5 KEYS TO REBOOTING YOUR BUSINESS AFTER THE COVID CRISIS

Businesses have been forced to adapt to all the mandatory closings, social distancing, and precautions that have been placed on us with this pandemic and now we are entering a new phase of this process …trying to find the balance of opening up for business again while also keeping our employees and customers safe and away from harm. 

Today we are finding ourselves exploring new territory and wondering what this “New Norm” will look like moving forward. 

We know that what worked last month, doesn’t mean it will work when this is over… So how can we change and adapt to all the challenges that are facing us?  

How your business communicates, markets and portrays itself will have to be nothing less than authentic. What are your core values, and how are you using those values to clearly communicate your brand and the story behind your brand? 

Here are  5 Keys to REBOOTING Your Business after the quarantine is lifted…

• Putting A Plan In Place 

This should include Guidelines, Expectations, and Best Practices will be one of the best areas to put most of your time in the beginning.

We all might be a little worried about jumping back into our “Normal” business settings. Undoubtedly there will be questions and concerns because we have never walked down this road before, so the best thing to do is to have very clean and easy to understand guidelines for your employees and customers to follow. Allow for social distancing as much as possible, encourage all your staff to stay up on washing their hands, and maybe even supplying extra sanitizer and Clorox wipes around the office so that everyone can wipe down their work stations, keyboards, phones, and or doorknobs. 

• Communicate Often With Your Staff 

Communicating often with your staff will help to eliminate concerns and allow you the time to answer any questions that come up.

Create an open-door policy if one has not been in place before. Allow your staff the ability to offer suggestions and freely share where they might see a need to implement change in any specific area around the workspace. 

• Lead With Confidence and Compassion

It has been very encouraging to see how local leaders are stepping up within their communities. They’re doing it through insightful, engaging, and relevant content that connects with their customers and communities. 

Many businesses are adapting to the circumstances we find ourselves in. They’re recognizing the needs of their communities and asking themselves: How can we help?

• Announce Your Reopening 

Announcing your reopening date via email newsletter, blog post on your website, and or social media posts will be the quickest way to get the word out.

While many of us are getting excited to get back to work, some might still have concerns. Staying in contact with your customers with either regularly updated blog posts or social media will offer them a sense of ease knowing that you are aware of their feelings and understand what is needed to take place during this time. 

Think about how your business looks across all your online and offline channels – down to your in-store (or in-front-of-store) signage and your employees. All of these aspects are a representation of your business, and how your customers perceive you is important. 

Consumers can sniff out whether or not a business is being authentic, and you don’t want them to feel that you’re being insincere. 

• Contact Us To Discuss Your Next Steps 

Learning to prioritize what needs to be updated or changed within your marketing, will be one of the first steps most businesses will take. This could be your social posting and the schedule may be looking at your ads that may now be deemed insensitive. Our lives have changed!

And the way businesses operate in the past, will change also. 

We are all in this together and will have to embrace this new learning curve of business development that we find ourselves in. 

Being online and having a Digital Marketing Plan is no longer a wish for one day. That one day is here and our businesses are being forced to evolve in this ever-changing environment. 

WE’RE HERE FOR YOU!

The AVA Team understands that local businesses are the foundation of our communities, and our goal is to help them thrive and grow. We know that this is a challenging time for most of you. We are here to support you and help in any way we can. Give us a call at 762-233-1411 or CLICK HERE TO GET ON OUR CALENDAR to learn more about how we can help.