When I walked my daughter to her kindergarten class as she
attended school for the first time she held my hand tight. Although she was very excited and outwardly
expressed that she was ready to gain her independence, I could feel the clammy
coldness moister on her palms as she masked the fear of the unknown.
It was the same fear my son had the first time I took him
Trick-or-Treating on a dark Halloween night.
As we walked around the block in his favorite superhero costume, we
came upon a house that was extremely decorated embracing the full spirit of the
night. It had realistic graveyards,
strobe lights, bloodcurdling sounds and the most horrifying creatures standing
guard of the loot ready to be handed out to brave little soles. My son looked up at me and said, “Daddy, I
don’t want to go to that house!” Of
course, that house was ours. He had
never seen the front of it in the dark on Halloween night. He was afraid of the unknown.
We all have experienced the fear of the unknown. Usually, our fears derived from the first
time we experienced something. Whether
it was school, riding a bike, swimming, college, job, date or even our first
kiss; the fear of the unknown increased our heartbeat, produced beaded droplets
on our upper lip and sometimes buckled our knees. A choice was presented as we could go forward
and gain experience or avoid the discomfort and pause the anxiety for the time
being. Of course, if you think back to all of the first, without facing our
fears, we would not have gained the rewards that awaited on the other side of
the proverbial door of the unknown.
Today, your potential customers are facing the same types of
fears. Some are still worried about a
seasonal virus. Others are scared that
people who look or think different actually hate each other. Much of these fears exist because of the
media and politicians using fear to sensationalize stories, but perception
becomes reality and the fear exist thus altering their buying habits. Businesses are facing fear as well. Finances are being scrutinized as the
unemployment rate has risen to unprecedented numbers. Global trade wars and oil production
perpetuate the fear while analysts try to prognosticate the unknown.
Knowing and understanding that fear is an emotion that is
induced by a perception of what could or might happen can help business owners
help ease their potential customers concerns.
There are a few things a business can do to create an inviting
environment to gain a larger market share.
Great Product or
Service. This is quite obvious to
many, but we have to mention it. If your
product or service lacks in areas, your competition will fill the void and take
away your potential customers. Customer
service should be its own mentioned item; however, we will state that people
want to feel appreciated for spending their discretionary income with you. Therefore, let your customers know that you
value them.
Safety. Whether you agree with the reports or not,
the majority of the public is more knowledgeable about the spread of a virus
even if it is much like the common flu.
Therefore, look into investing into PPE products to give an impression
that you care about the safety of your employees as well as your potential
customers. Something as simple as making
hand sanitizer available can go a long way.
Communication. Today, people have a plethora of information
at their fingertips. They are spending
more time looking at social media than ever before. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have
billions of users who are averaging as much as 8 hours a day on these media
platforms. It only makes sense that if
your potential customers are spending half of their waking hours scrolling
through content; you should focus your marketing and advertising resources
communicating with them. With the
advancement of technology, you have the ability to provide a consistent message
easing your customers concerns allowing them to research making the decision to
conduct business with your company. You
should have a strategy that is easy to implement as well as consistent earning
your potential customers trust thus limiting the fear of the unknown.
Business is no different than life and with social media
your entire operation is online for the world to see. As business around the United States are
dealing with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak and stories of racial
inequality; now is the time to get back to the basics. Many of the lessons our kids, you and me have
learned through the years are applicable today.
DeliveryMaxx is a small business that takes pride in
helping other small businesses succeed in an increasingly digital world. That was our mission prior to the outbreak
and news stories of racial inequality and continues to be our goal today. If you need help navigating a transition to
becoming more active on social media, building an e-commerce website, or
post-sale communication with your clients we are here to help. Our clients experience positive Online Reputation, stronger SEO, concise
content management, increase in
social media engagement and advertisement and higher customer retention. See
how we have helped clients in multiple industries across the country such as
Automotive Dealerships, Real-Estate Brokers & Agents, Churches, Service
Industry, Sports Teams, Non-Profit Organizations and more as we utilize our
Patent-Pending Program to develop a digital strategy that will meet the needs
of sales, service and messaging to your audience. www.deliverymaxx.com or give us a call at 888-936-6299 today
or watch the DeliveryMaxx Introduction
Video!