In recent weeks, more premises across the UK have been able to reopen as lockdown restrictions continue to ease. High streets have seen greater footfall, some venues have seen their first customers in months, and gradually, more offices are welcoming back increased numbers of staff and visitors.
With rules on social contact continuing to apply, we have heard from a number of businesses delighted to be opening back up, but still working through a range of challenges surrounding how to reengage and reassure those visiting or working at their premises.
As always, we’ve got plenty of ideas up our sleeve. Here’s some key starting points:
Remind and reassure with direct mail
Send a piece of Direct Mail to customers and contacts informing them you are still open for business and your doors are open to visitors. A counterpoint to the many digital channels which compete for our everyday attention, direct mail provides a personal, tactile, way to remind your customers you are still here for them.
A bold design and a strong, simple message will help to ensure your communication gets noticed. You could also use this opportunity to outline the additional safety measures you have put in place to reassure visitors.
If you’re working to a smaller budget, a simple ‘welcome back’ postcard will also have impact. If you’re in retail, this postcard could contain an offer when the card is presented in store, or it could contain a discount code for use with an online booking or B2B sales.
We have more tips of how to test the impact of direct mail here.
Be cautious with your copy
When communicating with customers, be careful of inadvertently coming across as insensitive, even at this stage in the pandemic. One small mistake on social media or in an email campaign could have consequences. The situation still continues to evolve, so keeping your messaging as versatile as possible will also save you having to constantly update your copy or mistakenly provide out-of-date information.
Using humour or being overly casual can be off-putting too – so be careful about how this is applied. We feel it is safer to come across more serious. That does not mean being sombre though – you can still be positive and keep the tone uplifting.
As people gradually venture out and enjoy life with less restrictions, now is not the time to come across too pushy either, so be careful of your CTAs. “Book now” or “Visit us today” for example, might not resonate with more cautious consumers.
Show you take safety seriously
Not surprisingly, consumer research by McKinsey revealed that personal health remains a top-of-mind concern for people right now, therefore any additional measures you are taking to keep visitors and staff safe on your premises, are also likely to benefit them in other locations as well. Therefore, how about providing items such as hand sanitiser, facemasks, antibacterial pens or notepads which they can keep, take away and use again? All these items can be branded, or even personalised, and will help to provide a long-lasting memorable experience of visiting your premises and your brand. Small touches matter!
Three big campaigns we loved
They may be firmly established brands, and they their budgets far bigger, however the sentiment these campaigns are built upon, is certainly something you can tap into.
- Welcome Back, Starbucks – After the first lockdown, Starbucks clearly and successfully showed how you can conveniently and trustfully shop with them going forward.
- Ready for sport, Adidas – This ad underpins the points we made about how you can be serious but still maintain a positive and uplifting tone (and certainly don’t need to be pushy!).
- Reassuringly Expensive, Stella Artois – This long running campaign isn’t new, but is nostalgic, and the tagline has been brought back to promote a brilliant initiative celebrating the reopening of pubs in England. The ‘Stella Tips’ campaign rallied support for hospitality staff hit hard by lockdown restrictions by giving a £1 tip for every pint of Stella sold for a month from 12 April.
Let us help
Whether you are looking to spread the word, reengage or reassure, our direct mail and promotional product services will help you to make a brilliant reintroduction. Why not give us a call to find out more and talk through your plans?
