The Ultimate Checklist for a successful reopening.
With the ease of lockdown restrictions starting on the 12th of April 2021, most non-essential shops were allowed to reopen and welcome customers again.
On the 17th of May, all venues will be able to reopen in the UK a date all business owners must be looking forward to as following the road map to ease lockdown restrictions, this is a key date to get back our “normal life”.
However, this pandemic has changed consumers' habits and for a successful reopening, you should adapt your strategy to their new behaviour. To help you we have put together a checklist so you have all the essential steps in mind:
1. Make cleanliness and safety your priority
After being told for a year that we must wear a face covering and maintain social distance from others, some customers might not feel ready to go back physically to a shop.
Therefore, it is now essential to reassure your customers by informing them of the hygiene and social distancing measures you have implemented in your venue to ensure their security.
Make it appear clearly on your website with a tab “our COVID-19 response”, create social media posts about it so people can trust you and your venue when it comes to going out again.
Communicate with your team to ensure that everyone knows the rules to follow to respect those measures so customers can feel safe and comfortable in your venue.
Once your on-site strategy is on point, let’s get into the digital strategy side of things:
2. Use social media as your best asset to communicate with your customers
If you don’t tell people, they won’t lookout for the information. As soon as you know your fixed reopening date, you must communicate it with your customers through online channels.
Update your opening time on Google Business
Announce the reopening through your social media accounts
Send a newsletter to inform your database
Create a pop-up window on your website with the reopening date and encourage people to take measurable action like a booking if you are a food business.
Don’t hesitate to post communications that will create the hype and enthusiasm of your community. Be creative and use all the tools displayed on social media to reach as many people as possible.
A quick way of announcing your reopening and encouraging your audience to spread to word is by creating a countdown on Instagram Story. Once posted, you then ask your followers to share it on their story. If you do not have an engaged audience, consider giving something in exchange for those who help you gain visibility.
You must treat your reopening like an event and constantly communicate about it via digital platforms to make sure your customers know about it and are as excited as you to come back.
3. Drive more traffic to your physical shop
The last tips we want to give you for a successful reopening is to create an attractive offer to drive traffic to your venue. Either a new item on the menu/in the shop or a unique experience that wasn’t there before, it could be as simple as an Instagrammable corner in your outdoor area.
Consider your reopening as if it was the first day of opening for your business, people might not know about you so you have to make sure that they won’t forget about your venue if they step a foot in.
Here are 2 ways to increase traffic to your physical shop:
World of mouth
Nowadays, word of mouth is still a powerful marketing strategy, your customers are your best advertising. Make sure that you offer a smooth and enjoyable experience to each of them so they are willing to come back and encourage their circles to discover your shop.
Influencer marketing
Influencers have proved their worth with endless amounts of brands using them to promote their products or services. Organising an influencer event a day prior to your reopening might help you get the expected traffic on the following days as they will highlight your shop and offer and encourage their communities to experience it.
After months of being closed with a lot of incertitudes, your reopening might be as exciting as frightening for you, and this is totally normal. Don’t forget why you started your business and why people are coming to you and not others.
Follow our advice and if you need extra help or still have questions, simply reach out to us via Instagram - @hblcmarketing!
HBLC Team wishes you a Happy reopening