Everyone knows that the effects of the pandemic have been devastating for many businesses the world over.
Few industries have thrived during this turbulent time. Additionally, though some measures are now beginning to lift in the UK, this does not necessarily mean that things will revert to the way they were for all businesses. Unfortunately, it was only in March that reports surfaced stating that the full impact of the coronavirus was yet to be felt on Britain’s high streets, with many challenging times still lying ahead.
Therefore, it might be worth questioning how you can help these businesses as society begins to slowly reopen. You’ll find some suggestions below.
Social Media Shoutouts
Social media is a great tool for spreading awareness and influencing others into action.
Some people make the mistake of hoping that their online content causes an immediate in sales, but that’s not always the sole objective here. Instead, these digital platforms can be instrumental in building a brand, converting passive customers into ardent fans of the firm’s character and values. Hopefully, this will inspire a sense of loyalty later down the line.
If you’re going to shoutout a business online, then it’s important every post you publish is carefully curated. Things to keep in mind may include:
- Keeping it brief: While some shoutouts can get away with being lengthier tributes in troubling times, you perhaps have a better chance of your message being read in full by more people if it’s on the shorter side. 3-4 compact sentences should suffice.
- Using an upbeat tone: While everyone knows businesses are struggling, professionals do have their pride and dignity. Focus your posts on the great things the firm offers and the reputable clients or suppliers they publicly work with, rather than posting something that sounds more like a charity appeal.
- Utilise the right tools: This means tagging parties likely to be interested by the post, using hashtags that may generate more exposure, and asking close friends and family to like and reshare the post.
- Working with others: The social media shoutout can be your idea, but it might be someone you know has a larger following online. If they post it, more people could see it. You could also reach out to a high-profile figure on the off chance they may contribute. It may be a slim chance, but you have nothing to lose.
Keep these tenants in mind, and your social media shoutouts should resonate with a larger pool of people. Otherwise, you may risk shouting into the empty void of cyberspace, or risk appearing like you’re trying to show off rather than earnestly help the business in question.
Compose Glowing Reviews
Social media may not afford you all the characters you need to fully express all that you love about a business. Understandably, you may want to utilise a platform that allows you to articulate your full range of feelings.
In this event, you could make contributions to ReviewMaster.com and go into greater detail in your praising of a firm. This is a social platform designed for shopper and product enthusiasts, particularly those who’re serious about wanting to improve the world through the reviews they compose. It’s also completely free to use also, and many businesses invite their customers to use it themselves so that they can gain exposure and boost their sales.
Of course, you may want to keep your writings brief, but make use of a starred review system instead. You have that option here also. Whatever your preferences, websites such as these can be a great place for firms to get their names out there. If you want to commit to really providing support to businesses in need, then resources such as these could be crucial to your efforts.
Provide Links to Official Resources
If you know a struggling business owner yourself, then it could be worthwhile reminding him or her that support is out there.
After all, while reviews and social media shoutouts can be helpful, there’re no guarantees that their presence alone will be enough to carry firms forward. However, the support that official channels provide can almost certainly change the game, providing guidance on anything from tax arrangements to regional help with exporting. Gov.uk, for example, even provide additional links to advisers on webchats amongst other useful tools, providing support with immediacy.
Of course, it might be that the business owners you know are aware of these materials already. However, if you can provide gentle encouragement to investigate it further, or even provide some company as they review it all, you might be making a huge contribution to bettering their prospects. Official channels can carry a bit of extra weight in terms of the help they offer, so they shouldn’t be left out of the equation.
Purchase Gift Cards
Even smaller gestures contribute to a larger whole, so even something as simple as picking up an in-store gift card could go a long way.
This is an excellent method of giving a struggling business some money while removing the pressures on your part of buying a product or service then and there. It can also provide them with some encouragement, in that you’re essentially communicating your intentions to trade with them at some point in the future. For many small businesses, that knowledge is very comforting these days, with many of them having faced more extreme levels of uncertainty than they likely ever experienced before.
Of course, you can also pass gift cards onto others, should you choose to. Doing this might be a great way to promote the company’s services at your discretion. Once your loved ones have sampled what the companies have in store, it might be that they’ll be converted into loyal customers themselves thereon.
Build Community Projects
Businesses may fair better when a proactive community is built around them.
By striving to make a positive change in society and helping your local community, you could also be helping the businesses in your area in turn. For example, in helping the well-being of animals, you could also be helping pet businesses by buying their food, cleaning, and comfort supplies. In starting a neighbourhood watch or sports club, you could be helping the sellers and manufacturers of all the relevant equipment you and others will be using too.
Moreover, these types of initiatives are ongoing endeavours, which means your efforts here could create multiple loyal customers who feed their funds into a company overtime. Ultimately, once the goodwill of a community is behind you, anything is possible for the local businesses in your area.
Work with the Struggling Business
It might be that you’re a business owner yourself, and that your fortunes have been more favourable during the challenging times of the last year. This may be true if you work in fields such as digital marketing.
In this event, it could be decent of you to give your suppliers discounts, or to bulk order certain goods from them so that they have extra income. No doubt these gestures would go a long way and greatly improve your professional relationship with them also.
Furthermore, these acts of kindness may well be remembered by your partners, clients, and suppliers for a long time to come. Should your business fall on hard times in the future, it might be that they’ll return a few favours and provide some support on account of the example you set today.
