- Hey, I'm Emma from GoDaddy's The Journey.
- And I'm Darlene from GoDaddy's How-To.
- And look, there's never been a more critical time
to communicate with your customers than now,
with many of us working from home
or staying inside
because of COVID-19, you are very likely
to have not been seeing as many customers,
maybe even none at all.
- And that's what we're talking about today.
The what and how of communicating
during a business disruption.
- Yeah and communicating with your customers,
in general, super important, right?
But, more important as you take timely action
during this time.
- So, let's talk about what you need to communicate.
There are three critical things you need to get out
to your customers right away.
- One, give them an update on where you are at
with your business.
I know I've gotten a ton of emails lately
doing exactly that.
And a short statement about how COVID-19 has impacted
your business and/or your service levels.
And be really specific if you are in fact
maintaining operations but have a change in service delivery
or business hours.
- That's gonna let your customers know
you're still there for them in the best way that you can be.
So, two, let them know the steps you're taking
to ensure their safety during this time.
Give them a bulleted list of cleaning you're doing
and frequency.
- Yeah, also let them know
if you're managing social distancing
by doing delivery of a product, free shipping
or providing them with online webinars,
I know we're doing that at GoDaddy Social,
or sessions to stay connected.
And this is the time to instill confidence
that you're taking action.
- Three, encourage them to continue business and thank them.
Everyone is impacted right now
and your customers wanna know that you're still there
and in many cases, you're there for them.
- So here's what it might look like for my business,
Coffee and Kickflips.
Dear customers, in light of COVID-19 outbreak
we're committed to keeping you, our employees,
and our business safe.
We're making a number of changes to how we do business
until it's safe to return to normal operations
and we're taking the following steps.
Number one, we're closing our cafe for a deep cleaning.
Number two, we will offer pickup service
for our walk-in customers.
And thirdly, we'll offer limited delivery
via Kickflips of course.
So something like that.
And lastly, I'll close out my communication
with thank you for being our customers,
we know this is a difficult time for everyone
and we want to support safety first.
We'll communicate with you regularly
as the situation changes.
A little sign-off, Coffee and Kickflips.
- Let's talk about the how you communicate.
We have three tips to help you get the message out.
- Yeah, so you might be used to communicating
with your customers face to face, in person.
And you're going to need to adapt,
so we're going to help you with a plan
to get your message out there.
- First off, if you have a business website,
you should add messaging to your front page,
or the landing page, so your customers are likely to go
and see it.
This is easy to do if you're using Website Builder
and can be done in a matter of minutes.
Just sign into your account and update the pages.
Whatever you use, it's best and easiest
to use the messaging we created earlier.
And be consistent.
- Second, if you have a regular email marketing channel,
or let's say you have a mailing list
that you use regularly for marketing
and product advertising, now is the time to use that
for your messaging.
And let your customers know,
you'll be using that for future updates.
- Exactly.
And third, if you regularly use social media sites,
like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram,
use those to get your message out to your customers
and followers.
If you're not using those channels,
it might be a good time to add those to your business.
- Totally, and consistent messaging is key.
And don't forget, those regular updates
as things start to normalize,
your customers will be used to hearing from you.
- It's obvious that COVID-19 has added additional challenges
to doing business, but it doesn't need to be impossible.
Now's the time to communicate quickly
and clearly with your customers.
I'm Darlene.
- And I'm Emma.
- Thanks for joining us.