In a recent blog post, Steven Van Belleghem tackles the effect of coronavirus pandemic on most industries worldwide and what companies must do to emerge victorious amidst the struggle for survival.
Here are some highlights:
Go for long-term relationships with customers: trust and reputation
In my opinion, the best strategy forward is to invest in your brand by building long-term relationships with customers. The fact is that many companies are currently experience a massive decline in revenue and this will be the case for the next few weeks or even months. So trying to push sales at a time like this is pretty useless and it may even come across as opportunistic. Playing the long-term game means investing in trust and in your reputation. Trust and reputation don’t come from traditional marketing messages; it is built by doing the right thing for both your customers and society. At this moment in time, people are worried about two things: their own situation and the state of the world. Figuring out a way to add value to both concerns will help you build a stronger relationship.
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In the next few months transactional convenience – an efficient mobile platform – will be the norm; emotional convenience – relieving worries and reviving dreams – will become a differentiator. Try to understand the worries of your customers and proactively solve them. Understand their current emotions and find a way to lower their worries.
Read more about it here.
Steven Van Belleghem is an expert in customer focus in a digital world. He is a popular speaker at home and abroad. In his keynote presentations, Steven takes his audience on a journey to the world of modern customer relationships in a clever, enthusiastic and inspiring way.
Steven is the author of three bestselling books. He became known for his first book, “The Conversation Manager”, which won the award for most innovative marketing book of 2010. Steven also wrote “The Conversation Company” and his most recent book, “When Digital Becomes Human”. When Digital Becomes Human received the award of ‘Best Marketing Book of 2015’. Over 100,000 copies of his books were sold. When Digital becomes Human is published in 7 languages.
Steven is also an entrepreneur. He is a partner in consultancy firm Nexxworks, a co-founder of Zembro (a wearable start-up) and the co-founder of content creation company Snackbytes. He spent the first 12 years of his career as a consultant and managing partner of the innovative market research company InSites Consulting. During that time, the company grew from 8 to 130 staff with offices in 5 countries. Steven is also a part-time marketing professor at Vlerick Business School.
Steven’s speaking topics are:
- When Digital Becomes Human: About the transformation of customer relationships
- Customers The Day After Tomorrow: Winning customers in a world of AI, bots and automation
Contact us if you would like Steven Van Belleghem to deliver a webinar for your business.