Agency Relationships in the time of COVID
June 24, 2021
In Your Face
One
would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t think that Covid has turned
the world on its head. And whatever your position on the “New Normal”
is, the reality is this:
You cannot continue doing things the way you used to!
It’s like Bob Dylan “prophetically” uttered in his 1963 song:
“The times they are a changin’ “
But what Dylan left out back then, and we find fitting to add now, is that:
“Your business will be a tankin’
If you don’t be a maintainin’
your customer’s with a relation”
Or something like that.
But before you criticise the lyrics Dylan left out, read on my dear friend, as we are about to “be a enlightenin’ ” you on the extreme importance of customer relations in the era of Covid.
The Great Hoover /
Electrolux
It
is said that nature abhors a vacuum. Well actually, it’s said that both nature
and feminists abhor vacuums, but that’s the intro to a different article.
Concerning nature abhorring a vacuum, the point is simply that any vacated space will not stay empty for long. This applies to your company’s visibility, and in particular concerning customer relations.
If you don’t find a way to remain foremost in your customers’ mind, your competition will step into that space. The explosion of online marketing testifies to this, and companies are having a hard time keeping up.
The ever-present elephant in the room remains the fact that the shelf-life of marketing materials is ever decreasing. Any new type of consumer or marketing behaviour becomes routine in just a few weeks. Short attention spans and desensitised consumers demand novelty at an ever-increasing pace.
Not actively pursuing digital interaction with your clients will be akin to having closed your company’s doors. And the sad truth is that even before your absence is noticed, you will already have been forgotten!
Digital, Digital
& Digital
A
few weeks after the pandemic hit, I saw a joke that asked:
What has been the greatest driver of digitisation in your company:
A) Chief Information Officer
B) Deloitte Report on Global Trends
C) Covid-19
The joke reflects the poignancy of the current business environment, albeit with wit and humour. But, companies have found that what initially seemed like a death sentence, is nothing more than a changed landscape bringing with it a myriad of new opportunities.
In July 2019 Microsoft teams had 13 million active daily users. That has increased to 145 million in April 2021.
Zoom was downloaded 2.1 million times in January 2020, and 27 million times in March 2020.
And you can be sure, that this is not just for companies to chat internally. Cyberspace has conquered both the conference room and the business lunch. Relationships once initiated or fostered in person, are now pursued digitally.
Digital Fresh Food Market
And no, this is not the digital equivalent of the fresh seafood market where Covid made its epic jump between species. This is the Cyberspace equivalent of social media and other digital platforms being used to catch the attention of passers-by, both new and old friends.
Think of your customers as wanderers in that market. If you don’t hold their attention, they will wander off and sample the competition’s wares.
Customer interaction has never been more important. As a digital agency, you cannot advise your customer on a course of action that you seem uncompelled to take.
Your clients will want to see you demonstrate your most outrageous wile (cunning) in the new landscape of digital interaction. This will have to include not only a few shots fired on Social Media and WWW, but a full broadside salvo of Zoom Conferences, YouTube Panel Discussions, One-on-One Consults and constant expansion of how you support your customers.
Sources:
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1033742/worldwide-microsoft-teams-daily-and-monthly-users/
- https://www.statista.com/chart/21268/global-downloads-of-video-chat-apps-amid-covid-19-pandemic/