Tuesday 14th Apr 2020
There are all manner of reasons that might prevent someone from being able to visit your business, from distance and inconvenience, to building works at your own premises. In any scenario, you’ll want to ensure that you can still do business with people as normal, whether you’re selling a product or service. Here are three ideas for keeping things going.
Delivery
If you offer a physical product, then offering a delivery service is undoubtedly a good choice. In the modern world, consumers and businesses alike expect to be able to receive goods rapidly - ideally the next day, and often on the very same day. Larger companies may well be able to organise their own delivery service, but if you can’t, look for couriers that you can partner with. We’re very lucky to have a wealth of partners to choose from, and it’s also easy to get excellent rates from multiple couriers to find the best. Though it’s also worth considering speed and reliability - not just cost.
If people can’t come to you to buy your product, then send it to them. It’s as simple as that, and doesn’t have to be complicated. If the situation is temporary, then you don’t necessarily need to invest in ecommerce either. Simple promotion on social media and phone ordering can still work.
Video
There are plenty of solutions on the modern market, from Microsoft Teams to Zoom, that allow you to connect face-to-face with customers. Those who operate service-based businesses will want to do everything they can to maintain lines of communication, and this is often effectively achieved through video conferencing. Looking to close a deal but can’t meet physically? A video conference is almost always more effective than phone or email.
Try to keep business continuity. Have meetings booked in? Simply reschedule them to be online, and make the process as easy as possible for clients. Many service businesses will find that they can still operate without physical meeting. And an upshot is that it’ll help environmental credentials too.
Reservations and future agreements
Not all transactions need to be immediate, which means that, in any period of downtime when customers can’t come to you, you can always seek to set things up in the pipeline for when disruption ends. Work on making agreements, and offer excellent deals and rates if possible, to ensure that you can get clients to agree early. Sales is an ongoing process, and building and curating a pipeline is just as important as closing. Shift the way you operate, and you can still come out on top.