Sales in times of pandemic: how to weather the storm
Pandemic, lockdown, tough economic situation. All of these have had a huge impact on everybody's lives. The sales market has faced some difficulties and challenges, too. Both B2C and B2B sales were forced to switch mostly to digital. So how to operate in such a different situation.
Here you will find some information about how pandemic has impacted sales and tips on dealing with this unusual situation to keep your business running.
If you are interested in this topic, we are ready to begin!
How huge the impact is?
Since the beginning of the pandemic and lockdown, website traffic is continually growing. It may be called one of the effects of COVID-19.
As the world became aware of increasing danger and restrictions were established, most of the brick-and-mortar stores were forced to suspend their operations. It has left its mark not only on final consumers but also on business consumers. The flow of goods was tough not only between countries but also within the country. Many customers had to wait longer for their goods; many business meetings did not occur or were transferred to the Internet. Here you can check how the situation has changed across different industries.
The sales industry still has not returned to normality. Many smaller stores, unfortunately, could not withstand the pressure of the restrictions and closed their activities. Many chain stores and B2B providers for whom digital was the only option are still active in this field.
Sales of many products, including curved computer monitors, is on the rise.
Below we present some tips on taking full advantage of the power of the Internet in the sales industry and avoiding the economic consequences of the pandemic.
How to weather the storm: tips for sales industry
Focus on communication
The pattern of remote work has changed a lot since the appearance of the coronavirus. Quite a lot of companies chose this option as the main one. Regardless of whether your team consists of 5 people or 150, communication is crucial. In order not to get lost in meetings, you should use our tool - Harmonizely. Thanks to it, you can easily plan each appointment, no matter if it is an individual one or with the entire team. You and each participant will receive e-mail notifications about each one. What is also great facilitation - a bunch of integrations. Not only with many calendars like Google Calendar or iCloud but also with external tools software like Zapier or MailChimp. Thankfully it also works on different devices. No matter which one is your preferred one - you can set up a meeting straight from the phone, laptop, or tablet. As you wish!
Provide value
No matter if you are running a business meeting or weekly team status, you need to provide value so that each participant does not avoid the feeling of wasted time. Unfortunately, if your team works remotely, you can not call any of them to your office to talk about what you just remember. So now more than ever it is important to focus on what you want to deliver to your team. Make a list of urgent issues, discuss them with the entire team, and discuss topics that apply to individual team members and discuss them individually. There is no need for the rest of the team to waste time listening to something that doesn't concern them.
Business meetings - same rules. Now, when you can't meet with customers and show the live products or meet in person and agree on the deal's terms, you should make your business proposals more persuasive than before, and also focus on email warming before you start your online sales efforts. During online meetings, people are often more confident, so it is relatively harder to convince them. What is also important - explain how your business works under new restrictions so customers will be sure that they will receive their product on time. You must also reassure your customers that the company complies with all sanitary requirements and that your employees, especially those who have contact with products, are healthy.
The new reality requires new assurances from providers to keep clients pleased and feeling safe.
Take care of customer service
Before the global pandemic, 96% of customers claimed that the quality of customer services is a key factor in brand loyalty. So if you provided excellent customer service, now you have loyal customers. And you can't let them down even if the times are tough. Nowadays, customer service is more important than ever. Most customer issues should be handled online or via a call center.
Customer service is most likely going through a siege. If your stores are closed or open in limited numbers, this is still very likely. Even if customers have the opportunity to go to a stationary store, most likely they will not do it because nowadays everyone wants to avoid contact with groups of people as much as possible. If it is a chance to settle a given matter by phone or online, customers will choose these options. Numbers are speaking for themselves - for 80% of consumers, it is likely or very likely to be in touch with stores stuff in digital during the next half of the year. That's why your agents should be on standby, also via business softphones. First, to accept more submissions. Secondly, as already mentioned, to deal with the reports that have happened in the store so far.
Keep an eye on government regulations
The global situation is very dynamic. Every week there are new regulations regarding the flow of goods and people between countries. Also, domestic restrictions are quite fluid. If your business operates globally or in several national markets, you need to keep your finger on the pulse. Fines for non-compliance with COVID regulations are very high.
Another issue is slowing down in logistics. The flow of goods between certain countries may be difficult, and you should be prepared for it. And it's best to have a backup. You should create a plan that takes into account communication difficulties between the countries you operate in. It's also a good idea to inform customers about it so that they feel confident and know that they will get their items at the cost of (eventual) slight delays.
Final thoughts
Without a doubt, pandemic and lockdown have had a huge impact on every aspect of our lives. On sales, too. There is no 100% sure forecast for the future, but we can learn from our mistakes now and make things a little easier.
Hopefully, our tips would be helpful for you. It would be best if you stayed positive and client focus. Remember that it is essential to ensure that everything goes according to a plan now more than ever. We keep our fingers crossed for your business! We can only have hopes that our lives will be back on track soon, and each aspect will go back to the pre-pandemic states. Stay positive and safe!