Coronavirus. COVID-19. Pandemic. Like us, you’re probably sick and tired of hearing those words. This global crisis has reached nearly every corner of our planet and everyone has been impacted by it to some extent. Businesses up and down the country have felt the tremor of this virus, leaving thousands of businesses feeling more vulnerable than ever.
Thankfully, we can now see light at the end of the tunnel as the restrictions start to be lifted and from this month, non-essential shops will be allowed to re-open with strict social distancing measures in place. Unfortunately, things won’t be returning to “normal” for some time and there is certainly going to be a noticeable difference in people’s spending behaviour as we look to revive our economy.
Here are 5 things to think about in order to prepare your business for life after lockdown:
Get innovative
The news has recently been filled with stories about how fast-thinking firms are adapting to the new normal. Restaurants are now offering contactless delivery, pubs are offering takeaway beer and yoga classes have moved to Zoom.
Reopening doesn’t necessarily mean operating as you were before lockdown. You can reinvent the way your business operates and get a head start on your competitors in this post-lockdown world.
Keep people updated with any changes
Even your most loyal customers could forget about you if they haven’t heard from you in months. This means keeping people in the loop with any news or changes to your operations or opening hours during this time. Google My Business is a great way to keep your customers updated as opening hours and business COVID announcements can all be updated from a central dashboard.
Think about your business sector and specialist skills and create some helpful tips that you can email your clients to support them during self-isolation while reminding them of your business. If you’re a tradesman, why not offer simple tips to help homeowners do basic checks and fixes to keep their homes maintained, or ideas to give their homes a fresh lick of paint once you’re available.
Use this time to give your social media a refresh
I bet like many other businesses your social media is in a bit of a mess and you probably have been meaning to post for a while but haven’t got around to it. Sound familiar? Well luckily for you now is the perfect time to reorganise your social media accounts and give them a refresh! Why not update that logo that you’ve had for 10 years and are bored of? How about giving your feed a spring clean and deleting any old posts that might be clogging up your profile? Making sure all your business information is up to date including opening hours, address and phone number.
People are interacting with brands online at the moment more than ever due to them not being able to visit them in person, so make sure you’re not missing out on any of this valuable engagement!
Help your local community
Lots of businesses, large and small, have discovered innovative ways to help out our NHS, essential workers and the local community. Brewdog, the Scottish-based multinational brewery, has been busy manufacturing hand-sanitizer for the NHS and Pret a Manger are offering 50% off to all NHS staff.
Offering to help your community in any way your business can afford to will only help to speed up the revival of the local economy and can only be good news in the long run. This will keep your business in the public eye and have a positive knock-on effect for your business.
Marketing will become more important than ever
Often the first thing on the chopping block when people are cutting back on their expenses is marketing. Businesses can no longer ignore their lack of marketing spend and in the next few months, we believe that marketing is going to be essential to get businesses back on track.
Even though people aren’t making big purchases right now, it doesn’t mean they’ve stopped researching, or considering what you’re offering – and businesses that capitalise on this are likely to see positive results once this is all over.
Take Action today
If this blog has generated lots of questions about your current marketing and you find yourself wondering where to start, we are offering a free 30-minute telephone conversation.
If the conversation needs to continue after the free consultation time, we have introduced a new hourly rate marketing advice service whereby you can get marketing advice from one of our experts
Book a marketing experts time for an hour!
Alternatively, if you would like to understand all marketing options open to you, get in touch with us to learn more about how you can keep your business’s continuity during the lockdown.
Posted by Ollie 9th June 2020
A typical tech-savvy millennial who probably spends too much time on social media and the web.
