From major corporations to local small retailers, everyone’s feeling the effect of fear and social distancing related to COVID-19. While we all want to do our part in slowing the spread of the virus, it can be frustrating to be a small business person for whom this pause can have a big financial impact.
If you have a family and employees depending on you, it can be even more stressful. The businesses that succeed during this timeframe will be the ones who look for opportunities to pivot, to find new ways to serve their customers and clients when face-to-face interaction or storefront visits aren’t an option.
Launch an Ecommerce Site.
If possible, give yourself an opportunity to make sales without having to be present in person. Offering an ecommerce site makes it easier to give your clients the option to buy from you and for you to promote your offerings.
Even if you can’t list your full inventory, you can give customers a few options to choose from. As an example, a nursery or garden center might not list all their plants on their site, but they could make it easy for customers to order the seeds and plants that are on schedule for planting during the next several weeks.
This option would allow them to market their products’ timeliness and give people something to go while they’re confined to home – a win-win situation that also helps to grow their customer base and loyalty for the future.
Offer Delivery or Pickup Services.
Many restaurants are already pivoting to delivery services, and have been primed to do so through the popularity of services like Favor, Uber Eats and DoorDash. Delivery services can go beyond restaurant and grocery services, though.
Depending on your service area and type of customer base, it might even be prudent to offer personalized delivery service. Add these services in a way that makes sense for you. For example, San Antonio baker Annie’s Petite Treats chose to offer doorstep dropoff for customers. By offering this service only within a restricted area, she determined she’d be able to serve loyal customers, maintain revenue and avoid potential virus-sharing interactions.
Bundle Products to Take the Guesswork Out for Customers.
If you own a storefront location where customers typically enjoy browsing and exploring, you may worry about being considered less essential during a time when people are queueing up around the block to buy milk and eggs.
However, you may also find that people need a little extra joy and lightness in their lives. When family members aren’t able to connect for birthdays and other celebrations, for example, they might welcome the opportunity to send a gift from a local vendor.
Consider offering packages that make sense for these types of situations – a birthday package that includes candles, party hats and a fun card for a videoconferencing celebration, or a package that includes a luxurious soap or a hand sanitizer but that also offers a moisturizing lotion or cream.
Retail boutique Feliz Modern has taken this type of bundling and organization to an art form with their curated gift guides; combining this ingenuity with free shipping is intended to keep their business flowing even when shoppers aren’t able to physically browse their inventory.
By taking similarly thoughtful steps in your business, you might be able to boost overall purchase/spend and offset some of the impact that comes from a loss of browsing/impulse shopping.
Solve a Problem.
Highlight the products you offer that will help customers weather these tough times.
For example, if you sell handmade products, consider sending an email to customers highlighting the soaps and cleansers you have in stock.
If you typically sell produce at a farmer’s market but the market is now closed, you may still have customers open to buying. Highlight the nutritional benefits of your produce items, or share recipes that incorporate them and emphasize their immune-boosting properties (Vitamin C in strawberries, the healing properties of chicken noodle soup that uses your farm fresh carrots in its stock).
Provide Opportunities for Meaningful Virtual Connection.
Coaches and other business leaders who typically meet with clients in person may be struggling to find ways to continue their engagements.
However, at this time, when workers are connecting remotely, companies may be even more in need of opportunities to emphasize connection and a sense of purpose.
In this situation, it could be appropriate for coaches to offer opportunities to connect through a Zoom call or virtual meeting, so everyone can talk shop and share best practices. The Small Business Collaborative, for example, has planned a weekly “virtual cocktail hour” where its members can share their wins, goals, and the ways they’re strategizing to keep their businesses running successfully.
Show Compassion, Empathy and Common Sense.
When you’re considering a new offering, look at it from all angles as you put it together. Is it suitable for the current market? Is it in poor taste to offer it when many people are ill? Is it in line with current and/or potential health and wellness guidelines? A couple of examples:
- A event-focused boutique might want to offer a new baby welcome kit that can be dropped off on the porch for expectant mothers who are stressed about having babies during a time of illness. A less welcome product? Launching a new line of party decor or offering discounts on room rentals during a time when social distancing is supposed to occur.
- A leadership development company might not be able to host in person workshops and trainings, but they might have great success with offering online coaching programs. Leadership trainer Elizabeth Jende Chevalier of EJC Move recently had to postpone a highly anticipated in-person gathering that included a panel of CEOs and business leaders from her area. Instead of continuing to move forward with her original plans, her team has focused on pivoting to online training offerings.
The language you use also matters. Ensure you’re not coming off as casual or flippant when you’re marketing a new product, especially if it’s health-related. You may want to have someone edit your messages for sensitivity, so you can make sure you’re not unintentionally offending.
Consider the Well-Being of Your Employees.
As you make your pivot, you’re not an island. Your team members are crucial to making your business successful.
When you’re planning your pivot, make sure your employees know you’re taking them into account. While you’re worried about making sure the business can keep its figurative doors open, they’re worrying about childcare availability and whether they’ll be able to pay their mortgage.
Consider whether your new offerings are a good fit for your employee team. If you’re planning to offer more delivery, will you need your team to support that? If so, do they have vehicles with insurance?
If you’re in a business like accounting where you normally have team members in the office during regular work hours, how will your employees who have children home from school cope? Can you offer them flexible hours, temporary non-client facing assignments or a schedule that allows them to alternate childcare days with their partner?
As you’re working to make it through the next few weeks, it’s important to keep your stress levels low, so your immune system can do its job protecting you. Small business owners and entrepreneurs will always have new challenges to face; if you can learn to think strategically and pivot successfully, you’ll be ahead of the game long after the concerns over COVID-19 dissipate.
Let’s Get Strategic
If you’re contemplating ways to pivot or reposition your business, we can help.
In our strategy sessions, we work with you to review your current business efforts, determine what’s working, then build a plan to support your long-term goals and objectives.
Strategy sessions can focus on short-term endeavors or long term vision. Learm more and schedule a session today.
