling to work through the stress.
If you're able to, offer incentives, discounts or other positive initiatives to help with your client's business challenges. Perhaps you can offer something for free for a few months, much like Neil Patel did to get more sign ups on his Ubersuggest platform. Or you could offer reduced services at a lower cost so that they can keep their business going too.
Host a Digital Event
When your business relies on in-person activities, such as conferences, networking or speaking events, you burned your calendar in mid-March of this year. It's especially tough for subject matter experts, consultants or professional speakers when the events they had planned to attend are no longer happening. The good news is that many of these conferences have decided to go digital and you can too. It is not out of the ordinary to host a digital event for your clients, even at a discounted rate. In fact, you can branch out to potential leads across the globe since all they need to access your content is the internet. Use this time to think outside of your norm to bring back those clients who fell away and find new ones too.
5 New Ways to Deal with Unpaid Invoices During COVID-19
Churned Clients Still Owe You Money?
If your clients aren't responding to your efforts to connect and still owe you for past work, you can still get your invoices paid. You can start by downloading reminder notice templates that begin with a friendly approach. If that doesn't work, click here to learn how Enterprise Recovery can help.
