How Businesses Can Adjust to Changing Times

• Read original article here

No one was ready for this year. But just like that, it happened – and today we all find ourselves in a different world.

Consumer habits are adapting. More than 100,000 small businesses have closed in the U.S. since March 2020. 9 in 10 consumers admitted to changing their shopping habits after COVID-19.

Outsourcing went from being a helpful backup to the only viable option.

And one business has been paying close attention.

Enter Fiverr – an established freelancer marketplace that quickly scaled the charts as the (business) life-saving superhero of 2020.

Here are just a few of the ways it’s become invaluable.

In times of instability, it’s easy to lose sight of the foundation.

That’s how stress impacts our brains. It’s Maslow’s hierarchy. Our minds are kidnapped by our emotional limbic systems, causing us, as humans, to make sure our basic needs are met (like hoarding toilet paper) – and making rational thought almost impossible.

This is where business leaders find themselves, slowly slipping down Maslow’s hierarchy during these moments of crisis.

That’s why business owners immediately look at revenue as a source of success.

But, the truth is, they’re looking in the wrong place. Revenue is a result of usage – and the best way to increase it is to first increase the amount of customers a company retains long-term.

But the good news is, it costs more to acquire a new buyer than to hold onto an existing one.

Thanks to the social, medical, and economic storm that has been the year 2020, businesses need to be ready to pivot quickly to enhance retention. It’s the only way to secure short-term survival and enhance long-term resilience at the same time.

That’s where Fiverr can help.

Reinvention is not met with resistance. Whether you’re between budget cuts and employee furloughs, or just coming to terms with how permanent this quickly changing market might be, it can be challenging to keep the machine running. But for almost any modern-day problem, Fiverr has a solution.

With Fiverr, you can connect with specialized talent anytime, anywhere. No matter which kind of task you need, what size your budget is, or when that deadline will hit – you can get the project done.

The services available vary from the basic tiers of any business to just about everything else: graphics, writing, digital marketing services, programming, and the list goes on. It’s designed with your timeline, your budget, and your level of commitment in mind.

Retention is your business’s version of basic needs (i.e., your toilet paper). And, to retain customers, you must innovate for the future.

To maintain retention, you also want to build trust and show empathy to adapt to changing consumer behaviors.

Look at the backlash Ticketmaster received after they stated they would not refund tickets or events canceled due to COVID-19. After a reporter aimed at them in the New York Times and inquiries from Congress, Ticketmaster was more flexible.

In these strange times of chaos and disruption, you have to focus on what matters most, retention.

Empathy is another key vital force in transitioning to the new world; it shows a human sensitivity to circumstances. Banks, for example, have waived overdraft fees.

Adding empathy in your messaging and tone can align your business with shopper sentiment. It shows that you’re thinking about the greater good of your community. But these days, it’s easy to misinterpret tone without face-to-face communication.

While consumers want to know you genuinely care about them, you don’t want to come across tone-deaf or overly concerned.

Take Guinness, for instance. They shifted their message from celebrations at the pub on St. Patrick’s Day to wellness and longevity.

One way to do this is to adopt the approach of “we” first with a customer-centric approach. Research has shown that using “we” increases participants’ perceived closeness when compared to “you” or “I.”

Here is an example from Levi’s:

You can see Levi’s starts their statement with “we.”

That’s why today more than ever, you want a copywriter that can create empathetic connections between your business and your consumer.

And Fiverr was built to make sure you can get one.

This is where your expectations can not only be agreed upon ahead of time, but you also get to verify that the work meets them before any payment is made.

Once you’ve got what you want, Fiverr’s talented copywriters can help you cultivate the tone of voice you’re looking for, establish your brand, and then build guidelines to keep it maintained.

On top of that, Fiverr is the perfect place to go for adjusting your tone, converting your content to other languages, or even creating designs that will support it – thanks to its talents from all over the world.

When searching for a copywriter, they should have the ability to empathize with your consumer. It shouldn’t feel forced. The right message and tone can help your consumers feel seen and heard.