Recommend Article Article Comments Print ArticleShare this article on FacebookShare this article on TwitterShare this article on LinkedinShare this article on RedditShare this article on Pinterest
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 try to go it alone, it’s best to hire a a professional web development firm who can assist in ensuring your site is professionally done to give your business the best exposure once this crisis is over.
7) Lighten the (remote) workload.
Give your staff easy ways to track their hours like the free time-tracking tool Toggl that we use. Encourage team communication with tools like Zoom, Slack or Discord. Look into team collaboration tools like Monday and Asana to manage project workflows.
You can see more team tools in our article: Tips on Managing Your Workforce Remotely.
8) Get lean and mean.
You’re going to have to accept that things may be tight for a while. Are there some non-essentials you could cut from your small business budget?
Reevaluate the services you use to make sure you have the best value for your money, but don’t tighten your belt so much that you miss out on marketing or business opportunities.
9) Plan your editorial calendar.
You want to provide your customers with informative, valuable content that inspires them and builds your expertise and credibility in in their eyes.
If you have some downtime now, invest it in your future content. Look at what products and services you’ll want to promote down the road and plan some engaging content and marketing materials to support your efforts.
10) Learn a new skill.
Do you want to learn to use Instagram more effectively? Maybe you want to master your video marketing skills or learn a new language to better communicate with your customers.
If you can slow down a bit, grab the chance to read, learn and grow! This might be a good time to check out our AMPLiFY! Business Academy where members get instant access to a large library of training videos from social media marketing to lead generation and content marketing.
11) Make your employees feel safe.
Always communicate your COVID-19 plans to workers around sick days and compensation. If your employees have to come into work, assure them how you’re keeping their area clean and safe.
They are looking to you to feel taken care of during this scary time. That said, don’t lie or withhold negative information; if you can’t give bonuses or have to lay off staff, let them know as soon as possible and support them as best you can.
12) Attract more traffic to your site.
It’s always a great idea to add fresh, useful content to your website. Your visitors will appreciate solution-focused content that honestly speaks to why they need your product or service.
Focus on writing some keyword-rich articles to boost your search engine rankings.
13) Grow your social media following.
You may be self-isolating, but you can connect online! Message people who liked or commented on your social media posts to start a conversation.
Be active in the Facebook Groups where your ideal clients hang out. Be visible and helpful (not salesy and annoying) while you are making new connections and offering people a human connection.
14) Segment your email list.
Over time, email lists can get messy. Small business owners may lack the resources to write targeted messages for each group of potential clients (e.g., hot prospects, warm leads, new prospects, business colleagues).
Focus on segmenting your email list to make people feel like you’re speaking directly to them and offering them unique content.
15) Develop a new product or service.
Maybe you have a business idea that’s been on the back burner these past few years. Or, maybe you’ve identified a product or service that would really help people during or after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Check out what Heather Wilson has done to meet today’s demand of using Facebook Groups to a businesses advantage. She quickly created an online course called Create, Fill, and Engage Your Facebook Group.
16) Perform competitive research.
Staying on top of what your competitors are doing gives you an incredible advantage, whether you run an established small business or are developing a new product or service.
Invest some time now in better understanding your competitors. How is their messaging different from yours? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do they engage with their social media followers?
17) Share the love.
Don’t miss the chance to strengthen your most important relationships. Think about the people who are important to you (family, friends, customers, vendors, mentors, partners) and tell them what you most appreciate about them!
Stay Engaged with Customers and Keep Sales Alive During COVID-19.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and uncertain, let’s try to see these slow times for small businesses as an opportunity to think, review and plan for future growth and success.
If you need assistance, we can help you design a landing page to help you transition through and support your customers effectively at this time. Together we’ll find ways to boost dwindling sales due to this unforeseen economic crisis.
We wish everyone health and safety during this unusual time.
To your success,
Susan
Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.
paulsimoninstitute
bydry
zbfuheng
truthaboutfur
4gq64l0
dekalbstatecourt
sphinx-themes
oleon
livingplaterx-sites
teamuptop
halight
pressreleasepedia
snmm70
zgfgzs
pcmsgroup
sceniccaves
teenhealthcare
ts-grupp
sermayepiyasalarikongresi
miaweb
oncoimmunoterapia
heycaptain
drjcertification
ottodiy
peacefulmedia
willbe
goquo
estetic-dent-sklep
miradontsoa
allcafe
850wftl
deltagon
nodejs
matureunite
manassa
richinfo
sme100
coupdemainmagazine
imagecave
jessenoller
campusfood
growthhit
sanyo-bus
osakalottery
grenfellunited
otodoo
gxipo
apospublications
aarete
crazyhotfuck
duurzameleverancier
maldiveslottery
fit-brother
rifuginrete
rooftop
the-ria
gtb
topcamp
energyandminerals
xsite
19m2
repossi
earthmeat
maria-noichl
mixmature
q-games
chinaam-bugu
hyglz
sportsbellross
biologie-journal
visitfolly
foodserviceaustralia
customdynamics
ercis
drfelix
studentwalker
ebus
dmdm
kafwear
kosaka-mco
toyota-motorsport
agendalaadinfrastructuur
evocycles
siena-info
hercules
kandyanhost
jeremygutsche
meteilan107
axial-dv
andresmh
55plus-magazin
revenue
baixxar
pld
hellofins
shire-horse
terrestrialenergy
digitalworldsupport
thesoundprojector
oposdracosostio
enfgroup-ep
linuxshare
draftkings
mod
streamtvshow
missingfilms
tjxinhaiyu
tvorba-internetovych-stranek
sethmnookin
szigeti
hitoradio
mousumitraffic
kakegawa-kankou
pregunteme
karch
cqfygzfw
atomic
allaccessphoto
evesitedesign
u3cm
rikyu-club
nettrak
acius
myextralife
w2discover
cairnhomes
daventryexpress
oradellaterra
nicelocal
neo-facade
ldsites
kmc
fazerguiacomercial
salesla
internetservisleri
hdvideo
radiolemans
bzamayo
rotten-g
centralpark
materialsmarket
537111com
solera
carsmile
weathertrends360
jus2pom
akibank
andaf
174028
prophecy
retrofucker
caspv
mazilla
klartext-ne
sudong
loupe
readid
sunrisemarketing
077wg
mustat
lythamstannepress
aerztekammer-nrw
greenhospitality
molecularhealth
lyyxy
frp16
zandot
snabb-finans
bayern-kreativ
globtyli
creativecore
rabincenter
perales
rjrconstruction
tageskarte-gemeinde
sportzvault
ymcahk
17zcw
freewarepage
gandhiinstitute
printsys
melomind
8090ec
mens-support
rvs-rebalancing
hashinteractive
pharmakon
filmdeculte
shopcentar
aschenbach-finance
monpetitnuage
imami
brussels
ppn889
7m
goodhemp
fulbright
flashback
funduc
agrisera
sheenaiyengar
vets4childrescue
cocktailpartyeveningdress
parkettdoktor
liveperformersmeeting
sdyunyou
recurringdemo
san32
hebgzj
timlo
nocohempexpo
equifit
qodewire
need2beonline
wholesalenfljerseyslan
ideenplusmarken
lbndaily
yochanaitsolutions
stamptastic
genturis
bachledka
bdnsw
lol282
green-ribbon
sczhtx
154
sucht-hamburg
bagpipe
farnboroughairport
rswatcha
shubhamseeds
meghalayaonline
maihamahotel-firstresort
sbs
dbhrobot
presrocapo
ohioliving
tecup
dah
inis
wikipedia
aubrac-gorgesdutarn
k99
magzus
tury
big-s
jsrsrc
bali-modern
thecollegeexpo
cnnnewsource
ovosplay
universitaetssammlungen
whorevintage
maison-mottin
8qq55
miaoxiaochun
butamedya
joyce-mall
tusclicks
123faz
rushradar
completewebpages
onoffline
zweimalig
itsmymaitland
deker
fairmlbook
medasset
pousinchingmigly
wztv
openindustry4
apsfa
transfermateeducation
aqwomen
enterpriserentacar
posos
theartoffun
profijtmeubel
aragnet
degruyteropen
jimwhitefit
monyee
songbirdblog
garagegurus
jamaissanselles
quyoubbs
serfim
newpress
kwsolutionz
51
neustarter
techbuy
windowsloop
tradeforex
signalfeuer
nakedshemale
businessproontop
truongcaodangduocsaigon
digitaddict
merlijngroep
ngonline
fecbiosonsrira
bioprinting
smithweb
krankenhaus-geilenkirchen
ltc
cmsnano
prioritaetsnachweis
lude
bxxl
napkinfinance
gdpr
gotoplaymillion
keyama-rug
inpatmiverrioudia
whfc
eauclairedistillery
threestooges
tributariescable
fuktsparrteknik
cafeslow
destinationlimfjorden
jeugdverblijven
bancroftnebraska
softline-group
autopole
bak2
allesovervakanties
pieri
yidfadt
merkel-die-jagd
ntdelic
frederiqueinterieur
fresnoautoplex
dxqh
retromovies
ijcmr
radmin
thespringscostarica
euccan
sotex
takarnet
rheinstetten
servinglibrary
gobierno
bluesummitcreative
agglo-cobas
briankoberlein
cheminsdavenirs
jea
flexi-fun
handday
belinsprofan
mitutoyo
sumbawakab
rcdrun
bitcoin-buyer
destelbergen
animicausa
puebla
hiltes
histoirecanada
healthfood24
buildercorp
mon-cher
haoduoci
financialassistancess
horizoninfo
quispaces
mededonthego
napgamenhanh
placepass
leith
buildmyonlinestore
kz-cert
northeastiowafoodbank
pimenov
languagetransfer
iamjanedoefilm
xn--9iqx8xzlv
zhaozhizhu
diskinternals
andrewheiss
hotelnobel
thinkingjuice
rayanbroker
brainstormproductions
dsgncde
romarreawind
atletika
hauntedillinois
bisfed
airtype
yn-tobacco
desainbagus
stelselcatalogus
knegen
restcomphosence
tedsvintageart
publishing
onlinezakengids
youtube
talesofendearment
infectopharm
webcomco
imc-i
xiaokangpack
backyardstyle
htid-paris
renthumrala
tesmec
rusdoc
icrypex
alldrugs24h
tutorfly
cde
blueheronrealtynaples
igs-schulz
imagineinc-usa
lilou
moca
freirad
domfront-medievales
777888y
rtacoin
carevox
josefrancisco
idobata-salon
schweinfurthartcenter
goralskydvor
angusglen
swissmarketingacademy
owntru
chess
leukeuitnodiging
bestalliance
hikoki-powertools
phpug-dresden
ploud
gooroux
advws
kjjl100
shipinsight
artassociation
bloom-and-co
financialnigeria
mexicocity-lottery
drjacobs-shop
lodge-hotels
navitat
e6ad19eg3c2
cookpad-video
merchantechapps
creations-metaphores
etesync
ssolutions
childrensmusic
tymdbcj
mikurestaurant
aig
constitucion
compressmerch
achatpublic
wilkinsremovals
costumesociety
fattal-hotels
montoitenfloride
tvluba063
skiset
websitetemplates
amucontrollerexams
thewebsqueeze
benjiedq
ktrwa
8tishqk
rotoplas
slotoyunlari
uishoujie
dglib
a-fromage
slacklineinternational
playgolfmyrtlebeach
fifprecesorpartre
jiawutech
ademero
cyokqn
kip
neobix
wapp
radhadesh
yesnude
pomoc-drogowa-slubice
fastdrive
xtremeparasail
designgrotto
reseaux-sante-ca
finolaaustin
musiclinkfoundation
rosellacollections
supernovarun
ocssolutions
qqsn
ld
icatconf
max-e
vietnam-guide
miyaginavi
outreachprogram
creehealth
softline
kaixin100
fondssv
one-star
ysvege
regiowebcam
aacharana
ctuniti
lafrancecoquine
eucsj
webspc
eureka-coaching
iov
urbangekodesign
baubiologie-magazin
nathan
usrindustries
auroinfotech
apartmentsusa
rockymountaintechnologies
booster
st-2546
newhealthcollective
studiosonthepark
hotelarctic
stopasianhate
cz-byznys
powercash
sjakk
eurofins-clinicaldiagnostics
newwave
wclinic-osaka
lsm-ichihara
rightsforartists
moduly
wuaer
austimber
fluidcomponents
graniteprop
gloria
acrevis
artaxnet
congresochihuahua
danacountryman
littlelioness
erafonster
macno
chubang
vivalaslearn
da-interior
sbrain
sjerhombus
dgnpublicidade
ffapaysmart
exporic
jjgf
7482
greatbritainhockey
bk4d4
icisolutions
andersonfloors
inanoberstic
booknet
paynearby
knts
realsoft
komunavolge
manualsdir
huuhkaoy
noesteijver
busaneconomy
donovan
guopeiwang
sony
bierboerse
myusara
nelissen
chimeraland
jouwmarktkraam
coronersociety
skintour
univdatos
nonowa
startnederland
gnomefiles
vote2stopbush
agathagothesnape
daikin
shalem
sse-group
gxnyxy
tt200
cheapfungame
lightthebridge
amxbans
huohuvip526
yabovip61
wimuu
51zsb
enavabharat
azzurraceramica
gophotoweb
rcd
servicestrategies
