Like it or not, we're entering into a new era.
A new world. A new order of things.
The coronavirus crisis has changed pretty much everything in the short term.
But its effects will impact both the medium and long term.
It'll change the way we live.
With social distancing measures likely to be in place for a while, and plenty of time for people to acclimatise to doing more online, the way we buy stuff will change.
It's already happened once this century – the Internet changed the entire landscape of buying and selling. Many businesses that failed to adapt didn't survive.
We're in for another substantial shift, and you need to be ready.
Now is the time to understand what needs to happen for you to thrive in this new world.
Insight has surfaced in recent years, which suggests that up to 70% of a buying decision is made before a prospect makes contact with a business. Which means, your online presence is what dictates whether you win the work.
That number is going to go up, definitely in the medium-term, and almost certainly in the long-term.
To adapt, you need to develop a virtual sales experience fit for current times, and beyond.
How far along the sales process can your prospects get before they need to talk to you?
They can probably download a brochure, but can they take a virtual tour of the showroom?
They can make an in-person appointment, but are you flexible enough to deliver that appointment online?
How accurate can you make your online quoting? Can customers get an idea of what they'll be spending before coming to see you?
Just to be clear, you don't need to become an online store, but you do need to be flexible enough to digitise as many elements of your sales process as you can.
Virtual showroom tours are a great example of delivering this virtual sales experience, and you'd be surprised at how little they cost to produce.
People will always buy from people, that's not going to change.
But what they do before they buy has already changed and will continue to do so.
Darwin said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change".
The way you adapt now will dictate not just whether you survive, but whether you thrive.
And if you need some help to ensure it's the latter, join our next live Crisis Marketing for KBB Retailers interactive video call.
The next meeting – this Friday morning – is going to cover what you need to be doing to give your prospective clients the virtual sales experience they want. We'll give you actionable, tangible marketing ideas you can take away and implement in your business straight away.
We'll also discuss how the Government's latest guidelines on workplace practices during lockdown have been interpreted for KBB retailers.
You'll have an opportunity to get any questions answered, as well as hear from other independent KBB retailers in the same boat as you.
The excellent feedback we've received following previous calls, suggests attendees have found the content and discussion to be very useful.
To register for the call this Friday, 15th May, 11am-12pm, click HERE.
Finally, please feel free to forward this invitation to anyone you think would benefit from being on the call.