It’s no surprise that many businesses are struggling during this pandemic. With new rules and legislature rolling out regularly it is hard to understand what is, and what is not allowed. If your business fails to innovate, it will likely fail to thrive during this challenging time. There has been a drastic decline in foot traffic all over the world, and contactless solutions are needed now more than ever. In this article, I am going to discuss a few ways your business can innovate during this pandemic in order to increase your customer base, your sales, and provide a better experience for your customers.

Update Your Google Business Listing

This is perhaps the most important. There have been too many occasions where I have checked google to assure that a business is open, but arrive, only to find out the business is still closed. Every business needs to update their google listing with accurate hours, however, even this is not enough. Customers have lost trust in the accuracy of this information, and so in addition to checking google, they will often call the business to assure they are open or move on to another option.

Businesses can and should update their business listing with information regarding COVID-19, such as a confirmation that they are open or even informing customers when they will be opening. In addition, businesses can list which service methods are available such as Dine-In, Delivery, Curbside Pick-Up, etc. To the left is an example of a restaurant near me. Taking this additional step of posting a COVID-19 update leaves no doubt in the customer’s mind that they are open. They opened on June 27th and currently offer takeout. Knowing this makes it very easy, and I am happy to do business with them during this time!

Contactless Solutions

As a rule of thumb, when operating a business you want to make your customers feel as safe and comfortable as possible. For this reason, I highly recommend providing your customers with contactless solutions. Solutions like these help to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, and minimize the risk for your business. This can be as simple as accepting payments online, or as complex as offering fitness classes online with a paid subscription. Here are a few ways your business can offer contactless solutions based on your industry.

Restaurant

Since indoor dining is not allowed in most states, and outdoor dining is limited, many customers are looking for alternate solutions.

If you own/manage a restaurant I recommend you offer your customers the ability to have food delivered or picked up. Delivery is made easy with services such as UberEats, Door Dash, etc. The only problem with services like these is that all of these services take a cut from the customer’s payment. That being said, these services are very powerful since you would not need to hire and manage delivery drivers. In addition to this, it would be beneficial if your business’s website offered your customers the ability to order and pay for their food online. With a solution like this, you are minimizing risk, and do not need to forfeit a portion of your sales to a third-party service. Perhaps a combination of both would best, and a solution like this will help your business continue to thrive even after the pandemic.

Fitness Studio

In most states, gyms are not open, and even in the states that allow it, many people are opting to stay home. This can be a real hit for many fitness studios, however, you have endless opportunities and can use this time to rise above your competition.

People are searching for online fitness classes and fitness routines regularly, so why not give them what they want? Your business can offer subscription-based classes online. This is an amazing way for your business to thrive during, and even after this pandemic. If you charge a recurring $20 per week for Yoga classes, with just 10 regulars you could be making $800 a month. Now imagine hosting a class that does not have a size limit? That is the beauty of the internet, your classes will not require physical space, and so there is endless potential.

In addition, some states are allowing fitness studios to offer private lessons. If this is applicable in your area, you should have a website that allows your customers to schedule sessions and make their payments online. As I have said previously, a solution like this will make your customers feel safe and therefore be more inclined to do business with you.

Store

Do you own/manage a store? In many states, stores are unable to open just yet. However, even in states that allow it, making sales can be challenging when there is minimal foot traffic.

You may opt to keep your store closed in order to keep the operating costs down, but what if there was a solution? Our company builds stunning e-commerce websites and would love the opportunity to bring your business online. You can keep your doors open, and utilize your extra free time to list new products on your website, market your products to new customers, and fulfill online orders. This is a brilliant solution for many business owners, and a website like this will help your business continuously grow even after this pandemic.

There are so many businesses with endless opportunities to innovate. Give us a call to talk about a solution for your business.

Branding

If none of these solutions have applied to your business, this one does. In this day and age branding means everything, it’s the difference between a SmartPhone and an iPhone. Use this pandemic as an opportunity to brand your business and grow your following.

Create social media accounts for your business across every major platform. You should be posting a minimum of once a week on each platform. The more you post the better, however, your posts should be insightful and provide value to your audience. Let’s take an accountant, for example, an Accountant could offer value by providing financial advice to their audience. Build a community by interacting with your followers. You should be replying to every comment and even liking the posts of some of your followers. Every follower you gain is a lead, a potential customer/client, and you can use your community as a form of free direct-to-consumer marketing.

I want to keep this short since this article isn’t about social media marketing, but there are plenty of resources online. Try watching a few Youtube videos, or maybe I will discuss them more in-depth in a future post.

We Are Here For You

In this article I presented many solutions, however, I did not address every problem. If your business is looking for a way to innovate give us a call and we would love to talk about it. I think this pandemic will be a time for tremendous growth or failure, but it is unlikely that a business will remain the same. Sparc is a full-service digital design and development agency and we can build any solution your business needs, including all the solutions mentioned above. We are currently offering o% interest payment plans to help businesses during this challenging time. Give us a call for a free consultation. We want to see businesses reach new heights during this pandemic, and we think we can help.