by It’s incredible to imagine that just a few years ago, massive crowds flocked to watch LeBron James continue his championship run. It feels like a long time ago.
As a brick-and-mortar business owner, the days of conducting business as usual seemed to have also passed. But your business is your livelihood. With new businesses popping up globally, you’re undoubtedly wondering when you’ll be able to reopen. So, how do you know when it’s the proper time to welcome customers back in? The following are 5 top signs:
1. You comply with the law
Stay-at-home orders and required closures differ significantly by location, so check with your state and locality before reopening. The worse the COVID-19 pandemic is in your area, the more restrictive the limitations will be. To be safe, review any coronavirus-related orders in your state. You don’t want to risk being shut down or being blamed for an outbreak because you didn’t pay attention to the warnings.
2. You have a strategy in place to keep customers safe.
It’s difficult to manage customer inflow during a pandemic. Make sure they’re wearing masks, and build your business to handle several clients simultaneously while maintaining sufficient distance — or find a mechanism to limit the number of consumers on-site at any given moment, possibly through a reservation system. Before you can welcome clients back, you must overcome numerous logistical challenges. Don’t reopen if you don’t have a solid plan to keep clients safe, don’t reopen.
3. Your clients severely need your service.
If you manage a grocery store, for example, you saw an increase in business due to COVID-19 — prices certainly jumped during the early months of the epidemic due to high demand. However, not every company delivers a service that clients require. Consider how much your consumer needs you to reopen. Are you a luxury item, a need, or anything in between? You can guarantee your customers are waiting for you to reopen if you’re a barber. If you manage a laser tag company specializing in children’s birthday parties, you’ll probably have to wait until a vaccination becomes widely available.
4. You’ve made all of the essential changes.
You’re reopening to a different world when you reopen your business. Customers’ habits have shifted, most possibly permanently, but temporarily. You’ll be disappointed if you open your doors with the same business plan as before and expect the same amount of traffic. Evaluate the changes that COVID-19 has imposed on the general public and project how they will affect your industry in the long run. Then devise a strategy. For example, if you own a restaurant, create a new business plan where delivery accounts for a larger portion of your revenue.
5. You have software that can cope with a new reality.
If you’ve never used software to manage your business before or aren’t satisfied with what you have, now is the time to consider what sort of software you actually require. It’s a new beginning for you, and you’ll need a platform that makes managing your business simple to succeed in this new environment.
Do you run a plumbing business? Please use field service management software to set up a reservation system that will boost communication between your plumbers and their customers while keeping them socially separated. Do you own or manage a construction company? Construction management software will assist you in completely changing day-to-day job site management to keep workers safe. Are you in charge of a sales team? CRM software can assist you in locating a solution that keeps track of your salespeople wherever they go and generates detailed analytics.
Final thoughts
It’s a difficult time for everyone. But if you handle it well, this could be an opportunity to propel your business forward.
