Easy ways to create a coronavirus crisis management plan
As small business owners, we are prepared for many things, whether it is a seasonal change in sales or an unexpected employee absence that we need to step in and cover.

But we have never seen anything quite like the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving us unsure how to deal with these strange times.

I know this is a scary and isolating time both personally and professionally. I hope you are staying safe and healthy, and that this article can help you plan for business challenges related to the coronavirus.

I have personally had to turn around many times as an entrepreneur and while it can be stressful, it can also be a time of innovation and growth.

As you create your business coronavirus crisis management plan, here are a few things to focus on:

The importance of helping on the sale

I understand you have a business to run, and I’m not suggesting you start giving things away or risk your health to open a store. What I recommend is that you take a step back and think about your community as you run your business.

Perhaps there is a way that what you offer can help people in this difficult time. One of our clients, The Broken Whisk, has had to stop serving customers at their Agassiz, BC restaurant. Instead, they created a select menu of gourmet meals for just $5 each, which can be ordered ahead and picked up.

And his Facebook post not only gets likes and shares because it’s a delicious offer and a way to give back to the community, but it also started a chain of charitable donations. More and more people are donating money to buy meals for those in need.

Is there a way to adapt your current marketing model to better serve your customers and community?

Online events and offers

Obviously, organizing a conference or an awards dinner is prohibited at this time. A large part of your planning for business challenges related to COVID-19 will include an online marketing strategy.

Think of a few ways you can still connect people from the comfort of home, including webinars, live Facebook videos, and virtual conferences using tools like Zoom. And don’t just focus on coronavirus-related content. Keep producing videos that will benefit your small business marketing strategy long after the COVID-19 crisis is over.

This is a good example of a turn to online marketing. A Stroke of Genius is a client of ours located in North Vancouver, BC. As an interior decorator, Barbara Aylesworth has built her business by working directly with clients and manufacturers. However, with the COVID-19 crisis, she had to change her marketing strategy to include virtual consulting and project management.

Barb is also inviting people to submit their photos of the decorating and design challenges via Instagram, then offering to submit their ideas for possible solutions.

This is a fun and inspiring way to get your community involved when people need it most!

Should you stop trading during COVID-19? Read more on our website.

Unless you sell toilet paper or hand sanitizer, you may be concerned about the impact of the coronavirus on your small business; your revenue, employees and empty marketing funnel. So does that mean you should hunker down and stop your marketing efforts for now? Nope!

I strongly believe in focusing on what we can do and change while finding the opportunities in the midst of adversity. In this article, I share some ways you can tackle the challenge of marketing during a crisis and keep your business going.

Business planning for future growth

Of course, you need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with the right message, but don’t have tunnel vision when it comes to your marketing strategy and ad dollars.

While consumers are spending more time online, they are unwilling to make decisions about the future right now. If you have a service that requires your customers to plan ahead or travel, your conversion rate will take a hit during the outbreak. So don’t expect the same content and ads that were driving traffic before the pandemic to continue to appear.

But not all is lost! This can be an opportunity to engage with your customers on social media and increase your brand awareness with content and even paid advertising. With paid ads, you may even find that you have less competition online during an economic downturn, which means you’ll pay less for more views and clicks.

From promoting spring-themed gift cards on your website to creating helpful articles on financial planning during COVID-19, give your customers a reason to stick with you, even if the pandemic is bringing you more business. .

For example, Your Yoga Flow is an online application that offers virtual yoga classes. If anything, they are seeing a spike in sales as people try to stay active and healthy while cooped up at home. Not just selling their services, but providing a free meditation during “these tough times”, they increase brand awareness, give something back, and stay top of mind.

If you’re willing to look ahead while creating your coronavirus crisis management plan, you’ll be better positioned to stay relevant and re-market to your audience at a later time.

Empower your employees

According to recent statistics, more than 500,000 Canadians, or about 2.5% of the workforce, have already filed EI applications. If you haven’t had to make tough decisions about laying off people, how can you keep your team busy and optimistic about the future?

Here are some ideas:

• Offer training opportunities to help your team and your company in the long run, whether it’s getting a new certification or reading relevant industry books.
• Consider making vacation policies or work hours more flexible to accommodate employees whose children may be out of school, for example.
• Share jobs between departments to increase responsiveness to your customers.
• Involve your team in “after” projects or things you’ve put off because you were too busy before.

If your team is working remotely, make sure you check in with them often. A daily virtual coffee or 15-minute meeting to see how everyone is doing can be vital to the mental health and well-being of your team.

No matter what kind of business you have, your customers are looking for help and security right now. As you develop your coronavirus crisis management plan, keep in mind that everyone is being bombarded with message noise.

That means emails from every business you’ve ever followed on social media, purchased a product, or signed up for an email newsletter! As your small business marketing strategy changes to survive the COVID-19 crisis, make sure all of your communications provide concise, meaningful, and relevant information.

The more value you can offer your customers right now, the more successful you will be as we shift to a new way of marketing and emerge from a global crisis that made our world so much smaller.