Well, COVID strikes again. We just got word here in Southern California that bars, breweries, and wineries that don’t serve food will get closed before the July 4 holiday weekend. This same story now reverberates in other states dealing with surges in cases.
This situation will drive any business owner and customer nuts. You’ll need to put your crisis communication plan, that you hopefully employed since the beginning of the pandemic, in overdrive. These fits and starts will likely continue for the foreseeable future.
Plan on regular communications with customers and other stakeholders through email, social media, mobile app, and other methods. Let folks know how they stay in touch with you, if not buy from you. As important, let folks know you care about them. Find some other vehicles for engagement, maybe through some sort of philanthropic efforts, if possible.
I know times are tough right now, but this is the part of the COVID outbreak that I was most concerned about. We knew as we tried to get back to normal events there would be false starts. We knew it was likely not to be pretty nor as fast as we had hoped.
So, keep communicating, keep showing empathetic and action-oriented messaging, and find ways to engage your customers. Your activities in this regard must continue if you stand a chance of surviving.
