The COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe is already changing the way we do business. For the past month or so, many workers have skipped traveling to the office or worksite. Instead, they are conducting meetings and connecting with each other via online meeting platforms like Zoom and UberConference. Technology is great when it works, but it doesn’t always come easy. I think most of us have experienced some tech failures, false starts, and awkward moments while navigating a virtual workplace.
A stunning amount of work can be accomplished online. But not all work. Grocery store employees cannot stock shelves from home. Mail services cannot deliver packages and letters 100 percent autonomously. And technicians cannot maintain and repair vehicles from behind a desk. In many aspects of life right now, you’ll see a mix of the old with the new. If they can, workers are carrying on with ‘business as usual’ while also trying new things where it makes sense.
Mobile tool distributors, too, think outside the box (or tool truck). Many sellers have built communities on social media and shared regular promotional and sales videos with customers, long before stay at home orders and face masks were commonplace. The digital connection has always been about reaching customers wherever they are.
We are navigating a very challenging economy right now, but the sentiment is the same.
There is more than one way to get in front of customers. Alan Sipe highlights one approach – video tool demos – in this month’s Go Sell Something column on perfecting the art of the demonstration (p. 26). Sipe encourages readers to try shooting a demo video using their phone camera. It doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to show a product long enough to offer a little understanding and spark interest.
Not only does a short video keep product in front of the technician, it keeps you in front of the technician. A video will remind them of why they love doing business with you. Maybe it’s your warranty policy, or your replacement/repair policy. Maybe you are someone who goes the extra mile to locate a product or find an answer.
Give it a try. You might find you’re able to convey that product’s unique features, advantages, and benefits through a quick video just as well as you could on the shop floor … and reach more people!
Of course, no amount of social media or video work replaces shop visits, which you may still be doing, and that face time is precious.
Tell us: Have your face-to-face interactions changed much? What has COVID-19 meant for your business?
