{"id":18360,"date":"2022-02-28T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comparehero.my\/blog\/uncategorized\/how-to-get-back-customers-during-covid-19-pandemic-and-mco.html"},"modified":"2026-03-27T08:37:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T00:37:45","slug":"how-to-get-back-customers-during-covid-19-pandemic-and-mco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comparehero.my\/blog\/sme\/how-to-get-back-customers-during-covid-19-pandemic-and-mco.html","title":{"rendered":"MCO Lockdown: 10 Tips To Get Back Your Customers For Malaysian Businesses During COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The impact of the MCO or pandemic lockdown is being felt by all businesses in Malaysia. Many business owners are now looking for ways to get back and retain their customers amid this tough period to survive. These 10 tips reveal how businesses can manage and improve customers’ experience during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/strong><\/p> \n

As we\u2019re starting to see the light at the end of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO)<\/a> tunnel, more and more businesses are gearing up to reopen their operations. But the thing is, so much has changed and so much has been lost. How can businesses navigate in this new normal?<\/p> \n

First up, if you\u2019re preparing to reopen, that\u2019s major good news in itself. In these trying times, many companies have taken austerity measures to manage the pandemic\u2019s impact on their cash flow, such as taking up stimulus packages, making pay cuts, and even worse, letting go of their staff. Beyond that, some hotels<\/a>, media titles<\/a>, bubble tea shops<\/a>, and retailers<\/a> had to bite the dust, one after another.<\/p> \n

Even though things will be different for a long time, people are eventually going to go out again and sink back into their usual habits and lifestyle. As such, businesses need to be ready for them, or risk facing even greater losses this time around.<\/p> \n

So for those of you who are a little luckier, what to do with your business after Covid-19? How can you retain your customers after Covid-19, and improve customer loyalty at the same time? Before we embark on the probable answers or suggestions, let us try to understand the general consumer behaviours first.<\/p> \n

The Different Consumer Behaviours In A Pandemic World<\/h2> \n

The world as we know it has changed, and the sooner businesses adapt, the better. It\u2019s risky to think that everything will be business-as-usual, so it\u2019s important to be aware of the different customer behaviours after Covid-19 and how Malaysian businesses can tailor their post-MCO marketing strategies effectively.<\/p> \n

Right off the bat, you\u2019d know that everyone is online<\/strong>. Companies have been going through their digital transitions for a while now, but the MCO was really a catalyst to what was already happening. To think that this may slow down in a post-Covid-19 world would likely be wrong too – as consumers are getting used to the benefits and conveniences, they\u2019re less likely to opt out from it.<\/p> \n

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With no place to go, everyone goes online.<\/em><\/p> \n

Beyond that, consumers want things fast<\/strong>. Sure, there\u2019s a general understanding that the MCO would affect delivery times, but companies are doing their best to circumvent that logistical challenge by using on-demand delivery services such as Goget, GrabDelivery, and many other new services mushrooming in the local scene.<\/p> \n

As the pandemic has put health as a priority, consumers are also more cautious about hygiene and cleanliness<\/strong>. Not many would take a chance on businesses that have poor hygiene guidelines.<\/p> \n

To add to that, we also obviously see more people cutting down on food orders, and trying to cook things on their own. This makes them a little more independent, and even the undomesticated folk find themselves frying an egg for the first time.<\/p> \n

A Nielsen webinar<\/a> also showed that there\u2019s real customer disloyalty<\/strong> too, as the past few weeks have seen a myriad of challenges plaguing supply and demand. When it comes to stocking up, we\u2019ve thankfully gone past the nightmare of having people resort to hijacking bread trucks just to get a slice\u2026 but we\u2019re definitely expecting people to look for more value-for-money items instead of spending on their favourite brands.<\/p> \n

People are also less likely to make big ticket purchases<\/strong>, such as cars and properties. Kenanga Research said consumers are increasingly cautious with their spending patterns, leaning towards more value-for-money purchases instead.<\/p> \n

The grim reality is that, even after the MCO is lifted, people are still likely to be less inclined to make big purchases. For more information, we found that The Borneo Post had covered this pretty extensively with multiple sources – you can read more here<\/a>.<\/p> \n

Being aware of these new behaviours make it easier for businesses to tweak their strategies to attract back their customers. Here are some tips for business owners to try to get back their regular customers after MCO, and gain new ones along the way<\/strong>.<\/p> \n

10 Customer Retention Strategies During The COVID-19 Pandemic<\/h2> \n

1. Get digital if you haven\u2019t already<\/h3> \n

This is by far one of the most important investments to make for your business right now. From what we\u2019ve learned, tech is the most vital tool for businesses to survive post-MCO<\/strong>, so if you still have a sizable budget or savings for your business, you know what to do.<\/p> \n

Regardless of the business you\u2019re in, you can always start with the easiest, least intimidating thing: setting up a Facebook page<\/strong>. Facebook is easily the fastest way to reach new and existing customers regardless of the size of your business – whether a big conglomerate or even a pasar malam stall.<\/p> \n

With features to post up your products, livestream product demos, automate your conversations with customers, generate instant leads, and a whole lot more, there\u2019s so much that you can do at your fingertips.<\/p> \n

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Bring your business to your customers – not the other way around.<\/em><\/p> \n

In fact, you can also consider advertising on Facebook and other platforms within their network<\/strong>. Unfortunately, without advertising on Facebook, your business is still pretty much invisible. Of course, this would require you to learn a little bit about Facebook advertising, and thankfully there are so many free resources <\/a>available online.<\/p> \n

Another very important one – your Google My Business page<\/strong>. It\u2019s a free business listing feature on Google, and all you have to do is to set it up, and you\u2019ll get to reach some of the 5.6 billion searches<\/a> that happen everyday on Google.<\/p> \n

You can also consider setting up other things to supplement your digital efforts<\/strong>, such as:<\/p> \n