How To Protect Your Business During Covid-19
Hint: Communicate, Build Trust, Take Action and Be Kind
Disclosure: This article does not contain health or financial advice.
Water Lillies
We may need a very long time to finish this beauty!
The world is crazy here in Canada over the past week! Covid-19 has certainly changed the way most of us are living, working and interacting with others. As we adjust to living differently, both in our personal and professional lives, many of us will have some extra time to spend how we please. Maybe you’ll embark on a Netflix marathon. I hear some folks are learning a new language. In addition to embarking on a major spring clean and purge of our home, our family has just started a 1000-piece puzzle of Claude Monet’s “Water Lillies.”
As myself and my team all work remotely from home, the self-isolation measures have had little impact on the way that we work on a day to day basis…save a few more conference calls instead of face to face meetings.
We’ve been fielding tons of calls and emails from our wonderful clients on how to address their changing workplace and business situations. As each of our clients are unique, we are offering personalized advice to each of them and assisting in any way that we can.
Many businesses will be facing a loss over the next month or so as the economy is slowing down, and this article is not intended to give financial advice on business protection, but to show that there are opportunities to protect your business in other ways, particularly by capturing an already engaged audience. There is a huge opportunity to grab people’s attention, as the world is glued to the internet and social media now more than ever.
For those of you who are unsure of how to proceed, we’ve put together a shortlist of things you can do while most of the world is staying at home.
Communicate
First, communicate with your clients, customers or guests! Let them know if you are open or closed. If you are open, give your customers confidence that you take their safety and health seriously.
Regardless of whether you are open or closed, keep the lines of communication open.
- Update your website regularly!
- Post on social media!
- Answer emails!
If your business is temporarily closed, this is an excellent time to work ON your business as well.
Build Trust
Gain trust with your audience by creating news/blog articles related to Covid-19. Keeping people informed as to the measures you are taking to keep yourself, your employees and your customers safe is comforting to anyone who wishes to visit your business, both now and after the pandemic is over.
Show your customers and potential future customers that you are still there by creating news or blogs about literally anything else. Share a fun story about a great customer. Talk about an amazing product. Give kudos to your staff.
Create positive vibes full of optimism of the near future through news/blogs/social posts. This is a great way to engage your audience, build trust, and keep your business in people’s minds. This is easy to do, without being pushy on a sale.
A mix of fact based and light-hearted posts would be a nice mix of content to share with the world. People are hungry for info, but also desperate for spirit lifting content right now.
Do Not Sit Back and Do Nothing!
While you may feel like things are out of your control, and yes, many things are out of our control right now, we can all control how we react. Doing nothing will get you exactly what you put into it. Do something. Be proactive. Be positive!
Above All, Be Kind
Remember, almost everyone is feeling the effects of Covid-19 in some way. We have overworked healthcare workers, and underpaid grocery store staff. There are those of us with elderly or sick family and friends who are more susceptible to Covid-19, so we worry about their health. Some people will run out of basic supplies, while others will lose their income.
Be kind to your employees. Even if you’ve had to lay them off, give them a call, check on them, see if there is anyway you can help. If your business has products that may help them get by, offer them if you can. Check on your neighbours, call your loved ones, share a kind word and smile. Help out where you have the means to do so! If we work together the world will be a better place when we’re all allowed to finally go out for dinner again.
And Finally…Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
If you want to communicate with your customers, but aren’t sure how, please reach out for help! Ask a peer, your web marketing company, or whoever handles your social media! If you’d like to reach out to us, we would be happy to help you get through any way we can! Please feel free to call us at 289.599.1990 or send us an email at [email protected].