Communicating In The Era of Working From Home

As if out of a futuristic novel, the Coronavirus pandemic transformed much of our real life into a digital life. I cannot help but think of those action movies in which powerful world leaders would meet through screens in some sort of web conference as I meet with my team to discuss the basic daily agenda. Much of these interactions are here to stay, and many small business owners have not identified what this means to their practice.

In this new era of working from home, when it comes to communication between your business and your clients, it is important you consider the following:

Identify the Channels

For obvious reasons, the amount of foot traffic has dramatically decreased. Thanks to working from home policies, populations in densely populated areas has also fallen. During the pandemic, New York’s Upper East Side had a population drop of 42%. If you couple this with the aperture of what is possible through digital mediums, the picture is clear: you need to focus on your digital exposure more so than your physical exposure. Several small business owners would rely on sales trips, guest speaking at associations, and functions. We recommend switching to newsletters, blogs, and social media to reach the same individuals, and more, than you did before.

Be Transparent

Small businesses often make the mistake of over promising and under delivering. This is the recipe for a bad customer interaction. By knowing how to communicate the state of affairs within your business in a transparent fashion, you are strengthening your customer service and fostering repeat customers. Transparency in business goes in hand with providing timelines. When quoting a new service or in the process of a sales call, be sure to provide a realistic timeline of when you expect the project to be fulfilled. Your clients are more likely to respect a lengthy timeline if you set the right expectation from the beginning.

Be Available

One of the results from this digital shift is that clients are less tolerant about waiting. Think about it, you do not mind showing up to a store and ringing the bell at the front counter and waiting a couple of minutes as someone shuffles the way from the back warehouse. Would you wait a couple of minutes to get a phone call or web chat answered? We have been conditioned to think that digital is lightning fast. Luckily, there are tools and services that help businesses meet these crazy new standards. The use of an answering service, for example, can ensure that your clients and potential clients speak to a live professional regardless of when they call. Answering services have a team of live professionals available 24/7 to handle incoming calls for your business.

If are committed to improving your communication with your clients during the era of working from home, a virtual receptionist service like Easybee, can go a long way. Easybee’s bilingual virtual receptionist will manage all the important calls and offer clients with best-quality service they need whether they speak English or Spanish. Want to know more about how to develop your brand with Easybee?