 Congratulations are in order if your business has survived and bounced back from COVID unscathed. Unfortunately, businesses across all sectors experienced the unforeseeable, and some were unable to recover and had to close their doors permanently. While you are preparing for your business return, it’s important to have a solid crisis communication plan in place. Allen Marketing Communications, Inc., a boutique travel and lifestyle public relations agency based in New York City, offers tips to help businesses emerge and thrive during the post-pandemic. It is important for companies to research, assess the post-crisis situation, and craft a robust message that will help bolster their current position and reputation. Here are a few things to consider while ensuring your business flourishes during these uncertain times. Creating A Strategic Crisis Communication Plan Following the crisis, there may be a change in demand for your goods and services. Research suggests that COVID has forced years of change in the way companies in all sectors do business. This has caused many businesses to rethink the way they operate. Consumer buying has certainly differed from before the pandemic hit. It’s important to have a realistic view of your current situation, and your communication plan should reflect the next phase of those plans. Amend Your Core Messages Nonetheless, companies may need to assess the sector or industry to see if there are any immediate modifications. Can your business adapt to those new changes while meeting the needs of the consumer and maintaining your company’s overall core values? It may require an amendment to your messaging. How can your message be delivered most effectively? What campaigns and communication activities will need to take place? Has a budget been determined in rolling out the campaign? Highlight Concise, Clear and Accurate Messages About Covid-19 Changes To Your Core Business For instance, some restaurants closed their dine-in service, and as the pandemic waned, some gradually began increasing the number of diners in their restaurant at once. Some restaurateurs focused their attention on catering, takeout and gift baskets to strengthen their revenue stream. The gift baskets and charcuterie boards enabled an owner to tap into packaged foods for retail. This is something they never considered doing pre-COVID. Their baskets boasted gourmet spreads, jam and assorted nuts and other items. These brand packages ranged from $30 to $250. The demand was so great, it became an instant hit among new and existing customers. In this instance, the message highlighted the new offerings and how it meets their customers’ needs. Mainly, the content was concise, consistent and accurate. Communicate Covid-19 Pandemic Modifications To Your Business A small furniture business closed its showroom to the public during COVID. Customers were only allowed to purchase online. Now, as cities and states are loosening restrictions, this business has slowly begun allowing customers in its showroom. One thing it decided to keep in place was the online ordering. The company never sold directly to consumers online until the pandemic, which at times presented some new challenges. Spotlight the Health and Safety Measurements At Your Establishment Most of all, the business owner wanted to ensure his customers that while they allow customers back in the showroom, their safety is paramount. More importantly, this business requires customers and employees to continue to wear masks. They also assert that they will slowly expand their product offering. Its message is clear that the business is welcoming everyone back, and it appreciates the support given during the pandemic. This simple adjustment in messaging was reflected concisely and authentically on its website and all media relations, and social media platforms. Lastly, debrief with your team by measuring the company’s progress by reviewing any lessons learned. Our travel and lifestyle public relations team are skilled at crafting a post Covid-19 pandemic recovery program. We are here to help. Give us a call Olivia Almagro is a business adjunct professor and public relations consultant for Allen Marketing Communications, Inc.
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 During the COVID-19 pandemic, many entrepreneurs realized that they needed to rapidly pivot their business strategies online in order to keep operating during the lockdown. You may have launched an ecommerce store so that your customers could continue to patronize your business while staying home. But if you rushed to launch your online store, you may need to make some changes in order to bring in more sales and create a better customer experience after the pandemic. From revising your marketing strategy with Allen Marketing Communications, a boutique travel and lifestyle public relations agency, to investing in better customer service, here’s how you can grow your ecommerce business during the pandemic recovery period. Boost Your Business Skills Maybe you’ve realized that you need to brush up on some important business skills, and trying to learn certain aspects of entrepreneurship on your own isn’t getting you quite the results you want. Heading back to school for an MBA program could be a great investment. By enrolling in an online MBA program you can expand your general business knowledge, learn more about strategy and management, become a better leader, and master the arts of self-awareness and self-assessment. Optimize Your Website If you quickly developed a basic ecommerce website, now is the time to take a look at your site’s design and determine if there is anything you need to change. Constant Contact recommends highlighting your most popular products on the home page, using a pop-up sign-up sheet to encourage people to join your mailing list, and using big, scannable headers and bright images. You can also work on improving your search engine optimization strategy. Expand Your Digital Marketing Efforts When your business is online, you need to focus heavily on digital marketing! You can incorporate everything from email marketing campaigns to social media advertising on platforms like Facebook into your strategy. But you don’t have to master every aspect of digital marketing on your own. Instead, you can hire an expert to help. For instance, if you run a lifestyle business, you may want to work with a lifestyle public relations agency to expand your reach. If you run a travel-related business, you’ll definitely want to invest in digital marketing during the recovery period, and working with a boutique travel public relations agency can be a great choice. Improve Your Customer Service When your customers are shopping online, concentrating on outstanding customer service is the best way to create a genuine connection, despite the lack of face-to-face communication. To give your customers the best service possible, Business recommends offering communication channel options like video chat, phone calls, or a live chat tool; following up after solving problems for customers; and giving them the opportunity to provide feedback. Launch a Mobile App As we move into the recovery period, your customers will be spending more time on the go. How can you make it easier for them to shop at your ecommerce store? Develop and release a mobile app that customers can download for their smartphones! If you know your way around app development, you can design the program yourself, but if not, you can always hire a freelance mobile app developer. Before hiring anyone, make sure to check out their portfolio for examples of their previous work. Shifting from running a brick-and-mortar business to managing an ecommerce store is challenging! But as an entrepreneur, you know how to think on your feet and adapt to overcome obstacles. With these tips, your ecommerce store will thrive after the pandemic. Ready to invest in a new PR strategy for your brand? Allen Marketing Communications, a boutique travel and lifestyle public relations agency, can support you with everything from media relations to social media marketing to hosting events! We are here to help. Give us a call. Guest post by Chelsea Lamb at Businesspop.net Photo via Pexels |
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