As we all do our part to stay indoors to help stop the spread of COVID-19, it's almost impossible to ignore the impact this temporary shift has had on small and large businesses across the world.

As a result, many businesses have been quickly turning to online avenues in order to communicate with their customers and generate continued revenue. While the latter is very important, the first step for many businesses is to build messaging for your customers during this difficult time.

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1. Answer Common Concerns

Each customer may have different concerns, but their own safety is most likely at the top of the list. So, depending on the type of business you operate, it's important to proactively inform your customers that you're taking all the necessary precautions to keep them, and your employees, safe. Don't wait for them to ask you.

As we discuss in number 2, these concerns can be addressed as a part of your general business's COVID-19 update.

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2. Announce Changes to Store Policies

While you're updating your customers, it's important to also remember announce any temporary changes that you may have to make to your business, such as longer fulfillment time, different store hours, or the like. As you begin to get a foothold for your business during all of this, don't forget to announce things such as:

• New Store Hours or Temporary Closures
• Moving from Cash to Card (Or Digital Payments)
• Opening an Online Store
• Offering Curbside Pickup or Delivery

How do you notify them?

We recommend adding a COVID-19 Notice to your website. This can be in the form of a pop-up, or a call-to-action on your homepage. No matter how you choose to do it, make sure it is visible and that you make very clear the precautions your business is taking to help keep your customers safe during this pandemic.

Here are a few tools we suggest:

• Popup Message
• Notification Bar
• Email Marketing Campaign
• Social Media Update

Remember. Be honest about your situation. Transparency is invaluable to customers in times like these.

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3. Support Plans for Customers

It might be a good idea to start thinking how you can adapt to the changing consumer behaviors and adjust your business model to their new spending habits. As with any habit, the way consumers are forced to act during COVID-19 will most likely remain long after the pandemic has passed, so it's important to start making shifts right now that are sustainable and scalable for your business.

Here's a few ideas for support announcements that will encourage new customers, but also help to retain your existing clientele:

• Pauses or Refunds for subscriptions or memberships that have been interrupted
• Special discounts, gifts with purchases, or free shipping

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4. Look for New Ways to Engage

With most everyone staying at home these days, customers expect that many local businesses with temporarily be closed. If you are still open, you need to act now to show them you're still open for business — even if your physical location has ceased normal operations.

Your customers will be using social media more than ever to stay connected with friends, family, and brands. Make sure that you are visible to them! If you haven't already done so, we highly recommend the following to start building up your online presence where your customers will be hanging out:

• Set up a Facebook page, Instagram, Twittter, LinkedIn, and any other relevant social media platform that is relevant to your business
• Post freqently! Showcase your services, share updates, and talk about changes to your business operations during COVID-19
• Think about adding e-commerce capabilities (if applicable to your business) as face-to-face business is temporarily on hold
• Add a live chat plugin to your website to quickly respond to customer requests

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5. Remember, We Can Help

At Instabuild, during this pandemic, supporting our customers is our number one priority. It may be overwhelming to think about all the adjustments you need to make to your business to build your online presence and keep your business strong, but we are here to help! All of the items discussed in this article are solutions Instabuild can help you with. From adding a COVID-19 Popup to creating a Facebook Business Page to setting up an email campaign, our team is ready to help and support all of our customers the best way we can.

Just give us a call at (208) 297-3806 or email support@instabuildsites.com today.