When running a business, it’s important to make your availability clear to your customers. This requires advertising and displaying your operating hours prominently. Advertising your operating hours also lets your customers know when they can expect a customer service representative to return their call and the best time to ask questions via email.
Effectively managing communications during such changes can be an overwhelming task. If your business is dealing with a change in operational hours, try these tips to effectively communicate and advertise your operating hours in an effective and hassle-free way.
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Craft a Unified Message Across Key Channels
Effective and consistent communication is needed to maintain customer trust. Consistent communication also boosts employee morale and provides market stability. For clear communication, messaging should also be done in a timely and relevant manner.
Before you make any announcements regarding a change in business hours, first meet with your staff and ensure everyone understands the message you’re sending to customers. Once your staff is on board, compose one set of copy for the following platforms:
- Email newsletters- Craft a clear and easy-to-read email to send to your entire email list, sending your new hours directly in their inbox.
- Website- Update your website’s home page so that your new business operating hours are visible. Make sure to update any SEO channels, such as Google Business, to avoid confusing your customers.
Utilize Business Hours Signs
Business hours signs are the primary form of communicating your hours. Business hours can be displayed using signs, stickers, cards, frames or decals in your storefront window or glass entrance door.
Business hour signs let your customers know about your timings, when your business is open and closed, and help them avoid wasting time by getting in touch with you when you aren’t available. Along with operating hours, these signs frequently include business logos, names, phone numbers, and website addresses.
Utilize Transactional Touchpoints
Regardless of the type of business you have, you will utilize a point of transaction, such as an invoice, a receipt, or an appointment reminder. Points of transaction are also moments to communicate. Likewise, a good strategy to inform customers of new operating hours is via these touchpoints.
For example, you can have your staff bring up store operating hours when you call customers to schedule visits. Reiterate your hours through email reminders or other channels you use to communicate with your customers.
Use Social Media Channels
While email is still considered the top communication tool for most businesses, social media is also an important channel for reaching out to customers and informing them about any changes your business is going through.The biggest benefit of leveraging social media is that the content can reach beyond your current customer base, as many platforms enable sharing.
This kind of functionality makes social media an excellent platform for communicating important information, such as your updated operating hours or whether you intend to close during specific times or holidays. You can create posts on your new operating hours for every platform your business uses to ensure you consistently push updates out.
Make Use of Messages
You can also make use of messaging apps and SMS lists to communicate new timing updates and provide another avenue for customer service. Along with SMS and Facebook Messenger, you can use Twitter and LinkedIn direct messages to communicate updates with your customers.
Utilize Your Blog
Another way to advertise your operating hours is to use your personal blog. Blogs give your customers a place to access new information. By sharing these blog posts across different social media platforms and through your email list, you provide a space for your customers to easily access new changes.
If you post regularly about various business updates on your blog, include the changes as a pre or postscript for your blogs. That way, you can share the same message multiple times without devoting extra time to messaging the change.
