As countries and communities across the globe respond to COVID-19 (coronavirus), we are aware that this time generates unprecedented challenges for all types of businesses. Here are some essential recommendations for both your employees and customers to help you navigate these times.
For the most updated international information and guidelines on COVID-19 you can keep track of the following websites:
Or locally in Denmark, you can follow these sites:
Customers
Communicating with customers is probably at the top of the to-do list. Whether you have a website or not, you should at least have a Google Business Profile (if not, you should consider setting one up now). Remember to update your opening times there, as this is probably the first place customers will look for updated information about your operating hours.
You can also use your Google Business Profile to upload posts, these could be relating to special offers, inventory updates are any information you feel is necessary.
Finally, if your business is getting many questions over email, consider using an email auto-reply for the most frequently asked questions. This will save you considerable time and will allow you to continue communicating with your customers timely.
Employees
For your employees, vendors, and clients it is probably most important to always have their contact info accessible and updated. To do so, you can update their information and added them to your Google Contacts. This will allow you to have access to them anywhere and from any device.
At uncertain times like these, employees might lose direction. Consider creating and sharing a business plan that describes how to operate this business going forward. You can even share it with them online so that it can be continuously updated and accessed.
Modifying Ads
You may or may not have any online Ads running, but if you do, this is the time to revisit and modify your strategy. Your Ads should reflect your current situation so that you do not end up spending more than you need. Always have a data-driven approach when doing this. There are three main points that you could address right now:
- Pausing: Consider pausing your campaigns entirely if your product/service availability is affected. Either you are running out of stock due to your supply diminishing, or due to increased demand. That way you can quickly unpause your campaigns when the situation stabilises again.
- Editing: If your delivery of products or services is affected, use the ads to address this issue. This could be things like delivery times for shipments or even your business opening times.
- Retargeting: Many companies operate internationally, like being based in one location, while your lion-share of customers is in a different country. If they are and are unfortunately heavily affected by the spread of the virus. You could re-spread your ad budget to a different location which is less affected.
Working Remotely
Many countries around the world have issued a mandatory break from teaching and working at offices unless they were extremely necessary as the medical staff. However, you should always be prepared to work from home. In this scenario, the most vital element is having remote access to all important information.
If your company is already using Google tools than you already have a good headstart. Here is a list of tools provided by Google that can help you manage your work more effectively from anywhere:
- On this site from Google, you can find all the tools and resources to continue operating remotely whether you are a business, organization or a teaching institution.
- Use Google shared documents available through Google Drive (remember to upload all essential material) to share documents and work simultaneously on them with your colleagues.
- For meetings, and quick conference calls, use Google Voice app or hangouts meet.
There are several options for sharing documents and making calls online, using Google services will allow you to centralize them all in one place, and makes running your business remotely easier.
Several companies opt for using Skype and Dropbox for making calls and sharing documents. Maybe these can work for you too, the important thing is being prepared and ready to take your business fully online.
Conclusion
At Miklagard, we are already digital nomads by nature, we have always been able to work from anywhere at any time. Our drive is to be there when our clients need us. If you are having problems driving your business online, you can reach out and have an informal talk with us anytime by clicking here.
At these times of universal uncertainty, it is vital that we help and stand with each other. Stay safe at these challenging times.
