For most businesses, things have really slowed down in the last couple of weeks. This is a stressful time for the world, and running a business makes things even more complicated. However, there are still things business owners can, and should, be doing to ensure that their business stays in the best shape possible until the country opens back up. 

The importance of keeping up on customer connections when business is slow cannot be emphasized enough. Your customers are likely spending a lot of time at home and they’re much more accessible now than usual. This makes it easier for businesses to reach out to their customers and engage with them on a regular basis. 

The good news is that sooner or later (hopefully sooner) things will be back to normal. Businesses will be open their regular hours and consumers will be more than ready to start frequenting their favorite businesses again. Whether you’re a plumber or a clothing store owner, the current situation is likely slowing down business for you. When we have more control over the COVID-19 situation, people will be leaving their homes again to shop for clothes, or they’ll be inviting plumbers and HVAC specialists back into their home to take care of the projects they were putting off. Either way, you want to be top-of-mind for your customers when they’re ready for a business like yours. One of the best things businesses can do to remain successful is engage with their customers, and that is still absolutely true. There is no better time than when business is slow to focus on making your customers loyal and excited to work with you. 

Customer engagement comes in many forms:

• Social Media Conversations
• Email Marketing
• SMS Message Marketing
• Webchat

Customer engagement creates loyal customers and loyal customers create revenue for your business. In fact, a local pest control company that works with us at FreshLime has seen a 5.5x return on investment because their customer connections have made it so 90% of their customers are loyal to their business. We know that loyal customers are more financially valuable to a business than new customers. According to Thanx.com, 80% of consumers indicated they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences. The only way to offer personalized service is by knowing your customers and having a relationship with them through valuable engagements. 

The best part about keeping up on customer connections is that you get to be creative and find out where your customers are and engage with them in a way that is meaningful and convenient for them. When business is slow, focus on building up relationships that count so things will pick up sooner and stronger than ever before.

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!