Staying Together When We’re Apart
With schools across the country closed now and for the foreseeable future, students, teachers, administrators, and parents are all at home protecting themselves from the novel coronavirus. We’re all practicing social distancing now to slow the spread of COVID-19, which is a necessary step to protect our communities. Social distancing is really more about “physical distancing” than it is about reducing social interaction.
We don’t have to disconnect with one another while we social distance, but there’s a void out there right now in school communities for people to connect with each other. We’re hearing a lot about the threat the virus poses to physical health, to our economy, and to our way of life, but less focus is being paid to our collective and individual mental health. The risks to mental health are considerable if we reduce or eliminate our social interaction. The more school communities stay isolated, the more mental health issues will emerge.
Meanwhile, many K12 entrepreneurs are struggling to connect with teachers and school leaders who are doing their best to manage through all the chaos. Not only is it difficult to even reach school leaders, it’s a terrible time for traditional sales and marketing outreach to them. At best, it’s ineffective in getting engagement and, at worst, it’s counterproductive and risks negative associations with your brand. If you want to help K12 schools and districts, don’t pitch them right now.
There is a valuable way to serve K12 schools and districts at this difficult time. Help them stay connected while they’re apart. Fill the interaction void created by mass school closures by creating community. Become the hub in a hub and spoke system for your customers and prospects. Here are a few excellent ideas from K12 entrepreneurs who are working hard to be the centerpiece of an online school community.
- Provide authentic support to schools that need support with remote learning, special education services, mental health support, and much more.
Curate a set of resources and host them on your website. The resources don’t need to relate to your products/services. For example, Swing Education curated a set of online resources to get schools through the closures. Just think of things that would be of value to school teachers and leaders now. Share the curated resources with your community via an email or a blog post. Create a Slack channel or Facebook group, post the resources there, and invite customers and prospects in to share their resources and engage in dialogue. - Connect customers who are doing amazing work through this difficult transition with other customers and prospects who need help.
Lift up your best customers and shine a spotlight on the amazing work that they’re doing through this crisis through a blog or newsletter. Tap an expert to share ideas and tell success stories. Host a webinar series and send out invitations to customers and prospects. - Stay connected via remote 1:1s.
It may be extremely difficult to connect with customers and prospects for the next few weeks as they make the transition to remote environments. Be patient. The dust will settle sooner or later and you’ll be able to connect via video conferencing services such as Zoom, Facetime, and Google Hangouts. Check in with them, empathize with their challenges, connect with them on a personal level and be of service to them in their work.
We can still be present when we’re physically apart. Just this week, one of my portfolio companies hosted a brown bag company lunch for employees on Zoom and seeing everyone lifted spirits. We can stay engaged and be service-oriented even though we’re not together. Existing relationships can be maintained and new relationships can be formed when we think about ways to create and support a community. What are you doing to stay connected to customers and prospects in this time apart?
