Contrary to what you may be seeing on the news, many businesses are actually KILLING it during COVID-19. Make no mistake, this is no random occurrence. Since February 2020, COVID-19 has completely destroyed lives, businesses, jobs, and has left the world completely upside down and ankle deep in chaos and confusion. For most business owners, COVID-19 has been a doomsday disaster that will most likely permanently damage their businesses or even force them to close their doors forever. However, COVID-19 has also opened the eyes of many innovative business owners who have learned to adapt during these trying times, which has ultimately lead to their businesses thriving like they’ve never done before.
Many people ask: “how is this even possible?”. “How can a business thrive during this chaos and confusion?”
My answer is a quote from Sun Tzu: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
The reality is, that when everyone else starts to sink, then the rewards of rising to the top become greater. As your competition begins to nose dive you can either run for cover, or you can look at this time as a golden opportunity to rise, adapt, evolve, capitalize and dominate the competition.
So, let’s cut to the chase. How can YOU as a business owner grow and thrive during this COVID-stricken new world?
Easy…evolve and upgrade your business using digital.
And if you read the rest of this article, you’ll begin to understand the the genius within this entire thing is that your business will not only run more efficiently, but it was also please your customers and clients much more than you ever thought possible. Let’s get to it.
Implement Online Booking & Appointments
If your business model involves appointments, bookings, or reservations, you should be taking advantage of online bookings, appointments, and reservations. Believe me when I tell you, most people would rather NOT call your staff to setup an appointment or a reservation. We’d much rather book it online at our convenience from our smartphone or computer. If we want to book an oil change at 2 in the morning, give us the ability to do so. Implementing Online Bookings & Appointments through your website or Google will not only make things drastically easier for your customers, but it will also increase the efficiency of your front-desk person answering the phones. Online booking systems are fully automated, and there will be no need to have someone in-house to book every single appointment. During those wasted phone call appointments that could’ve been booked online, your employee could’ve spent that time organizing or working on something more productive. If you don’t have an online booking system, get one now…because you’re already behind the curve.
Improve Your Digital Menus
In a world of socially-distanced dining, many restaurants are offering digital menus that can be accessed directly on their website or redirected through a QR code that you scan with your camera. This is actually a great idea in general. However, if your digital menu is just horrendously hard to use, then it is actually counterproductive and just irritates people. I’ve personally been to restaurants (small restaurants and even big chains) recently where I scanned their QR codes, viewed their menu, and the menus kept glitching out and you couldn’t even view the entire menu at times. From that point, people just get frustrated and it makes your restaurant look cheap and broken, just like your menu. If you’re going to have a digital menu on your website, please make sure its done right and is maintained on a regular basis so your customers can access and navigate through them easily.
Refine Your Website
People aren’t walking into brick and mortar locations like they used to. Your customer base is now using the internet to discover more about a business’s products and services. People are afraid and cautious of moving around in malls and shops. Since people are now resorting to using online shopping and service discovery, now is the perfect time to refine your website. As more people will be viewing your website than probably ever before, you should ensure that your website is updated, maintained, and contains all of the correct information. It also helps to improve upon the ease of use of your website as well. If your website has not been maintained properly, you’re giving an out to customers to look elsewhere, as competitors are only one click away. Don’t lose these valuable customers. Refine your website and improve your digital presence where you can’t maintain your physical presence.
Improve Your Business Social Media Accounts
Social media isn’t everything, but it can be the extra push that you need to get ahead of curve. Businesses are using social media to connect with their audiences and maintain relationships with their customers and followers. Improving the social media strategies of your company’s accounts can help keep customers connected and interested. Now that people have more free and down time than usual, connecting with your audience on these channels can keep your business relevant and interesting.
Pivoting into E-Commerce
Most brick and mortar retail companies have some sort of online store. Some online stores have had much more investment into them than others, and the sales numbers usually reflect that accordingly. Many traditional brick and mortar businesses operate their businesses with 90% focus on in-store retail, and maybe 10% on online-sales. With the mass shutdowns following the introduction to COVID-19, now is the time to start shifting and pivoting that focus to online sales. It is proven that selling online can actually increase profit margins and the benefits far outweigh the negatives in almost all aspects. Start focusing and investing on your brick and mortar store’s online sector of the business, and watch your sales jump.
Start Running Paid Advertising
There is nothing more powerful in the online world than paid digital advertising. Many businesses run their entire business off of paid advertisements, and would never be as profitable in a brick and mortar world. Paid digital advertising in today’s world is done with surgical precision, with returns that would shock business owners with minimal investments. There is almost no business in existence that wouldn’t greatly benefit from the use of paid digital advertising. We run paid digital ads for companies that have helped keep them running at optimal levels throughout COVID-19. Stop wasting your money on dead-end wild goose chases, and start boosting your sales exponentially using paid digital advertising.
Level-Up Your Presence in Search Engines
When someone wants to find a product or service, they’re more than likely going to use a search engine like Google, and will run a search. The businesses on the first page of listings is more than likely going to get their business. If your business isn’t on the first page of Google search results, then you’re missing out on a massive amount of new customers. Just by improving where your business shows up in a search results by a few placements can make all the difference. As your company begins to show up higher and higher in search result placements, the more your calls, inquiries, and customer sales will increase.
Conclusion
In a COVID-19 stricken world, you have important decisions to make as a business owner. The choices you make during these trying times will ultimately determine the fate of your business. Shifting your focus and energy on digital can help your business run smoother, more efficiently, more effectively, more predictably, and you won’t be letting the 5 o’clock breaking news potentially bury your company into the ground. Improving the digital items above within your business will not only help your business internally, but will also help you boost your sales during a time when businesses are taking a beating. The world is filled with chaos and confusion, and no one knows what kind of breaking news tomorrow may bring. But within chaos, there also lies opportunity. One thing we know for sure is that COVID-19 is going to be here for a while, but will you?
If you want to learn about how we can help your business thrive, check out our services!
