Adapting Your Local Brick & Mortar Business After COVID-19 [Contributed Blog]

June 23, 2020 - 4 minutes read - Business Management, Contributed Posts

The lockdown rules are slowly easing for businesses around the globe. But there is no escaping the fact that the impacts of COVID-19 will last for many months. The landscape has changed for consumers and companies alike, especially for brick and mortar premises. Adapting to the post-coronavirus era is, therefore, an essential step on the road to recovery after a very difficult period.

First and foremost, you need to equip yourself with the right plan of action. Here’s all you need to know.

1. Adapting Work Environments

Even when your doors are reopened, social distancing will remain in place for some time. Therefore, you must go the extra mile to keep people apart and limit any interactions between customers and employees. Similarly, you must disinfect all surfaces on a frequent basis and make sanitizer readily available.

Many businesses can adopt NFC payments to remove the need for face-to-face transactions and cash handling. This also opens the door to the prospect of using ‘click and collect’ services that can reduce the amount of time spent on your property. In turn, you’ll be able to manage a larger volume of clients without breaking social distancing rules.

Meanwhile, services such as dentist surgeries may want to close reception areas. Patients can call the office to confirm their arrival before a member of staff collects them for the appointment.

2. Adapting Your Marketing Strategies

The consumer experience has changed, potentially forever. The days of mindlessly browsing the mall are largely off limits for at least the next few months. Consumers already conducted a lot of product research online, but the shift towards digital efforts has now hit top gear. Businesses that do not adapt their strategies will be hit hard.

It is now important to be seen on social media and search engines when local audiences want products. Understanding SEO, Google My Business pages, and social media marketing strategies are all vital steps. Given that it’s now harder to build new customer relations, you should focus on remarketing to people that are aware of the brand.

The user experience now plays a greater role than ever before too. Show clients how your brand is perfectly matched to their expectations, and conversions will follow.

3. Adapting The Workforce

The value of great employees has never been in question. Nonetheless, their productivity and motivation levels are at an all-time high. First and foremost, you have a responsibility to keep them safe. Maintaining a clean and organized workspace is crucial. Where possible, though, you may want to encourage remote working from home.

This is something you’ve probably done for the last few months. It won’t be possible to do this in all job roles, which is why PPE equipment is still needed. Still, if you can implement automation and modern tech to create a more practical solution, it’s important to do this. The post-coronavirus era is not a time to take unnecessary risks.

This can be supported by outsourced services while analyzing the value of all tasks can support your cause too. You’ve got this!

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Tags: COVID-19, local business, local business marketing, Marketing Strategies, marketing tips