Your Coronavirus Essentials Checklist
So we woke up in a different world! The coronavirus epidemic has completely changed our lives and transformed the way we do business.
For many, this can be an incredibly scary time to be a business owner.
You worry about the health of your employees and the business, the bills that keep coming, your income and family obligations.
But instead of letting worries weigh them down, smart small business owners can take this opportunity to plan and prepare for future growth and success.
That’s why we’ve created a COVID-19 checklist to help you make the most of this uncertain time:
1) Announce changes in business hours.
Are you an essential business that remains open? You may have shorter business hours to allow more time for cleaning, or senior hours where older, high-risk customers can safely come and shop with fewer customers.
Post any new business hours in front of your physical location and share it on your website home page.
Don’t forget to update your hours on your social media profiles as well as your Google Business listing so everyone can stay up to date.
2) Pivot to meet the current needs of your customers
Find creative ways to do business with customers who are home in quarantine. Are you offering pickup or delivery? Let customers know what you are doing to accommodate them during this new and hopefully temporary normal.
For example, amid shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders, most car dealers will deliver your new car to you. Similarly, service-based companies can target their offerings to meet the demands of stay-at-home customers.
One example is the landing page we designed for Barbara Katnich, an interior designer at Fresh Approach Designs.
She reckons that with all this time on her hands she’s probably ready for a design change. She will then walk you through the process of how she can work with you virtually while you are at home.
The advantage of a landing page is that it’s quick, easy, and allows you to speak to the specific needs of customers right now without having to redesign the entire website.
3) Provide ways customers can still support you
If you operate a service-based business like a restaurant or salon and have been forced to close your doors, you may want to consider offering online sales of gift certificates.
Encourage your customers to purchase a certificate now so they can treat themselves and redeem it when the virus outbreak has slowed down and their self-quarantine period is over.
This can help keep sales going for you, while giving your customers something fun and exciting to look forward to.
4) Communicate with your customers.
People want to know if and how their business has changed in light of the pandemic. Reassure them that their health and safety are your top concern, and tell them what you’re doing to ensure a safe shopping experience.
Explain any extra precautions you are taking to sanitize and clean and let them know how you are promoting social distancing as a small business owner.
5) Advertise any new services you are offering.
Whether you sell food or fashion, do you offer pickup or delivery? The more ways you can accommodate your customers during this new normal, the better for them and the less financial loss you’ll experience.
Share the news on your website and social media accounts like Lorie Brown did. She saw a great need to support nurses and healthcare professionals during this crisis and created the COVID-19 Survival Guide.
She asked us to help her create a multi-guest interview series that offers daily videos to subscribers, all for free.
6) Get rid of outdated information and broken links.
It’s the perfect time to step back and take a closer look at your website.
Are there typos? Did a team member listed on the About Us page resign? Are some articles no longer relevant?
Perhaps your site is too outdated and needs a complete overhaul. Don’t try to go it alone, it’s better to hire a professional web development company that can help you ensure your site is professionally done to give your business the best exposure once this crisis is over.
7) Lighten the workload (remote).
Give your staff easy ways to track their hours, like the free Toggl time tracking tool we use. Encourage team communication with tools like Zoom, Slack or Discord. Look for team collaboration tools like Monday and Asana to manage project workflows.
You can see more team tools in our article: Tips for managing your workforce remotely.
8) Get skinny and mean.
You’re going to have to accept that things may be tense for a while. Are there any non-essential items you could cut from your small business budget?
Re-evaluate the services you use to make sure you get the best value for your money, but don’t tighten your belt so much that you miss out on business or marketing opportunities.
9) Plan your editorial calendar.
You want to provide your customers with informative and valuable content that inspires them and builds your expertise and credibility in their eyes.
If you have any downtime now, invest it in your future content. See what products and services you’ll want to promote in the future, and plan some compelling content and marketing materials to support your efforts.
10) Learn a new skill.
Do you want to learn how to use Instagram more effectively? Maybe you want to master your video marketing skills or learn a new language to better communicate with your customers.
If you can slow down a bit, take the opportunity to read, learn and grow! This might be a good time to check out our AMPLiFY! Business Academy, where members get instant access to a huge library of training videos, from social media marketing to lead generation and content marketing.
11) Make your employees feel safe.
Always communicate your COVID-19 plans to workers around sick days and compensation. If your employees have to go to work, reassure them how you keep their area clean and safe.
They hope that you feel cared for during this scary time. That said, don’t lie or keep negative information; If you can’t give bonuses or have to lay off staff, let them know as soon as possible and support them as best you can.
12) Attract more traffic to your site.
It’s always a great idea to add new and useful content to your website. Your visitors will appreciate solution-focused content that speaks honestly about why they need your product or service.
Focus on writing some keyword rich articles to improve your search engine ranking.
13) Increase your followers on social networks.
You may be self-isolating, but you can go online! Send messages to people who liked or commented on your social media posts to start a conversation.
Be active in Facebook groups where your ideal clients hang out. Be visible and helpful (not commercial or obtrusive) as you make new connections and offer people a human connection.
14) Segment your email list.
Over time, email lists can get messy. Small business owners may lack the resources to write targeted messages to each group of potential customers (eg, hot prospects, warm prospects, new prospects, business colleagues).
Focus on segmenting your email list so people feel like you’re speaking directly to them and offering them unique content.
15) Develop a new product or service.
Maybe you have a business idea that has been on the backburner for the last few years. Or maybe you’ve identified a product or service that would really help people during or after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Take a look at what Heather Wilson has done to meet the current demand to use Facebook groups for the benefit of businesses. She quickly created an online course called Create, Populate and Engage Her Facebook Group.
16) Conduct competitive research.
Knowing what your competitors are doing gives you an incredible advantage, whether you’re running an established small business or developing a new product or service.
Invest some time now to better understand your competitors. How are their messages different from yours? What are your strengths and weaknesses? How do they interact with their followers on social media?
17) Share the love.
Do not miss the opportunity to strengthen your most important relationships. Think of the people who are important to you (family, friends, customers, vendors, mentors, partners) and tell them what you appreciate most about them!
Stay engaged with customers and keep sales alive during COVID-19.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and uncertain, let’s try to view these slow times for small businesses as an opportunity to think, review, and plan for future growth and success.
If you need help, we can help you design a landing page to help you transition and support your customers effectively right now. Together we will find ways to boost declining sales due to this unforeseen economic downturn.
We wish everyone health and safety during this unusual time.
for your success,
Suzanne