Ideas to Help your Business Stay Afloat During ‘Lockdown’
Here are just a few ideas to help your business stay afloat during ‘Lockdown’. There’s lots of advice out there offering help with funding, HR support and liquidation for businesses who are in difficulty. But what if you don’t fall into that category? What if you can still operate some sort of service, or better still, you’ve been busier as a result of the current situation?
Now, more than ever, is time to keep up those relationships with your existing clients, potential clients and business collaboration partners.
Your existing clients
Your existing clients will be looking to you for guidance on the services you provide. Is there a way you can still help them, with products or services that are tailored to their current needs? Or by understanding their difficulties and adapting your service to suit them? It may possibly mean you have to pause memberships or cut out unnecessary products or services they can’t afford right now. Either way by showing some compassion and kindness, your customers will thank you for it. And when things return to ‘normal’ you can hopefully, pick up where you left off without souring the relationship.
Potential clients
Potential clients are going to be your sales funnel and it’s important not to let this dry up. After all, we need something to look forward to in this uncertain time. If you are in the fortunate position that your potential clients can still operate normally and still need your services, then there is no shame in approaching them. Just do your homework beforehand, offer solutions and guidance this will help to develop long term relationships. Be approachable, don’t be insensitive, show care and consideration. They will appreciate a more softly, softly approach.
If your potential clients aren’t in a position to afford your services at present, don’t despair, all is not lost. It’s all about brand awareness and keeping in front of people so they remember you when they are ready to buy. Again, offer advice, support and tips from your industry, show you are the expert and be memorable. When things return to ‘normal’ and these people are in a better position to buy, hopefully it will be from you!
Business collaboration partners
Business collaboration are going to prove invaluable right now. Going forward, look to see who you can team up with to gain a win-win situation for both of you. Is there something you can both offer for free that added together make a more valuable ‘give away’? This is an opportunity for you both to promote each other. Other ways to collaborate are creating courses together, asking your collaboration partner to recommend you to their existing customers. Or just working on a large project together to complete it in a shorter space of time. I have just been on a great collaboration call with the members of the Northern Affinity, sharing ideas and suggestions to help and support each other.
I hope this has given you some ideas to help your business stay afloat during ‘Lockdown’. I could go on, but I’m sure you are getting the idea. Keep in touch, don’t give up, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, although it might seem a little dim at the moment.
If you’d like to find out more about a group of supportive business owners that could help you, then drop me an email to tracey@weareinbusiness.co.uk and I’ll send details of our Virtual Business Community. Or check out our meetings page of the website.