The scale of the economic disaster caused by and around the pandemic is still difficult to grasp. Much is in a state of uncertainty, but most experts argue that the economic shock resulting from the implementation of measures to combat the pandemic is temporary. The economy will certainly return to a growth trajectory. However, it is obvious that after the complete removal of all restrictions, small businesses, especially in large cities, will feel the negative consequences of the coronavirus for a long time to come.
Now that people are slowly returning to work, it is important to think carefully about how to get the business back on track in the most efficient way. Here are some tips on how to recover your small businesses after COVID-19.
Main challenges
Leaving quarantine is fraught with a number of challenges and restrictions that await those who did not work during the self-isolation regime.
Communication problem. All companies do not open on the same day. You need to convey to clients that you are continuing to work, thereby restoring communication.
Compressed spring effect. A number of directions, after the resumption of activities, will face an avalanche demand. These include, for example: beauty salons, ateliers, repair shops, etc. If you fail to serve your customers, you will lose them.
Quarantine restrictions. It is clear that some rules for doing this or that business will undergo changes. Visits to public areas, hygiene requirements and other restrictions, some of which will be temporary, and some will remain on a permanent basis, require provision.
Clear message about the opening
The first thing to do before resuming your work is to inform your clients about the opening.
For the news it is important that:
It is noticeable. News feeds are often found somewhere at the bottom of the home page of the site, and not every visitor gets to them. The best way to convey important information is to display it on the welcome banner, making it clickable and adding the ability to jump to more detailed information on a separate page.
It carries useful and comprehensive information. In a detailed statement, you need to indicate not only the fact and date of opening, but also provide other useful information, for example, regarding new rules and restrictions.
It is distributed through all channels. Be sure to spread the news about opening your business through all possible channels.
Quarantine products as part of the business model
Do not rush to abandon your “quarantine” work – rethink them after returning to the usual format of doing business and consider making quarantined products part of the main business model.
Some people are used to new self-isolation services. A certain percentage of customers will definitely want to continue their online training or, say, order food at home from their favourite restaurant. Do not deprive your clients of the opportunities obtained in quarantine, and do not deprive yourself of an additional source of income.
Huge demand in some areas
After the restrictions are lifted, a number of areas are waiting for a surge in the flow of customers.
What to do:
-arrange a sufficient number of call centre operators / managers a few days before starting work;
-extend your opening hours if possible.
It’s never too late to attract new customers
Old clients can forget about you, so you always need to work on attracting new ones.
In the presence of social networks, one of the ways to facilitate the work of attracting new customers can be, for example, parsing the subscribers of competing groups and setting up targeted advertising displays on them. You can also host interesting good quality live stream events online to warm up potential clients.
Warming up the audience can ensure the launch of ads with messages of the following type:
“We are opening on Friday – come.”
“Buy a subscription now – get X% discount.”
“Apply for a subscription before opening in instalments for X months.”
“We are opening on Monday- X% discount for medical workers”.
Classic triggers like “summer has come – time to lose weight” will also work, but the theme with the opening is still worth playing around.
Conclusion
Remember, life does not stop, the crisis does not last forever. Get new experience. Experiment, but justifiably. Now we are testing how your product is needed by someone, and how it changes people’s lives.