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Wash your hands.
Coronavirus.
COVID-19.
Quarantine.
Wash your hands.
These are likely the most popular words you’ve been hearing for weeks now with the COVID-19 outbreak and what is now being referred to as a pandemic. However, this virus is affecting much more than our toilet paper supply. Small business and restaurant owners across the country are seeing customers afraid to go out amidst the panic.
Luckily, with thoughtful research and preparation, your business doesn’t have to suffer during this crisis. We’ve compiled a list of 5 top tips to keep your business running during the Coronavirus pandemic:
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Sanitize
This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but consider exactly how much further you can push your efforts to ensure peace of mind for your customers. Added precautions could involve having a staff member continually washing off high-traffic surfaces like door handles and keypads. If you are a restaurant, make sure every table is bussed and thoroughly cleaned/sanitized. Additionally, provide customers easy access to hand sanitation stations or simply put out a public bottle of hand sanitizer.
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Reduce Contact
In line with paying special attention to sanitation efforts, also pay attention to reducing the amount of contact happening at your locations. One way to reduce a large source of germ sharing for customers is to assign a staff member to not only sanitize the door handles, but also to open the door for customers. If at all possible, minimize the amount of contact between staff and customers, such as having customers swipe and process their own payments.
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Space and Separation
In businesses where public seating is relatively close together, especially true for restaurants, rearrange your seating to adhere to the suggested spacing of 3 – 6 feet between individuals.
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Accommodate
If you are a sit down restaurant or a retail store, your main source of business is likely via foot traffic and physical customers at your business locations. However, allow yourself and your business to be flexible at this time. Accommodations you can provide could include adjusting your menu from a sit down style to food that can be grab-and-go for your customers that want to limit public contact. Retailers could also offer online ordering and/or delivery options.
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Communicate
Perhaps the most important and beneficial step you can take as you make accommodations during the COVID-19 outbreak is to communicate those efforts to your customers! If you are taking special steps to protect your customers from contamination, but still allowing them to frequent your business, let them know! Whether you send a text, make an update on social media, or release a blog post, update your customers on the precautions you’re taking to keep them safe when visiting your restaurant or business. The added benefit of this is with so many businesses closing their doors during this time, you can make sure your customers know that you are choosing to remain open.
Yes, the rest of the country is panicking and businesses are experiencing a shift in customer activity, but this doesn’t mean you have to close your doors or let the coronavirus win! Follow these steps or come up with your own way to protect your staff and customers during the COVID-19 crisis without sacrificing your business!
We’d love to hear what you’re doing to weather the storm!
Oh…and don’t forget to wash your hands.
