Enkahnz: Are You Prepared to Meet New Customer Needs?
We’ve been forging our way through uncertainty for a few months now, and I have to say: small business owners are resilient.
In a time of stress and sadness we pivoted, we adapted, and I hope everyone, their families and their small businesses are OK.
I’ve written a lot about managing your small business during the pandemic, from “How to Pivot Your Small Business Strategy During the COVID-19 Crisis” to “How to Build a Crisis Response Landing Page”, on our website.(Enkahnz)
Now, we focus on the next step: emerging from the coronavirus pandemic not only in one piece, but as successful entrepreneurs who have learned some valuable lessons.
As we move forward, it’s obvious that some things are forever changed. In a recent survey, 81% of Canadians agreed that the crisis will create a new normal and have a lasting impact on society.
So as my province of BC, Canada starts to reopem businesses, it’s time to look at your marketing and evaluate if it still makes sense to your target audience.
How to Define Your Customers’ Needs
Let’s go backâ -all the way back to 1943, when Abraham Maslow proposed his hierarchy of needs. According to his theory, people are motivated to fulfill basic requirements (food, shelter) before they move on to more advanced ones (intimate relationships, sense of accomplishment).
During the coronavirus crisis, people were focused more closely on basic necessities like staying safe from COVID-19 and getting groceries. These differing needs may also have led them to buy things they wouldn’t normally buy, like lots of hand sanitizer or takeout food multiple times per week.(Enkahnz)
Some of the customer behaviour we saw during the pandemic may be here to stay, like:
Continuing to wear masks in crowded areas and washing hands more frequently
Thinking more carefully before buying “wants”
Working/studying from home more of the time
Choosing brands that are the most empathetic and conscious
So ask yourself: how have your customer needs changed during this time? What are they expecting from you?
How to Evolve Your Business Model to Meet New Customer Needs
Just because we’re slowly returning to a “new normal’ doesn’t mean everyone is going to be hopping on planes and heading to big parties. Especially for those who have been personally affected by COVID-19, it’s going to be hard to reintegrate back into society, so to speak.
Here are a few ways you might have to pivot to meet new customer needs:
- Maintain/increase communication around health and safety measures.
A large part of pivoting your business model will include how you communicate with your customers.
For example, salons and spas have been closed for months, and even once they reopen, consumers want to know what steps they’re taking to protect their health.
Some clients won’t feel comfortable stepping into a hair salon unless they know there are certain health measures in place.(Enkahnz)
Don’t be too hasty to remove your COVID-19 landing pageâ or health and safety messaging from your website or Google My Business listing-rather look at updating copy with new information to put your clients’ minds at ease.
- Address new patterns.
If you’ve started offering heat-and-serve meals, curbside pickup or telemedicine sessions to customers, they may expect that going forward.
This can be a good opportunity to take a closer look at what worked and evolve your business model accordingly.
If you don’t sell essential services, you may have to pivot your marketing strategy to approach different spending behaviours. Many people have been hit hard financially and won’t have as much disposable income.
Others will have become accustomed to a new way of doing things. Similarly, to what I mentioned in #1, COVID-19 has changed the way that people consume certain services.
For example, a school may have to integrate more online learning into their model to attract students who are now used to and more comfortable with totally remote classes.(Enkahnz)
Enkahnz 