As Coronavirus becomes a pandemic, business owners are working on assessing their risk, response and next steps. Quarantines seem to be happening left and right. If you’re the owner of a small business, you might feel like freaking out right now. COVID-19 is serious, and the effect that it is having on businesses across the nation is real.
So we need a plan:
In a situation like this, you’re going to have to adapt how you bring your products or services to your clients. You are going to have to change how your team collaborates, at least for a while. Because coronavirus is so contagious, many people don’t want to risk going anywhere public, and that includes your place of business. For at least the next three months, things could get rough. The curve right now is projected to go through July with next month being the worst. At that point there is a huge upsurge in business projected but we need to hang on until then.
Several years ago I made the decision to take ZenChange Marketing 100% virtual. All of our employees work safely from home, and part of our benefits package includes telehealth options for physical and mental health. It is a decision I continue to stand behind today, not only for the greater balance it allows our team, but in critical times like this it means that our service will continue.
There are several important steps you can take now:
- Adopt a work-from-home policy whenever possible. As a fully virtual company, I would like to share the tools and processes we use to make this work. Tomorrow at 2:00 we will hold a webinar filled with helpful tips. Stay tuned for the invite.
- We are already seeing behavior where people are shopping more online, and are going out less. More than ever they will assess your business based on your online presence. They will check your website to see if you can meet their needs, and they will check your social media to see if it appears you’re still open. They’ll search Google Maps to see who is closest to them and can help, their hours of operation and whether they have phone support. And if you don’t communicate with your clients regularly on how your business is responding, they’ll wonder what you’re up to and may even question if it is safe to continue to do business with you during the crisis, or if you’re still in business. So for some businesses, marketing really shifts to communications, and for others, there may be services you want to highlight that can really help.
Here are some of the ways I’d like to recommend making sure your business doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
- Check Website Performance On Mobile – Since more people will work from home over the next several weeks and months, they will use their mobile devices to access your website. We can run a complementary audit for you to check if your website is running efficiently, works well on any device, reflects your current services, and has a compelling message. We’re offering a free website audit, just ask!
- Quick Website Updates On Your Response – I strongly recommend adding at least a page on your Coronavirus response Some businesses may even want to stand up a mini website with critical information including contacts, which of your services and locations are open or closed, prevention and contingency measures you’re taking and resources. If you serve clients in multiple languages then including pages for these languages to ensure nothing gets lost in translation will be key.
- Social media – Your clients and potential clients will take to social media to check if your business is still open, and what actions you may be taking regarding the virus. If you are suddenly silent on social, they will assume the worst. Your response is a test of your maturity as a business. In addition to informing your audience of your actions, they may look for helpful tips, resources and sometimes something lighter to help break the tension.
- Newsletter or e-Blast – You have probably already received several emails from companies you deal with providing information on their response and resources you can provide to help them during this challenging time. If you have a large number of employees, you’ll want to send an internal email also as they will look to you for direction.
- Take To YouTube. Start A Podcast! – Start thinking about how your marketing will change if you’re not meeting as many people in person. They still need to get a feel for who you are and what you’re like to work with and nothing does that quite as well as your own voice. This would be a great time to start, or add to your YouTube channel, or start a podcast to share informational content. You’ll probably have more time now that you won’t be in traffic!
As a business owner, the financial uncertainty caused by COVID-19 is likely top of mind. These suggestions don’t have to mean increasing your marketing budget, they simply mean allocating it wisely to deal with the increased communication demands this pandemic has just placed on your business. So if you already send a newsletter, make the content for the next one about your Coronavirus response. If you already post on social media, adjust your content and make sure you don’t leave time gaps. And if your website needs updating for performance, it would have needed it regardless. Whether you get outside help with these marketing areas, or if you DIY, the important thing is that they are done well and consistently.