How The Pandemic Is Changing Business Comms
It makes no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic is transforming behaviours inside the workplace. With health fears on their minds, employees and customers demand stability and reassurance. For companies of all sizes, surviving means developing new strategies to address the post-pandemic needs.
Naturally, business processes have had to change as companies develop strategies to survive in a post-COVID environment. On the one hand, safety-proofing the workplace encourages the move towards a digital office with remote teams. As the country begins a new lockdown period, home-based offices and work practices play a prominent role in the survival of the UK economy.
Yet, new processes are not enough to tackle the full range of behavioural changes caused by the pandemic. Businesses also need to connect with their post-COVID audience. Communication requirements have evolved dramatically. In an era where video calls and digital chats have become an everyday routine, it’s time to account for digital fatigue in business comms.
Maximise video visibility
The pandemic has driven companies to relocate the quasi-totality of their activities online. For your audience, it’s a world that is crowded with notifications, messages, and growing websites. When the digital sphere becomes the online platform of communication, companies can’t afford to take chances. The days where a simple tweet or an Instagram post were all it took to get noticed are long gone. More and more companies are now competing for attention online. As such, it’s important to consider channels that can grab interest in a matter of seconds. Video production company, Bear Jam, reckons that their clients can benefit from safe video shooting during lockdown. Indeed, video content offers a more digestible and consumable form of communication.
K.I.S.S. my content
If you are not familiar with the content marketing principle KISS, it stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. Typically, content writers refer to KISS methodology to create clear and actionable digital content. It isn’t a new strategy, but it has become indispensable at an age of digital fatigue. The home-based audience handles digital information all the time. Therefore, they tend to scan text briefly before deciding whether it’s worth their time. KISSing your content keeps it relevant when time’s and attention span are limited.
Better customer support
Remote working hours introduce more flexibility, which means that customers are likely to receive support during longer hours. With flexibility comes also the introduction of pandemic-relevant customer solutions, such as longer return periods and streamlined contacts. Improving communication between customers and businesses is at the core of a post-pandemic strategy. For the first time, businesses are going beyond and above to remove communication obstacles in terms of opening hours, communication channels, and FAQ content. StartingPoint, a customer experience specialist, has recorded a surge in interest in self-support resources, support user platforms, and even the creation of knowledge bases.
The pandemic marks the beginning of a new era for business communications. Indeed, digital interactions need to take home office fatigue into account. In a world where online data are the only work and socialisation channel, it’s essential to dial down the pressure you put on your audience. Make your message effortlessly visible, consumable, and accessible at all times.
