The world is in turmoil with concerns about the current and potential effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Although I hope you are feeling as healthy as ever, chances are, you are feeling the economic effects in your small business. I am seeing it in my client’s businesses too. I wanted to write today with a few tips and ideas to help you keep your business healthy right now.
1) Remember to breathe if you are seeing a drop in business. There is panic and uncertainty in the world right now, but it’s not the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last. Just breathe and determine your next best step.
2) Remember that being small can be to your advantage. A small business can be a nimble business. You can make decisions quickly and implement quickly. Use this to your advantage and take action to react to changing business conditions. This creates a competitive advantage for you over the “big guys”.
3) Remember that people are still spending money! The empty shelves at Hypermarket like Tesco, Giant are proving that. You just need to think creatively about what will entice your customers to spend some of that money with you. What can you offer that is helpful?
I have some ideas that I hope could be helpful to a small business owner to help them adapt to (rather than succumb to) the current consumer behavior:
Go Digital
Move planned classes or workshops to webinars instead (tip: record them for future use or resale).
Therapists and wellness practitioners should optimize tele-health options.
Provide additional training and resources digitally since people are home (paid classes).
Push E-commerce options and showcase relevant products right now.
Don’t have E-commerce, but have products? Consider a “Digital Pop-up Shop” with a Facebook Group or any other online applications. Sell your goods directly 1:1 digitally this way!
Push digital content that you have available (i.e. courses, downloadable content, affiliate sales, etc.)
Ideas for Quick Infusions of Cash
Follow-up and collect outstanding Accounts Receivable. I hope you thought about this already.
Promote gift certificates for future use, even if you’ve never had gift certificates before. This is especially good if you are an in-person practitioner.
Flash sales on E-commerce, which is also great for liquidating stale inventory!
Offer prepayment discounts for larger purchases (i.e. packs of 3 rather than selling individual units)
Consider a loan as interest rates are lower right now. The Federal Reserve is trying to make this as easy as possible for businesses and home owners!
If you are a supplier, offer a bulk-ordering discount to good customers who pay upfront.
Sell excess inventory to a wholesaler.
Ideas for Quick Infusions of Cash
Take time for a deep clean of your space. Customers almost expect this if you are a brick and mortar store, and they do appreciate it! If you’re an online business, you can still clear out the clutter.
Plan and create content marketing for the rest of the year.
Review and revise your budget.
Schedule social media and email content.
Review and update policies and procedures.
Count inventory and note anything that can be liquidated quickly.
Plan ahead for work that could be done now to help you in the future when business is back to normal.
I trust that at least one of these ideas sparked something that could help your business.
Contact us today at 019-477 6788 or email to accbiz.ams@gmail.com
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