Social distancing has never had a bigger and longer impact around the world than it has today due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a direct result, both small and big businesses have taken a hit as there are not enough customers to attend to.

A lot of services have been shut down. Many companies are worried about how to retain their customers during this phase of lockdown. Well, first you have to remember that during this self-quarantine phase, customers are looking for some kind of amusement and distraction. Something that makes them feel positive and uplifts their mood.

As a company, you will now have to think along similar lines and find ways to still offer your services or hold your position in their hearts through some kind of positive engagement.

Here, we address the five easy and effective ways to keep your customers engaged during this phase of social distancing – and to ensure that you reach your business goals.

5 Ways to Keep Your Customers Engaged During Social Distancing Era [Infographic]

1. Engage in proactive communication

With the situation in many countries worsening at a rapid rate, you never know what the day has in store for everyone. Customers do understand the situation and can empathize with you when you communicate honestly.

Communicate with them about how you are still providing your services and tell them about the safety measures you have taken for your employees. If you have an e-commerce business, you should let them know how the services will be provided. And also, if there are any curbs related to time or quantity on offer per delivery.

Constant communication with your customers will help them stick together with your journey even through tough times. Also, you should communicate about the closing down of your services via social media platforms or through E-mails.

2. Promote your gift cards

Now is an excellent time to promote your gift cards to offer customers a way to benefit in the future. While the customers will see it as a benefit that they can avail in the future, the cash influx will surely help you stay afloat during these tough times.

This approach stands a lot truer for restaurants and cafes where the profit margin is quite less. Such a move will surely help you get a much-needed impetus during the social-distancing phase. A digital agency can help you with creative E-Gift cards and promote the same through different platforms.

3. Utilize video calling and streaming apps

Go online! Create content and upload it on online platforms where the customers can see it and stay in touch with you. It could be just an advertisement, an image, or anything. As long as you keep posting such stuff to maintain customer engagement, it’s great.

Professionals like tutors and teachers should utilize video calling apps like Google Hangouts or Zoom to continue with their classes. YouTubers working from home can now bring out more video content. But they will need to come up with creative ideas to maintain channel growth. If you are a service provider like an accountant or a hairdresser, you can upload DIY videos of topics related to your field. This will not only help you engage with your customers but also find new ones.

Apart from YouTube, you can also start working on platforms like Vimeo or Patreon where the users have to pay a small fee to access your content. It will surely help you in monetary gains. Yes, you cannot charge them the same amount as usual but this surely will help you stay afloat.

4. Hold an online event

With different social media platforms now offering options like live streaming, you can most certainly hold online events. If there is a product launch or an unveiling of a new music album, you can now do it like this rather than postponing it.

To add more value to this, you can ask your customers to live stream and share the content to get a discount or gift voucher. This will directly result in more customer engagement.

5. Launch long-term discounts

You can also offer long-term discounts so that the customers can buy it now and avail its benefits in the future. Before you pick such a discount strategy, make sure you have clearly defined your primary goals. The e-flyers and banners will help you improve the promotion of the offer and the company itself.

Final Thoughts

There are multiple ways to maintain or maybe even improve customer engagement during this period of lockdown. Meaningful collaborations can help you make assured returns during this tough time. For any assistance, you might want to get in touch with Dignitas Digital, a leading digital agency in Philadelphia. With having years of experience in boosting customer engagement, we have been helping businesses around the globe thrive.