It’s all a bit weird right now.
At first, most office workers went home and continued as normal - just in their PJs. Then came the national lockdown, ‘furloughing’ of employees and widespread job losses.
The leisure, hospitality and tourism industries nosedived, despite our best collective efforts to transition bricks-and-mortar businesses to online ordering and local delivery.
I, for one, have been very fortunate. I already work from home, so I had that nailed. I also work with some clients who are doing canny despite the economic climate, including healthcare tech startup, an IT and telecoms company that specialises in remote working and a local gin distillery. And well, if we aren’t drinking gin right now then what are we doing?
For some businesses, closing shop for 3+ weeks means turning off all customer communications, online and otherwise. However, I think they’re missing a trick. Whether your business is running minimal operations or closed down completely, it’s more important than ever to keep communicating with your audience.
Everybody is affected by the lockdown. How can you provide your existing and potential customers with expert advice in your field? Some ideas off the top of my head:
Accountants: Stay on top of government financial legislation
HR: Keep clients in the loop with new furlough allowances
Marketers: Support customers with ways they can appropriately market themselves
Creatives: Create Udemy courses or run live workshops in your craft
And, for everyone else:
Respond to current news stories to the press with expert insights in your niche
Write a weekly newsletter
Brainstorm blog ideas
Take part in “FREE FRIDAY”
Produce a COVID-19 101 guide for your customers
Discount your digital services for the duration of the lockdown
Debunk hearsay about the virus in your industry (e.g. cleaning, health, taxes etc.)
Whatever your niche: say something. Anything.
Rather than fading away into obscurity, take the bull by its horns and keep creating.
What you do now will far outlive the lockdown. So, what are you going to do? Tell me on Twitter @ContentByTheSea