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Have you been able to pivot your business? Let’s talk about why it’s important to pivot and roll with the punches during a pandemic!
For those of you playing at home, I’m based in Melbourne, Australia. As of 8 July, our local Government has re-implemented a rollback to Stage 3 restrictions. This means that our entire city is now effectively back in lockdown for a period of six weeks.
This was due to significant spikes in positive test results, and daily figures that are continually in triple-digits. In the past week, we’ve seen daily numbers spike to a record 484 cases within 24hrs. Since then, numbers have remained uncomfortably high on a daily basis. Melbourne has now been placed into mandatory mask-wearing for anybody leaving the house. Regardless of what you are doing, and you can now be issued with a fine for not wearing a mask.
Over the past several weeks, countless businesses had only just been fortunate enough to reopen and resume restricted trading. This was after being forced to close during the original three-month lockdown period. Prior to this second period of lockdown, our Government identified 36 suburbs within 10 postcodes that were noted as ‘hotspot’ suburbs. They were considered hotspots due to COVID outbreaks or spikes in positive test results, and those suburbs were already placed in a local lockdown.
It then increased to 38.
Now it’s our entire city.
Coming off the back of a three-month lockdown, there was a sense of relief for business owners, a glimmer of hope that their businesses would open and resume trading. A hope that people would begin returning to support them and support the local economy. Unfortunately, that was merely momentary, and their hopes, once again, dissolved in front of their eyes. It’s a horrible experience to get your hopes up, only to have the rug ripped out from under your feet.
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MARKETING?
Everything.
Most businesses should already have sorted out alternative ways to operate and trade. A large number of businesses have moved to online alternatives.
This is the time for you to look at alternative ways in which your business can pivot. What other avenues can you explore to sell your product or service during lockdown?
CAN YOU PIVOT?
One of the best examples of a business pivot that I’ve seen is the distilleries pausing production of their product lines, and instead created hand sanitiser in order to meet the public demand for it.
Other examples:
- Businesses that had traditionally only sold in a bricks-and-mortar shopfront, and transitioned their product offering online. A simple move like this increases their ability to reach to more consumers.
- Delivery companies that created a new section of their business to assist the more vulnerable members of the community. Offering grocery delivery services when the supermarkets were overwhelmed with the demand for their own delivery services.
- Clothing / textile business that started making face masks and shields for essential workers and local communities.
- Fitness studios that made the pivot and moved their fitness, dance and yoga classes online. Delivering their workouts via zoom to their communities.
Sidenote: I’ve even been involved in teaching those classes online (but that’s a different story), and connecting with people across the country. Due to the further restrictions, we have transformed our loungeroom into an at-home ‘studio’ so we can continue to deliver our classes online.
This is also the point where I should acknowledge that I completely understand that not every business has the ability to pivot. Nor do they have the need to develop a stronger online presence due to the nature of their business or industry. However it is certainly something that, generally speaking, you as a business owner should be thinking about now.
GET ONLINE. YESTERDAY!
For the rest of the businesses out there that do have the ability to pivot, you should make the step to developing your online presence. If you’re not already online in some capacity, then now is the time to double-down on those efforts.
- Fix your website. Or if you don’t even have one yet, then build one.
- Spruce up your social media.
- Take your cafe online for food orders.
- Send an email newsletter to your customers with an update on your business.
- Launch an online store.
- Engage with your customers via video calls or ‘lives’ on social media.
Whatever it is, you should be ensuring that you are continuing to stay connected with your audience. Create an opportunity so they can continue to engage with your brand whilst we are stuck at home.
DIGITAL DOESN’T HAVE TO BE DAUNTING!
Embracing digital may seem daunting to you, but it doesn’t have to be.
Social media platforms are free and relatively easy to use for even the most technically-challenged of us. Starting a Facebook Page for your business can allow you to connect with potentially more people that you normally would in your physical store.
It can even be as simple as encouraging customers to leave reviews for your business.
BUT WHERE SHOULD I START?
For a lot of us right now, lockdown = downtime, so ensure that you are utilising this time efficiently.
However, if you want to take a couple of days to live in your pj’s on the couch binge watching a new series, I thoroughly encourage you to take some ‘YOU’ time – this shit is stressful enough as it is!
- Email – Contact your customers and explain what’s happening, and what they can expect to see from your business over the coming weeks.
- Social Media – this should be your immediate go-to for up to date info on your business. This is where the majority of your audience will be engaging with you, so it’s important to remain active on social media. Always ensure that you’re responding to queries and comments sooner rather than later.
- Website –
- Update your content – put up some details about your closure, or restrictions to trading.
- Change up some of the images on your site.
- Implement a new colour scheme or layout.
- Create an online store (if you’re tech-savvy, it can cost you almost nothing except for time, which you now have plenty of!), or get somebody to help you do it.
- Flash Sales – Flash sales are a tried and tested way to move stock and generate some quick cash flow. Remember that all good flash sales need to have a solid value offer, so make it worthwhile, and ensure that you give your customers some notice that it’s happening. Send out an email update or a text blast to everybody, utilise your social media and sell! You can even sweeten the deal with discounts or half-price / free shipping.
- Stocktake – Go through all your inventory and make sure that you’ve got the correct stock levels for all your products. If you’re looking at selling online, this is the perfect opportunity to ensure that your supply levels are sufficient for online sales.
- Product Spotlight – Choose a product that perhaps isn’t selling so well, and give it some attention. Focus on what makes it so great, and why your customers should want it. You could alternatively focus on it’s production, or ingredients list if it’s sourced locally / organically etc.
- Employee Highlight – your staff are also going through this as well, and for a lot of them, they’re also just as stressed out as you are. Show them some love (with their permission of course!) and do an appreciation post.
- Talk about why they’re such an asset to your team.
- Are they somebody who’s been there for quite some time, or has worked really hard to rise up through the ranks.
- Do they play sports on the weekend, or volunteer or do triathlons.
- Perhaps they’re the office pasty chef who is always taking care of morning tea in the office.
Are you looking at that list and thinking NOPE! TOO FUCKING HARD! It’s okay, I completely understand, but it’s important to remind yourself that it’s completely okay to feel overwhelmed, moreso in times like this.
Please reach out if you have any questions about your business and steps you can take to get your business back on track. Even if you just want to have a video call and say hey… feel free to get in touch!