How To Prepare Your Business for Post-Coronavirus

Things are still very up in the air when it comes to the pandemic and New York state’s reopening. At the time of writing this, most of Upstate NY is entering Phase 4. That said, social distancing and contact-free interactions will most likely be with us for some time. Is your business ready to conduct business in a post-coronavirus world?

Despite hopes of business returning to usual once the economy ‘opens up’, the reality is that even once the lockdown is lifted, things won’t go back to the way they were before the crisis. It may normalize, but things are going to be different for quite some time.

Plan for Social Distancing

According to the Centers for Disease Control, social distancing is one of the best ways to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. As you begin to plan for the re-opening, here are some things you should consider:

• Limit the number of customers in your workspace.

• Modifying your work hours to accommodate at-risk groups or to allow increased wait time. 

• Encourage virtual meetings and a remote workforce using video conferencing, and productivity suites such as G Suite for Business and Microsoft Office 365.

Of course, follow the CDC’s official guidelines, as well as New York state’s official Covid-19 site, both of which offer some good resources and requirements depending on your business.

Invest in Hygiene

Hygiene goes beyond washing your hands (although that is a high priority). The goal of prioritizing hygiene is to ensure your team’s working environment is as clean as possible to reduce opportunities for the spread of the virus. Some steps you can take are:

• Increase cleaning of high-traffic areas and objects such as kitchens, bathrooms, doorknobs, and handrails, particularly when outside visitors enter the building.

• Provide the team with disposable cutlery, cups, and plates or encourage they maintain their own designated items.

• Empower your team to maintain their workstation sanitization regularly by providing cleaning supplies.

• Invest in physical security and access security control measures to control who enters the office.

• Develop a contact-free environment by accepting digital wallet payments, online payments, and utilizing other digital contact and communication methods.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

During this crisis, misinformation and uncertainty are the biggest threats to your business steadying on during this event. Make it easy for your team and customers to know what is going on and what is expected of them and yourself. By keeping your customers informed of your plans, you have a better chance to keep them invested in your business. 

• Back to Basics: Now is the time to reconsider direct mail. With entire communities in their homes, your printed message has a very good chance to catch their attention. This is an opportunity to reinforce your services, website address, phone numbers and any information which will keep your business at top-of-mind and easily accessible.

• Update Your Website: As people stay home, online use has seen a spike as people search for things to occupy their time as well as any information about the crisis. Your website is your main source of communication, is it up to the task? Is it mobile ready? Is it the type of website that provides potential customers with a great experience or one that they leave and never return? Is it secure enough to take online orders and handle customer credit card information? Now is the time to take a look at your website’s design.

• Social Media to Engage Your Clients: Use your content such as blogs, news, and announcements to encourage visitors to your site. Provide incentives to entice them to subscribe or provide their contact information so you can keep them informed of what you’re doing.  

  Finally, use social media to directly engage with your clients, potential and existing. Social media can provide real-time information about the status of your business. If you don’t believe in the value of social media, reconsider, and stop making excuses not to use social media. For example, if you’re a restaurant shifting to pick-up, how would you let your customers know? Social media is the ideal tool for keeping your customers up to date, but only if you know how to put the social in social media.

If you’re not sure if your technology is ready for the next stage in this crisis, don’t wait until it’s too late and your competitors have taken the lead. Take a moment to call Directive for a free consultation. We have a wealth of tools to help your business get ahead of the curve and your competitors. Don’t get left behind, the new normal is here to stay.