An amazing pandemic success story - Water's End Brewery

Water's End Brewery owner, Zach Mote, knew he had to find a way to sell beer even in a lockdown. Learn about his clever solution and how it helped him increase year-over-year revenues by over 30 percent!

7 Tips to Help You Prepare for the Recovery Marathon

Short term thinking is going to  damage more business than coronavirus! Of course you’re trying to scrape together sales today and  recoup the money you lost during lockdown. But more importantly, you need to be looking at the next 18 months and ways to rebuild and reinvent your business for a new (and exciting) reality!

Here are a few tips to get you started in your long term thinking strategy.

1.       Preserve capital
Slash expenses wherever you can and hold on to your cash with a tight fist. We don’t know how rough the recession is going to be or what changes you’ll need to make to your future business that will require money.

2.       Be ready to answer this question
“What do you sell and to whom? “  That answer shouldn’t be the same as it was pre-COVD.

3.       Seek clarity in small bites
None of us seems to have a working crystal ball right now and therefore, none of us knows what the future is going to look like. (Anyone who tells you they have the answers is lying!) So each time you see a clear path, even it’s only to the next step, take pride in that milestone

4.       Understand that recovery is not linear
Just because we may hit bottom, doesn’t mean it’s a straight shot back up. There may be plateaus. There may be changes in course.  Instead of being surprised, be prepared.

5.       Get real data on the situation

Take your personal life, business and perspective out of the equation and research how COVID has affected your category of business and your community. Is unemployment higher because a large company had massive layoffs? Were cases relatively mild? Try to drill down to understand how quickly your community will recover and get a better understanding of how to best serve them.

6.       Rehire carefully and with intention

Rebuilding your team is a fantastic opportunity to create a new culture that will successfully suit your future business.

7.       Cultivate your own war room advisors

This is absolutely no time to go it alone! Gather together business neighbors, friends, even customers to discuss the future from various points of view. You’re almost guaranteed to find new ideas and inspiration by doing this.

It’s time to let go of the business you used to have and embrace the new opportunities that lie ahead.

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

The post-quarantine customer profiles - and how to sell to them

Are customers behaving and acting a little different these days? Probably so. As we come out of lockdown, customer behaviors have changed, as have their attitudes. Here’s an overview of the four post-quarantine customer profiles to help make purchasing and marketing decisions as well as to correctly adjust your revenue expectations in the coming months.

Number 1
The Fearless

These are the folks that were at stores, restaurants, salons and gyms the second they open. They are unafraid of the virus and anxious to socialize. They are immediate customers and happy to be able to access shopping and entertainment.  Get them into your loyalty program and market aggressively to increase frequency of purchase/visit.

Number 2
The Fearful
The exact opposite of group 1, these are the people who won’t come out of their house until they get the all clear, probably until there’s a vaccine. Unless you are selling necessities online, you probably won’t win these customers back for some time.

Number 3
The Unable
This group is, for a number a reason, unable to leave their homes for physical restrictions or unable to purchase due to financial circumstances. Online necessities and low-cost digital entertainment might be good options. Consider online book clubs and other digital gatherings to keep your visibility high for when this gr

Number 4
The Cautious
This probably represents the majority of consumers right now. They are open and optimistic but adopting a “wait and see” attitude to each new phase of reopening. They won’t be forced into shopping and dining out but, if they feel safe, will dip their collective toes in the water. The most important thing to remember with this group is to market consistently to inspire them to come out and when they do,  insure their experience at your store and restaurant is flawless. Safety first is the message here.

The successful business is one that solves problems. Duh!

A very successful small business owner said to me last week, " A successful business is one that solves problems." It's a beautifully simplistic motto for us to remember daily.

What I am finding however, in the post-quarantine world, is too many business owners are trying to solve their own problems, not their customers'! It's understandable. You're fighting for the future of your business.

But if you are really looking for immediate and long term success, you need to be thinking about how to serve your customer. In subtle - and not so subtle ways- you may be putting your needs before theirs and quite frankly, losing the loyalty of these important early stage return customers.

Here are a few examples I’ve seen in just the past week:

A restaurant owner doubling the price of wine by the glass with the explanation that f he isn’t going through wine as quickly. Duh! Why not offer attractive wine by the bottle options to increase average sale and make the customer feel great about purchasing it?

A clothing retailer desperate to sell existing inventory that consists mostly of prom and wedding guest dresses. Duh! For the most part, people need comfortable daily wear to get them through a routine summer. Keep changing your inventory to meet the changing needs of today’s consumer and when the time comes, they’ll come back for your specialty.

A restaurant trying to cram outdoor seating areas to maximize capacity is wondering why so many potential customers are walking away. Duh! Even if you’re not scared of the virus, there are plenty of people who are still fearful. Do everything you can to make them feel comfortable. If you have to charge a minimum in order to make your numbers, go ahead and do that but don’t be insensitive to customer needs.

A dry cleaner bemoaning there’s no business because people aren’t going to work. Duh! By contrast, another dry cleaner is literally cleaning up by helping customers “clean the quarantine” out of their home goods (sheets, bedspreads, etc.).

Your custome'rs needs today bear almost no resemblance to their needs four months ago! Don’t sell them what you have. Fix a problem. Fill a need. Calm their fears. Solve today’s problems today and you’ll most likely have a loyal customer for life.

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel