In the current corona virus shutdown, the worst thing a ‘closed’ small business owner can do is … nothing!
Many have heeded the government’s call to suspend trading, others have done so without any prompting. Many will scrape through this crisis, while others will be less lucky. The overall economic cost will be enormous – but that may be small against the possible human cost if Covid-19 is unchecked.
In circumstances like this, it’s very easy to acknowledge that your livelihood has been ripped from under your feet – and simply give up.
Creative solutions
But you can do much better than that. Detach yourself from the view that an immovable obstacle has been placed in your way. Start searching for creative ways to get round it.
In other words, don’t treat the forced shutdown as a threat to your future. Think about how you can turn it into an opportunity.
That may seem a simplistic approach, but ask yourself when you last had an opportunity to pull right back from your business, analyse it objectively and set a better course.
Now’s your chance! At the very least, start planning your re-opening. Will you simply open the doors and hope people notice? Or will you make sure everybody knows?
Shut, but not silent
If it’s the latter (and it should be) you should be working towards it already. Right now you may be shut, but you don’t have to be silent.
The other major strand of opportunity is to pump out masses of content to keep your brand top-of-mind with your existing customers – and future supporters.
Use strong messages to underline your market leadership, expertise and understanding. Build your reputation as a thought-leader.
Just keep speaking out.
The opportunities for life-saving communication have never been better. Your website, blogging, social media and your email subscribers present multiple outlets for reputation building. What’s more, you control the content and costs are minimal.
You can even do it all yourself, but I would suggest you use a communication professional like me to help. It’s vital to ensure that what you say and how you say it always puts you and your business in the best possible light.
I can help you with good content ‘from a Tweet to a treatise’. Get in touch now and let’s get a plan going in readiness for your big business comeback.