As I am sitting writing this month’s Marketing Movements article the world is in the middle of an unprecedented global health crisis. The Covid-19 virus ravaged Wuhan at the turn of the new year and has now spread to almost all corners of the Earth. With this virus has come social controls, to almost all societies, which have not been seen since wartime. With so much uncertainty and fear in the moving industry and greater society it is still important to keep business moving where possible to maintain a level of normality and stability in each of our minds.
We have to be honest, HHG volumes have decreased in this crisis. What movers cannot afford to do is to just sit back and wait for the covid-19 storm to pass. During this time many are forced to work from home and office blocks across all the cities are quiet with most governments issuing work from home notices and in some locations, complete lockdowns. However, this does not mean business needs to come to a standstill. It is a good time to hustle business and let potential customers know that you are open for business!
This is when marketing your services is of upmost importance. We need to think positively! People are still going to relocate as are offices and businesses. There is just an air of uncertainty and delay in these planned relocations they will happen so keep your name out there and let everyone know you are ready to help. In this month’s Marketing Movements, we are going to look at ways you can shout out that you are not ‘infected’ by this crisis and ‘immune’ to its business effects!
It is all about how customers perceive the brand during this time of crisis.
The first important marketing strategy on your list should be keeping your customers informed. If a family was planning an international move but then this virus outbreak stalled their plans it is important that that customer is kept informed with all announcements and notices which could effect their move or in which could give them a clear time line of when things might be returning back to normality. At Global Exclusive Movers’ Network (GEM) we work hard to follow any announcement that our members make, and it is wonderful to see so many of our members are doing this now. Since the virus has spread outside of Wuhan, across China and overseas we have seen several of our members posting up-to-date information on their social media accounts.
Another must for a moving company at this time is informing your customers about the actions you are taking to tackle the problems faced. Many customers who are moving during this crisis are going to be concerned about any packing or moving crews that might be coming into their house and the increased risk of infection from these crews. By making a marketing campaign which lets your customers know about the actions you are taking to tackle the challenges that covid-19 has produced makes you look professional and responsible!
Action Pledge
*Our office staff are all working from home.
*We are enforcing a strict 14 day self-isolation policy for any staff member who is showing symptoms.
*Hand sanitizers, gloves and masks provided for each packing crew.
*Trucks washed and disinfected after each job.
*No handshake policy.
Another important thing to do is to re-engage with previous customers. This shows you care and cements your services into their minds and gives you a chance to get some customer feedback from the move you carried out for them if you haven’t already done so. All it takes is a personalized message asking how they are getting on during this crisis and a few questions regarding the move that you carried out for them. With so many people across the world now in lockdown or working from home a nice personalized message from your team would mean a lot and would certainly help you in what could be a quiet time by working on any feedback received to better your services.
Whatever you do during this time of global crisis make sure you take some time to sharpen your marketing strategy!
Written by Matthew O’Hagan
