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9 Productive Activities For Your Business During COVID-19

The word “productive” takes on a different meaning during a pandemic like COVID-19. We understand that everyone is experiencing different levels of quarantine; many may be wondering when they can get back to their normal work routine.

While things look bleak, it’s not the time to bury your head in the sand. As more people get used to remote work and acclimate to their home offices, work will continue like normal.

When things get better, and they will eventually get better, you’ll be happy to know you stayed productive during this quarantine period.

Our team has put together nine productive activities your business can do during COVID-19 to make the most of this time. Follow these instructions and you’ll come out of this in control and ready to take market share from your competition.

1. Generate Reviews for Your Business

Google My Business

Checking in on customers during this time is a great way to build stronger relationships that will continue once the pandemic subsides. Have your staff go through your last six months or more of clients. 

Call each client to check-in and see how they are doing, offer support, or even just have a casual conversation with them. Once your team confirms the client is happy with your business, ask them if they will give you a review. 

You may have heard that Google has stopped posting all reviews, for now, in order to protect small businesses from angry people who might be frustrated that you are closed or limited your hours. 

Your clients can still add reviews to Google, Facebook, and other platforms. When the pandemic calms down and they have the resources to verify the postings, those positive reviews will eventually be added to your online business profile.

One thing we’ve noticed is that many businesses take client reviews for granted. However, they have enormous referral potential! Investing the time to respond to your reviews, both positive and negative, will show potential clients you care about their needs. 

Replying to reviews also notifies Google that your Google My Business page has excellent engagement and activity, which will lead to a higher ranking and more new clients.

Check out our guide to choosing the right messaging channels for getting reviews here

2. Create Content for Your Audience

Take this opportunity to create engaging content for your audience to enjoy. 

Maintaining an active presence online with infographics, blog posts, short video Q&A’s or webinars, shows people you’re still operating and are open for business. 

For example, you can create visuals that highlight interesting facts about your company or changes in your industry over the past month.

Sites like Infogram, Pinterest, and Canva help you to create content that you can share across your different social channels and email blasts.

3. Update Your Work Space

While some buildings may be shut-down for quarantine purposes, those that aren’t can use this time to improve their office environment.

Appearances mean everything and looking the part goes a long way toward generating new business and keeping existing customers. It can be as simple as re-arranging workspaces, selecting new playlists for your lobby, or fixing the lighting in your office. 

Every bit counts. You’ll be happy you tackled it during your downtime after work starts piling up again.

4. Create Q&A Videos

Q&A

People like it when others listen to them. Creating a list of ten questions about your business for others to reply to is a great way to get feedback on your operations. 

Q&A’s serve as both content to engage in, as well as additional videos you can upload to your Youtube or Vimeo account. These can then be embedded in a video gallery on your website and posted to other accounts like Facebook, Instagram, etc.

5. Work On Your Social Media Strategy

Social media is about consistency and engagement. Regular posting brings more engagement to your page, which expands your overall audience. Educational content and videos reinforce your standing as a thought leader in your community.

A vast majority of people are going through the same thing right now and they are spending a ton more time on social media than usual. Have some fun, get creative and connect with your community. 

6. Use Email Marketing to Connect

Right now, everyone is spending more time than ever on their devices. 

Your emails are much more likely to get read, but the type of emails you send to clients is important. Reach out in a way that’s helpful and understanding. Try to empathize with their situation and bring a positive perspective to their day.

Email is a great way to maintain a relationship with your clients and let them know you are real, you are going through the same things they are, and you are here for them. 

Set up an email flow to stay in touch for the time being. When things normalize a bit, you can send promotions like normal.

7. Offer Specials to Entice Customers

Getting businesspeople in the door right now is critical, so you’ll need to offer some special promotions to entice prospective customers to enlist your services. 

You can offer a reduced setup fee, free services, dedicated support—anything (within reason) to can make your offering that much sweeter. Let your followers know on social media and include clear start and end dates for the special, it’s a great way to capture emails and generate new leads.

8. Virtual Consults

People are stuck in their homes for who knows how long. Now, more than ever is the time to go virtual! Virtual consults are a great way to connect with new clients to demonstrate your business. 

Get the word out by putting this CTA front-and-center on your website, social media, and emails. 

9. Reimagine Your Digital Presence

Your web presence is going to matter more now as clients shift their business activities to digital. 

Businesses that capitalize on expanding their marketing efforts will gain valuable market share and skyrocket when this mess ends. We can’t predict when this will be over, but know that it’ll subside eventually. 

Those that are proactive in helping their clients succeed will come out as winners, and those who don’t will lose business, market share, and their livelihood.