How to keep in touch with customers and why it matters now

Stay visible

If the business is not yet working at full capacity or even on hiatus, this is not a reason to abandon accounts in social networks. Now this is your main channel of communication with regular and potential clients. It's high time to develop it with renewed vigor: firstly, this way you will retain the existing audience, and secondly, attract new subscribers.

If delivery works for you (of course, contactless), explain how it works, and tell us what you are doing to protect couriers and customers. For example, you monitor the health of your employees and supply them with masks and antiseptic, and you only accept payment online. Remind in your communication about special offers - discounts and purchase certificates that you can use when self-isolation ends.

Social media is about conversation, so talk to your followers. Ask what products or services to add to the assortment, introduce readers to your team, and don't forget about live broadcasts and challenges. Cafes and restaurants can host master classes with chefs, while fitness clubs may not be limited to online training and start a competition among subscribers: for example, whoever stays in the bar the longest gets a free lesson with coach. Subscribers post videos or photos, tag you, the audience grows.

Don't keep waiting

Just put yourself in the client's shoes. Let's say the product you're interested in is sold in two stores. The price differs slightly, but on one site the third does not answer your question about delivery conditions day, and on the other they responded within an hour, explained everything, also gave a promo code as new to the buyer. Most likely, you will not return to the first store.

Give clients a choice of several communication channels: not only a phone number, but also a chat on the site, the ability to ask a question in a personal message on a social network or using a messenger. It is physically impossible to be in touch 24 hours a day, but during business hours, keep the waiting period for a response to a minimum. React to messages and missed calls from customers for at least an hour. And if it takes more time to answer, warn about this and indicate an approximate time frame.

A missed call is a lost customer. The VDele mobile application from MTT will help you to always be in touch with customers: you get landline phone number in your mobile without an additional SIM card.

If everything is complicated with the Internet, VDele will redirect the call from the landline to your mobile number so that you don't miss a single client. When mobile is also unavailable, VDele records voice messages on incoming calls. And yes, all this is free: both the number and unlimited incoming, and voicemail. You will pay only for outgoing calls and forwarding - 300 minutes will cost 490 rubles.

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VDele

Developer: MTT

Price: Free

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VDele. Free number for Entrepreneurs.

Developer: OJSC "MTT"

Price: Free

Work on quality of service

You can scare off the buyer at the very first telephone conversation. If the client himself turns to you, then at least he is already thinking about buying, but something prevents him from making a final decision. Your task is to find out what the problem is and solve it: for example, tell more about the product or send additional photos, explain how special offers work and what you need to do to get discount.

To understand at what point the conversation turned to the wrong place, record calls (of course, notifying the client about this), and then sort out the errors. Perhaps the problem was in monosyllabic answers - it may look like a clear reluctance to talk to a customer who, in fact, is ready to give you money. The other extreme is excessive obsession. Keep the balance: show that the call is really important to you, but do not attack the client with constant reminders of hot deals.

To keep the conversation going, ask questions - open-ended, not ones that can be answered yes or no. This will help you sort out typical doubts and objections in order to bring the customer to the purchase. If he cannot make a decision right away, do not let things go by themselves, but specify when you will need to call back.

Invest in the channels that generate the most bang for your buck

It seems that you can completely abandon promotion only in one case: if you finally decided to quit with the business. Even in a crisis, you should not stop advertising: you may save money, but when times are tough run out, you still have to remind consumers of yourself - just spend effort and money more. One or two months can be held out on deferred demand, and then it will be necessary to start everything practically from scratch.

When your budget is already bursting at the seams, figure out which communication channels are driving the most sales. The rule is simple: the cheaper it is to attract one customer, the more effective the advertising. To track the call and find out which advertising message brought a buyer to you, you can use the services call tracking, but if money is tight, use unique promo codes or phone numbers - each for its own playgrounds. It will not do without errors, but you will get a reliable idea of ​​how advertising works.

Analyze call statistics

All incoming calls can be divided into two groups: targeted and general calls. Targeted ones usually last longer than general ones: the buyer calls you for a reason, he wants to make a purchase and clarify its conditions. If you sell furniture, and the client calls and asks if you are repairing it, hears a refusal and says goodbye, this is inappropriate, or a general call - he cannot bring profit.

To increase sales, analyze the content of conversations with potential buyers. A large number of inappropriate calls is a sure sign that advertising is not very effective: in other words, the client does not understand what you are selling to him. You can focus on targeted calls: find out which problem customers most often ask for a solution, and focus on solving it on social networks and on the website.

Finally, if you turn off your work phone over the weekend, it’s no surprise that sales are falling: customers would love to call, but they cannot. We'll have to adjust to their schedule. Determine when the calls are most likely - during business hours, late at night, or on Saturdays and Sundays - and be prepared to watch out for customers.