Typically, many service marketers focus on the in-person customer experience. But due to COVID-19, in-person may not be possible. This has spurred several innovative practices. So, we now look at how some service firms are adapting virtually.
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Great Examples: How Some Service Firms Are Adapting Virtually
HubSpot provides us with several examples of great service marketing adjustments. Click the image to read about nine such examples. Then, read below to learn about two of those examples.
As Pamela Bump reports for HubSpot:
“We’ve seen beauty experts, career coaches, tax representatives, and even educators schedule online classes or consultations so clients learn from them without stepping foot in the same room. Now virtual services open a pool of clients up nationally or internationally. And brands that are more accessible to clients might even be perceived as truly caring about customer experience. It’s still not possible to bring all businesses and services online. Yet, recently, a number of unexpected companies have gotten creative to virtualize services that originally needed to take place in a physical location.”
Planet Fitness
“Recently, after temporarily closing all branches and pausing gym membership fees, Planet Fitness began offering free virtual “work-in” classes and online training. Although it’s not making any money off these classes, they serve as a strong retention strategy. By encouraging those who aren’t regularly going to the gym to use Planet Fitness’ expert coaches. Here’s a video of one of the “work-ins,” first featured on Facebook Live.”
Allstate
“Since 2016, Allstate has virtually inspected insured property via drone streams. This strategy, considered incredibly innovative at the time, has been honored with an award from the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council. When a customer applies or files a claim online for homeowners, renters, or business property insurance, Allstate can deploy drones. They review the insured site or confirm visible damage. While a rep might still need to visit and inspect certain sites or claims, drone photos or videos can expedite the process of getting insured customers money in a faster amount of time. This could also be safer for reps and insured people when the property is too dangerous to set foot on after a fire, flood, or other types of damage occur.”