Have you ever heard the saying ‘The only person who you can control is yourself?’ You can’t control what others do, how they think or how they react to things. The only person that you can control is yourself. This is very important if you want to emotionally connect with your customers in a crisis.
As a business, you need to empathise with your customer so that you can better understand how you communicate with them. At the end of the day, businesses still need to offer services that help to solve the needs of the customer.
In March 2020 the world went into lockdown due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID 19). Businesses have needed to work remotely; people have been asked to self-isolate and there is a lot of uncertainty in the air now. This uncertainty has caused the world to almost come to a complete standstill.
As a business owner trying to find your way through these challenging times, it is important that you understand the 5 stages of grief, which your customer is currently experiencing. The 5 stages of grief were first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in 1969 and still apply today. Let’s explore each stage of grief and show you how they relate to a customer’s buying decision during uncertain times.
Firstly, there is the shock of something bad happening. This is the initial reaction which has taken them by surprise and has caused them to stop in their tracks. If we relate this to the current Coronavirus this would be the current shock of the outbreak of the virus. It is at this point that businesses need to be sympathetic to their customers and community and not try to sell or take advantage of them.
Stage 1: Denial
The first stage is denial. Here we experience a mixture of shock and denial. People refuse to admit the truth about what has happened. They do not believe it, or they don’t think that it will happen to them.
Relating that to the current situation, your customers could say that this virus is only in China and won’t spread to the UK or the USA, or if it did, it would be contained. They might see this situation as temporary or that this crisis won’t affect them, and they live in a false sense of reality.
Stage 2: Anger
Anger is a delayed reaction because it takes time for the person to believe that this is not a temporary situation but could be something much longer. This is usually backed up by evidence or some sort of action which is needed to be taken. This is where people start to blame others to try and make themselves feel better.
In relations to the current situation, more and more people are contracting the virus, businesses are having to work remotely, and people need to self-isolate. This causes anger because people are in lockdown, there is uncertainty about jobs and their safety.
As a business, you need to be understanding of your customers, anger and see where you can help them. This is a good opportunity to position your brand to try and help those who have been affected rather than trying to sell your product. This is not ‘business as usual’ and trying to sell your product will just put your customers off.
Stage 3: Bargaining or Rationalisation
After the anger stage, people start to reach out to others to start looking for a solution. At this stage, people are starting to deal with the situation but they don’t know the full effect. This is where the logical side of the brain kicks in as opposed to the emotional.
Relating it to the current situation, people look to speak to their landlords for rent or mortgage holidays. Here people are starting to reduce their current expenditure. People are in survival mode and applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs principles.
As a business owner, you need to be empathetic here and build loyalty with your customers. This is not a business problem but a human problem and by building up loyalty and goodwill it will put you in a great position when this is all over.
Stage 4: Depression and Despair
Sometimes the situation is larger than expected and they realise the full extent of the crisis. This causes people to go into a form of depression or despair. The reality of the situation has set in and people start to realise that they have only two choices. They can either give up or move forward.
Relating it to the Coronavirus, some of your customers might be made redundant, businesses might have to close permanently or need to pivot in a new direction. This will be devastating to people. This is the point when your customers are looking for solutions to their problems.
The current status quo has changed and there is an opportunity to engage with customers like never before. Those who have built up a good brand during the crisis will favour well. However, if you have not built up a good brand or loyalty along the way, you might be left behind and notice that your customers move to your competitors during this time.
Stage 5: Acceptance
In the final stage of grief, your customers have accepted the situation and have decided to move forward. They know that change is inevitable, and they need to formulate a plan to move forward. Life as they know it will never be the same again and they have accepted it. Now they start looking ahead to the future rather than blaming everyone and existing in denial. This is a more positive state of mind.
Relating this to the Coronavirus, people realise that they might need to start a side hustle if they lose their job or open their own business. Maybe businesses find a new gap in the market caused by the crisis. This is a time when customers are respective to new opportunities.
If you have positioned your business well throughout the crisis you will start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. By building a brand and positioning yourself as a problem solver and purpose-focused rather than product-focused, you will attract customers now and not need to spend a lot of money to acquire them.
Your customers are going through these stages of grief at the moment, just as your business. It is important to understand where they are and deal with them appropriately at each stage. Your customers may not go through each stage of the process and it could take days or months for them to reach the acceptance stage.
However, if you support them on their journey, they will return the favour once this ordeal is over. Your businesses will need to adjust quickly in order to connect with customers on an emotional level moving forward.
Now is not the time to be selling to your customers. You need to reassure them that everything is going to be ok and that you are the answer to their problems. Businesses can do this by solving your customer’s problems.
If you need help are support during this time please feel free to reach out to Got Legs Digital we are here to help you connect with your customer through marketing automation systems.
