The key messaging during COVID Pandemic and Post Pandemic is ‘we are in this together’. For once in our lifetime the stakes for buyers and sellers are the same. Sellers need to start from getting their house in order, prepare it for the new norm, then inform customers about the actions taken so their safety is addressed, along with the safety of staff serving them.
One mishap can be extremely costly, closing the entire premises, cleaning and disinfecting cost and then convincing the customers to come back again. A particular store which has a staff Covid case is immediately reported in the media (is mandatory to do so) and everybody stays away from it, so recovery to ‘new’ normal levels can be extremely painstaking.
What aspects we need to integrate in our new ‘normal’ SOPs
Ensuring A Safe Environment
We are all on a heightened level of awareness of our own personal health and safety. Death and dying have been beamed into our homes on a daily basis so that we have all developed a fear of the virus and an increased awareness of our own mortality. Creating this environment physically, training the staff, making these changes visible, informing all inhouse stakeholders, ensuring these are followed and fall back SOPs in case of emergencies.
Advertising Safety
Consumer’s mind filters are actively looking for ‘Safety’ and Safe-keeping. No one is looking at sales or discounts, they are looking for how sellers are helping in keeping their customers and staff safe. So campaigns should be around ‘safety bubbles’ created and effort put in by sellers. Master copy of any campaign should be this and nothing else. If the premises or product is safe and secure, it is a step in the right direction.
Promote Local
Due to restrictions and in some cases inhibitions on travelling, shopping in local stores have increased. Consumers tend to go to the closest store in their locality and a further one. So advertising within the locality will always convert in sales or walkin.
Avoid Negative News (Internal & External)
Consumption of news has never been higher. It’s better to have no press than having a negative one. PR agencies should be working overtime to look at generating positive news than advertising. Any actions, donations or contribution to this cause would generate much more mileage than any advertising campaign. Here, each and every employee should be completely onboard with strategy, as the biggest source of negative publicity are internal sources.
We are in this together and come out much stronger than ever. Storecheck is here to do its bit in all this, helping clients to manage and navigate during these difficult times.
