Ready to Reopen? Top Tips for Small Businesses Reopening

 

As we start to think about lockdown easing across the country, many small businesses are beginning to think about the reopening of their stores and salons. Whilst welcoming customers back in-store is the priority, there are a couple of steps you can take to maximise this reopening.

We've collected some of our top tips for small business owners looking to open their doors back up next month to help make the most of this post-lockdown relaunch.

1. Get Clued Up

Whilst the reopening of salons and non-essential stores is an exciting time, there are still important guidelines you must adhere to to remain safe and secure during these times. As outlined by the government, the rollout dates given for easing lockdown are subject to change dependent on the statistics nearer the time. It’s vital you remain up to date with the latest announcements and updates to ensure your business only re-opens when it is safe to do so, with the correct regulations in place. You can find all related information and useful resources for UK business owners on the Gov.uk website here.

2. Countdown Campaigns

As you gear up to the reopening of your business, why not get your customer base excited too? If you have an email list of previous customers, let them know when you’re planning to reopen with a countdown email campaign, perhaps including sneak peeks of services or products you will be offering after lockdown. This type of campaign can also work well for social media - with stories or feed posts counting down the days until you reopen. Why not host an ‘Ask me anything’ for your customers about your business’ reopening strategy, or share a collection of client reviews in the lead up to your doors reopening?

3. Shout about it!

Once you’re back up and running, make sure everyone knows it. Share the news across all of your online channels, including your social media platforms and website to ensure everyone knows that you’re back in action. Take a few snaps of you and your team back in the store, or a pic of your first client to celebrate getting back into work. If you run a blog for your business, this would also be a great time to tell your readers about your experience of lockdown and the build up to reopening. Storytelling is always a great promotional tool, and sharing your experience of running a business throughout lockdown would be a great way to engage your readers as they prepare for your return to work.

 4. Get Prepared

As you look to welcome customers back into your workplace, there may be a few things you can put into place to ensure you’re properly equipped for the re-launch. Have your team been briefed on the rules and regulations you must follow while operating? Are there any areas of service you could improve on with team training? Remember that with increased custom, comes the increased need for a well-oiled customer service procedure. Whilst you may have been able to press pause on some of your customer service processes throughout lockdown, you should ensure all processes are up and running as soon as you are. Is someone manning your customer support email and message requests? Customers that feel looked after and supported, will stick around, so spend some time running through your services from the customers perspective to be sure you’re covering all bases.

5. Get Set Up

The basis to any customer-focused approach to business is working out your customer’s needs and fulfilling them as best you can. With many customers looking for ways they can split and spread the cost of purchases these days, offering a ‘buy now, pay later’ service is a great way to help facilitate your customers' experience of your business. As a consumer credit lender, Payl8r offers flexible repayment plans to customers across the UK looking to spread their costs. Whether your customers would like to spread the cost of your services over one month or twelve months, Payl8r can offer a credit plan to suit, subject to affordability assessments and creditworthiness.

If you’d like to find out more about the services offered by Payl8r, you can visit our website and request a callback from a member of our team here.