Running a small business during a pandemic can be stressful, to say the least. If you find yourself feeling an immense amount of pressure as an entrepreneur, know that you are not alone. It’s important not to let this throw you off from maintaining what you have built and working on your future business goals. Here are five tips you can implement to ensure your business remains in shape at all times.
1. Stay Secure With Good IT Support
Technical disruptions will cost time and money that you cannot afford as a small business owner. Even if you’re on a strict budget or trying to cut costs, your IT services should never be on the cutting board. You need this area to function well in order to maintain your level of output, and compromising it can be a very expensive mistake to fix.
Safeguard your work and your precious data by getting the best small business IT support available to you. This way, you’ll have a team of professionals on hand to ensure that your systems are always a go, no matter what the digital world throws at you.
2. Check And Update Your Website Monthly
Outdated and inaccurate information is bad for your reputation. At best, irrelevant dates and inactive links make your business appear like it’s behind the times or on hiatus. At worst, it can confuse potential customers and put them off your services altogether.
You can prevent this by ensuring your business website and social media accounts are checked and updated on a monthly basis. Outsourcing to a web design agency will ensure the work is done efficiently while also guaranteeing that you’ll have a more professional looking website with a top-notch user experience.
3. Encourage Customer Reviews
Many studies have shown that customers use reviews and referrals to inform their purchasing decisions. Online reviews have the added benefit of giving your business a stronger chance of appearing as a search engine result for potential customers who are browsing.
If you have an online shop, you can include a review feature for products on your e-store or email a review form to customers after they make a purchase. It’s also worth asking customers to review your business on platforms like Google, Trip Advisor, and Facebook.
You can offer incentives such as loyalty points or customer credit in exchange for reviews. However, you should research the legalities and potential outcomes of incentivized reviews carefully before you even consider taking this route.
4. Survey Your Customers
A straightforward way to understand the needs and expectations of your customers is to give them a platform on which to voice their concerns. A humble survey with at least one open response question is an easy way to do this. It could be delivered in a number of ways, including:
- As part of an EDM marketing campaign;
- In your monthly newsletter;
- As a text to new customers;
- As a separate email periodically sent to loyal customers.
Survey results can give you confidence in your standards of service and clue you in on where to take your business next and for that read this guide to Improve Digital Customer Experience.
5. Take Breaks
Here it is – the point that may seem irrelevant but is actually the most important. Allowing yourself (and employees) adequate breaks from work is essential for reducing stress and improving performance. Prioritising breaks and staying in a sound frame of mind complements all of the above pieces of advice and will help you run your business long term.
With these tips fresh in your mind, it’s now up to you to choose which one you will start with!
