How COVID-19 Is Changing the Way Businesses Are Operating

As businesses across Canada slowly start to reopen, it may leave you wondering – how exactly is this going to work? And “how do I keep my people, my customers, and myself safe in this new era?”

Nearly half of businesses reported implementing new strategies or ways of interacting with their customers throughout the pandemic, with about 40% of businesses learning how to work from home (3), and increasing or introducing, for the first time, online services (1). 

The reality is that even as we return to some form of normalcy – 60% of businesses reported they could reopen and return to business as normal or as close to normal as possible when social distancing measures are reduced/removed (1) – many of the ways we’ve operated before will be forever changed.

As we adapt to running our businesses in this new era, we need to be prepared to operate no matter what the world throws at us and maintain relationships with our customers on their terms.

Tips For Keeping You and Your Customers Safe When Reopening

The biggest question on everyone’s mind as we reopen is whether it’s safe. How can we ensure our customers and staff stay healthy while abiding by the regulations for reopening?

Here are some of the most helpful tips we found for businesses looking to reopen safely:

• How many people come into contact with your payment terminal in a day? Sanitation and consistent cleaning is key. We’ve switched many of our customers to touch-screen solutions (Poynt or Clover Flex) that can be more easily wiped down and disinfected. (2).
• Consider upgrading your equipment so that you can keep your staff and customers sufficiently distanced, while still ensuring a smooth customer experience (you might look for an option like the Clover Mini to Mini integration, or a Desk5000 to pinpad solution).
• Stay up to date with the regulations of your local, provincial, and federal government.
• Use your community of local businesses to boost each other up. How are those around you reopening? How can you work together to encourage patronage at each of your stores?

The Value of Maintaining Your New Online Presence

As you reopen, it may seem overwhelming to manage an online business alongside your brick and mortar but consider the infrastructure you’ve already created. This can help you maintain that online system even as things return to the new normal.

You should expect to see a reduction of in-store patronage, even as you reopen (4), which means finding new ways to balance revenue and safety.

• By keeping your online presence going, you can encourage customers to, shop, eat, or utilize your services – even at a distance.
• An online presence is also fundamental in attracting new and old customers to your store.
• An online presence will allow you to gain new and maintain old customers while staying safe.

Running your own business means being prepared, for the best and the worst. By keeping your online presence running even though your brick and mortar is open, you establish your reliability and ease of access to your customers for when it might be needed most.

Doing Both: Online and In-Store

Even while the importance of keeping your online presence is clear, it can still be a stumbling block for business owners who do a lot of the work for their business themselves.

So how can you make sure managing both is seamless and successful? This is what we recommend:

• Get organized:
  • Getting organized can take most of the stress away when you’re getting set up. Once you know exactly which pieces fit, you can train your staff on how to implement your new strategy. and customers will appreciate the consistency both online and in-store.
• Integrate into one seamless experience:
  • When promoting your business entirely through your own platform, whether your website, an app, or ordering page, reduce the hassle of managing the two streams of orders or shoppers by integrating both streams into one platform.
• Find the right platform:
  • Because of how easy it can be to use third parties like Uber Eats or Skip the Dishes many business owners rely on them. The problem? These businesses take anywhere between 20 to 40% of your revenue from your sales.  Instead, consider running your ordering service in house, hiring members of your community to deliver, and retaining 100% of the profits from your online sales.

Conclusion

We’ve navigated through these uncertain times and found new ways to generate revenue and connect with our customers – even when we can’t do so face to face. Don’t let that work in adapting to this new environment go to waste as you reopen. Keep it in place to assist you in keeping your customers and staff safe, holding on to more of your revenue, and bringing new and old customers to your business time and time again.

Need a system that can keep you operating seamlessly online and in-store? Speak to one of our agents about Talech today.

Cites

1. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200429/dq200429a-eng.htm
2. https://www.gocanvas.com/content/blog/post/4-keys-to-keeping-your-team-and-customers-safe-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
3. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/covid-19-statistics-canada-1.5548942
4. https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/keeping-customers-and-clients-safe-during-the-covid-19-outbreak