‍‍The current circumstances around the coronavirus are affecting everyone. Every company, small or big, will experience the consequences. At the same time, it also means that you have to be more creative than you have ever been to give your company a positive twist. Below, we have listed some tips for you to help you get started.

1. Use a lot more social media than you have ever done!

See if you can launch an online web shop to create an online revenue source. Do you already have a web shop? Then take a look at your social media pages. Even if a web shop can’t be realized, you can still sell online through social media. This offers new opportunities for your business.

Try to pick the social media sites where your target audience can be found! Instagram is one of the most used sites at the moment. Facebook is used a lot in Germany. Is your target group young? Consider Tiktok; an app that lets you create short videos and that is mainly used by teenagers from 8 to 22 years old.

If you know where to find your target group, it gives you new possibilities to show your products. Show all the nice items you have waiting around in your store. Make sure that all your products including price are available on your page so that customers can easily make an order and if desired can be sent or picked up. That way you turn your social media page into a ‘click & collect’ system.

2. New physical way of shopping

Besides that there are currently many online opportunities, it’s also important to offer a new way of shopping in your physical store. Are your customers used to shop in your store instead of shopping online? Try to think creatively to make sure that is still possible. For example by letting the customer make a personal shopping appointment. If the customer doesn’t want to visit the store you can also set up a video appointment. This way, your turnover flow becomes omnichannel, online and offline are integrated. In addition, also make sure that you sell store vouchers or gift cards. That gives you revenue the moment you sell it and customers can use it to shop later.

3. Collaborate with other businesses

In these difficult times, solidarity between entrepreneurs and consumers arises. We all need each other. Put others in the spotlight on your social media pages so that you as entrepreneurs can reach more people. Consumers are also more willing to support local entrepreneurs, so take advantage of that. Have you found a new opportunity for your business model? Let the consumer know and make a call for others to share this as well.

4. Take the time for maintenance and optimization

Due you experience a quite time in your company or did you stop for now?

This is the time to do all the maintenance and optimization of your business that you never got to do before. Everyone is guilty of this, because customers always come first.

The time you have left now offers opportunities. Take a close look at your company and check if your marketing strategy is still in order. Especially now is the time to create a solid online marketing plan. In addition, it’s also good to spend your time expanding your knowledge about specific topics such as: Google Analytics, SEO and SEA. Another option is to follow an online course.

5. Get started with new content

Take the opportunity to optimize your website content. Pick a new design and make sure your online content is SEO proof to enhance your visibility in online search engines. Write some blogs for the upcoming period. Blogs are a good way to increase the findability of your website. Especially if you write (or have written) timeless knowledge blogs that can be used for a long time and that are optimized with SEO keywords.

6. Make a marketing and sales plan for when the Corona madness is over

Make sure you have a good plan and are ready to go and when the current situation starts to change. You have to be ready to put in 100% effort so that you can make up for the damage caused in these weeks / months as quickly as possible. Determine which channels and promotions you will use. It is probably cheaper to advertise now so it’s a good time to do so. Long-term advertising such as lead generation is a smart approach. It is also good to look at the conversion of your website or webshop. See if there is room for improvement. Often it only takes a few small improvements that bring you new customers.

7. Make use of government regulations

The government has made various regulations for to companies. Every effort is made to support the vitality of the economy and that is why the financial arrangements are put in place. Do not feel ashamed and make use of this!

Now that the corona crisis has started, you as an entrepreneur will feel the impact and unfortunately it is negative for the most of us. These tips help your company to prevent failure and prepare for the time when the market starts to grow. Get started now, do what you can and be prepared for when the Corona storm has passed.‍‍