Given the situation we find ourselves in, the only way to stay connected with your customers and prospects is online.

This could lead to new opportunities. Therefore, the key is to build strong relationships through communication to win or keep customers.

Among some of the practices to do so is email marketing.

For it to be effective, time must be spent creating a content plan. Because it is important to communicate regularly, but it is just as important that the communication makes sense and is in tune with the context.

It is necessary to take into account the interests of the main audience and to know if they are overwhelmed at the moment or not. If so, it is better to wait for some time to communicate, because they receive too many stimuli per day.

What to communicate?

• Put the customer at center stage:
  Is their regular service going to experience delays? Is there a way to help them? The customer needs to be informed and needs to know if you can help them.
• Relevant content:
  - Your brand's relationship with the current crisis, how it is handled.
  - Empathetic discount offers.
  - Relevant tutorials and tips.
  - Automated emails to generate leads.

How to communicate?

• With empathy.
  Segment your customers and prospects to achieve a personalized communication considering where your audience comes from, their interests and what they want to receive.
• Helping.
  Internally, know how your business can help with the situation and communicate it.
• Following up.
  Always follow up on emails sent with planned and consistent mailings, to continue communicating with interested people. This way, the effort pays off.
• Waiting for feedback.
  Feedback from your customers regarding your services or products is important and necessary. The best time to solicit feedback is usually after customers have used your product or service at least once.

In addition, the best marketing solution for small businesses is to have a platform that is easy to use, flexible and allows you to create time-saving workflows. Automated, action-driven emails are a great way to always communicate and follow up.

All this can be done intuitively and easily with Zoho Campaigns. That is why we use and recommend the tool.