The outbreak of Coronavirus certainly has got a lot of people thinking, if not concerned. However, resilience is created through necessity and is born through a desire to succeed.

Understandably a lot of small businesses are seriously concerned about the impact of the lack of customers, whether this is b2b or b2c based. With a substantial amount of transactions requiring either a proper face to face engagement or a customer journey which needs real personal engagement, alternative thinking is needed. If you ask any designer or creative where and how they get their ideas, usual influences of X Y or Z pop into the conversation. In other words, nothing is new but just evolved from existing sources.

A face to face engagement creates a meaningful value exchange through several routes, “being there” where both parties read the verbal communication, including tone and timbre of the voice, but also the non-verbal communication of body language. (For specialists which study this, it’s a wealth of signals.) The tone of communication also reflects the attitude which the individuals show towards each other, which allows for a hook for future connections. All this is seriously curtailed with limited face to face contact.

Any seasoned marketing professional will be the first to remind single-channel minded individuals the marketing tools used on the journey can drive the touchpoints to achieve results which meet the end goal. 

Using proven methods which evoke kinaesthetic engagement provides a powerful alternative to the lack of face to face engagement. The power of touch is next most engaging method after face to face communication. Using the senses of touch, coupled with the physical interaction of using hands to interact with an item creates a moment of connection to drive further actions.

The world of print has overcome many communication challenges. Conclusively print materials when used with effective messages, the right design structure of the printed piece, constantly achieve higher levels of engagement compared to just digital communication. 

The Coronavirus update from the Royal Mail (13/03/20) “From experience with other coronaviruses, we know that these types of viruses don’t survive long on objects, such as letters or parcels” https://www.royalmail.com/coronavirus 

So delivery of professional mail shot communications still has the opportunity of engaging your audience, whether at home or business place. So where you face to face opportunities might be diminished, carefully executed and delivered can provide a lot more leverage to assist your business message.

Remember when crafting your mailshot;

• The creativity of the communication gets you remembered
• Being engaging, physically with the item, along with a tone of voice
• Be timely, create wider opportunities to engage
• Create opportunities to engage face to face when safe to do so
• Use professional print providers as they can ensure compliance for Royal Mail standards, and help you achieve the “best bang for your buck” through clever print and business-grade postage options.