After closing your brick-and-mortar business amidst COVID-19, reopening your doors to the public isn’t as simple as putting a sign out front and hoping your customers will return post-coronavirus. You need to communicate your company’s safety policies and procedures and take advantage of free or affordable marketing opportunities, like social media and email marketing.
Fortunately, your post-coronavirus marketing plan doesn’t have to break the bank. Below, Zumvu shares a few budget-friendly tips and strategies for promoting the reopening of your small business — while keeping your customers and employees safe and healthy in the process.
Look at Your Financial Situation
As you prepare to reopen your brick-and-mortar to the public, the first thing you need to do is take a look at your current financial situation. How much can you afford to spend on marketing and advertising post-lockdown? Are there any unnecessary business expenses you can cut back on in order to increase your marketing budget?
Something as simple as a balance sheet can help you answer these questions while presenting you with a clear snapshot of your business’s financial situation. There are many advantages of using a basic balance sheet for your small business, largely because you can take a closer look at your current assets, liabilities, and net worth as often as necessary. And with the convenience of always having real-time numbers, you can quickly unearth any weaknesses or strengths. This, in turn, makes for accurate reporting and better decision-making.
Communicate Your Safety Protocols
To reopen and succeed post-lockdown, your business must meet federal, state, and local guidelines. You need to be able to share your safety protocols with your customers, employees, vendors, and other relevant parties. Check out the National Governors Association mitigation actions chart, or visit your state’s official website to review your local rules and regulations.
After complying with the requirements for reopening, it’s important to effectively communicate the safety measures your business is taking. Derek Miller of Open We Stand shares the following cost-effective strategies for communicating your coronavirus safety policies:
- Thoroughly train your staff prior to reopening.
- Share updates to your website and social media pages.
- Send email updates to customers.
- Post signage in and outside of your brick-and-mortar.
- Keep an employee at your store entrance to ensure that safety protocols are being followed.
Explore Free Marketing Tools and Strategies
In addition to communicating your safety protocols via digital channels, there are so many other budget-friendly tools and strategies for interacting with new and existing customers before, during, and after your business reopening.
As one example, you can use Facebook to create online or offline events, share company blog posts, stream live videos, and network with other business owners. Plus, social media management tools like Hootsuite can be used to schedule and share content to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube channels.
Other free marketing tools for small businesses include:
- Canva (for creating images and designs)
- Wistia (for creating professional videos and podcasts)
- Google Trends (for researching popular blog topics to write about)
- Google Analytics (for analyzing the behavior of your website visitors)
- Open Site Explorer (for monitoring your website backlinks and Domain Authority)
If your budget allows, however, professional marketing services are a worthy investment — especially if you don’t have the time to engage with your target audience online. These services can help to boost your online visibility, increase your conversion rates, and attract new customers, as well as handle other tasks like website maintenance and mobile development.
The Bottom Line
It’s important to create a sound marketing plan as you prepare to reopen your small business during the pandemic. However, this doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on marketing and advertising. With the right tools and resources at your disposal, you can affordably reach your existing customers while also growing your audience as you get ready to reopen your brick-and-mortar business.
Zumvu can help you unlock your business’s growth potential. To learn how we can assist you and your business, fill out the contact form on our site!
