You are a small business owner, maybe a recently opened business and you start having concerns and anxiety about the impact coronavirus will have on your business. First of all, this is a global situation that is having consequences for every business, so if this can make you feel better, we all are on the same boat!

The question now is, do you want to stand out by undertaking the right actions during this unfortunate situation or do you want to wait and stay passive?

If you are reading this article, I believe you want to turn this lockdown into a productive period that will allow you to come back when the situation will be stable stronger than ever. You might have to close your physical business but this doesn’t mean you have to stop communicating. This lockdown is actually the PERFECT moment to be active online as people are more connected than ever!

So here are 6 things you can do during this lockdown period to grow your business

Talk to your clients and suppliers

Communication is key during this unexpected situation which is affecting all of us. Take the time to talk to your client’s and suppliers, show your support and understand how they are being affected, how you can help them to go through this time, and it is more likely that you will get supported in return. Be cooperative and don’t try to fight, ask them what is their contingency plan, so you have all the required information, remember that no one can predict how the situation is going to evolve.

Switch for an online scheme

To stay active in this situation the best to do is to ADAPT, you had a physical restaurant and can’t receive anyone anymore well, it is time to install a delivery option so people can order online. Any physical shop should try to adapt and open an online store to maximise their sales during this time where physical contact isn’t a good option. You are in a situation where you can’t sell your services online, like a beauty salon, well, be creative and start recording tutorials that will show your expertise and strengthen your brand awareness.

Expand your activity

When you will move your activity online don’t limit yourself to the product or service you were offering so far, mainly if you can’t provide this service online. Seize this online opportunity to diversify, but keep something this is relevant for your brand and will help you gain notoriety and visibility. Do you have a skill? Then you can start creating an online course, a webinar, a live stream, training session… They are many ways to offer something different that will adapt to the current situation and still be in harmony with your brand, values and mainly with your initial activity. Quick example, you are a personal trainer, you can’t go to the gym anymore, you can’t train your client’s at home or outside, but nothing stops you to train those people online. Create IGTV, Youtube videos, give advice on how to stay fit at home, give a daily routine people will follow with you during their quarantine. Once the situation is back to normal you will have many prospects convince by your expertise which will make it a lot easier for you to convert them into clients.

Schedule content

No more excuses not to show up every day on social media! People are at home and deeply in need of entertainment. Show up and be there for them, bringing values and daily content to build a relationship and grow your community. Use a scheduling app, or hire a social media manager to build your online communication so people don’t forget about you. A social media manager with copywriting skills will help you spread the appropriate message to gain awareness and trust. At HBLC we also help you to create content if you are running out of graphic designs, we can also edit your actual content.

Be connected

As we said at the beginning of this article, people are more connected now than ever, take advantage of the situation by showing up by scheduling content as mentioned before but also by being connected, meaning: Interact with your audience. The more interaction the more light you are putting on your account and so, on your brand. Wave at people so they know about your business and do not forget to always interact with a meaningful message, you have time so don’t be spammy and create a real and honest dialogue with your community.

Learn and evolve

The last advice we can give you is to take this time off your physical business to learn new skills and level up your market by optimising your own strategy. There is always a million things we want to change but we never find the free time to do it, well this is the perfect moment for you to take a step back and look at the things you want to improve. Develop your personal skill, increase your knowledge about your industry, work on your concept, offer and brand image, elaborate a new strategy to reach your prospects… You can buy an online course on a website like "Udemy", but educate yourself is certainly the easiest way to stay productive and make your business evolve.

We hope that these 6 ideas will help you stay busy and most importantly will help you keep growing your business. The other advice we can give you is to stay calm and positive, you can’t control the current situation, so the best to do is to accept it and adapt to it as much as possible.

If after reading this article you still don’t know how you can adapt your business to face the circumstance, please, do not hesitate to contact us so we can help you find a way to shine during this temporary situation.