Your Coronavirus Essentials Checklist
Just like that we woke up in a different world! The coronavirus epidemic has completely changed our lives and transformed the way we do business.
For many, this can be an incredibly frightening time to be a business owner.
You worry about the health of your employees and the business, the bills that keep coming, your income and family obligations.
But rather than let worries overwhelm them, smart small business owners can use this opportunity to plan and prepare for future growth and success.
That’s why we’ve created a COVID-19 checklist to help you make the most of this uncertain time:
1) Announce changes in business hours.
Are you an essential business that is staying open? You may have shorter business hours to allow more time for cleaning, or senior hours where high-risk and elderly customers can come and safely shop with fewer customers.
Post any new business hours on the front of your physical location and share them on the home page of your website.
Don’t forget to update your hours on your social media profiles too as well as your Google Business listing so everyone can stay up to date.
2) Pivot to meet the current needs of your customers
Find creative ways to do business with customers who are at home on quarantine. Are you offering pick up or delivery? Let customers know what you are doing to accommodate them during this new, and hopefully temporary, normal.
For example, amid shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders, most car dealerships will deliver your new car to you. Similarly, service-based businesses can pivot their offerings to meet the demands of customers who are staying home.
One example is the landing page we designed for Barbara Katnich, an interior designer with Fresh Approach Desgins.
She acknowledges that with all this time on your hands you are probably ready for a design change. Then she walks you through the process of how she can work with you virtually while you are at home.
The advantage of a landing page is that it’s quick, easy, and allows you to speak to the specific needs of customers at this time without having to redesign your whole website.
3) Provide ways customers can still support you
If you operate a service-based business like a restaurant or a salon and have been forced to close your doors, you may want to consider offering online sales of gift certificates.
Encourage your customers to buy a certificate now so they can treat themselves and redeem it when the virus outbreak has slowed, and their self-quarantine period is over.
This can help maintain sales for you, while giving your customers something fun and exciting to look forward to.
4) Communicate with your customers.
People want to know if and how your business has changed in light of the pandemic. Assure them their health and safety are your #1 concern and tell them what you’re doing to ensure a safe shopping experience.
Explain any extra precautions you’re taking to disinfect and clean and let them know how you’re promoting social distancing as a small business owner.
5) Announce any new services you’re offering.
Whether you sell food or fashion, are you offering pickup or delivery? The more ways you can accommodate your customers during this new normal, the better for them and fewer financial losses you’ll experience.
Share the news on your website and on your social media accounts like what Lorie Brown did. She saw a huge need to support nurses and healthcare practitioners during this crisis and created the COVID-19 Survival Guide.
She asked us to help her create a multi-guest interview series that delivers daily videos to subscribers, all for free.
6) Ditch out-of-date information and broken links.
It’s the perfect time to step back and take a long hard look at your website.
Are there any typos? Did a team member featured on the About Us page quit? Are certain articles no longer relevant?
Maybe your site is too far outdated and needs a complete overhaul. Don’t tr