Making sales during a pandemic

It’s a tall order for some, we know, but making sales and keeping your business moving during this pandemic is still possible for many of you out there, even if the light at the end of the tunnel is not yet visible.

If you’re a small business or sole trader, you already know what you can and cannot do in terms of your work practices.

Laws are in place and social restrictions abound. But there are likely still avenues left for you and ways you can look past this moment and into the sales recovery phase.

So, even if you’re facing serious pain, there are still a lot of things you can control.

Gift cards and pre-ordering

There has been a lot of goodwill and business support out here in the community and people want you to stay in business. Especially your loyal customers.

Think of your loyal returning customer base first. As we know, customer retention is much easier than acquisition, especially right now with low consumer confidence.  You already have a base of customers willing to support you.

Reach out through your marketing and sales channels to your clients and offer them discounted gift cards or preorder deals.

This allows you to keep cashflow moving while providing future value to your customers.

You may be surprised by the willingness of people to help you out during these pandemic restricted times.

Diversification

Diversifying your offerings may be essential during COVID-19 restrictions. Have a serious think about what you can source, supply and what people really want or need right now.

I bet you’ve seen café’s selling toilet paper, hand sanitizer, veggies and eggs. I’m sure you’ve seen new delivery and takeaway offerings. I bet you’ve seen ecommerce boom and online stores popping up everywhere.

Take note and try to find a relevant niche you can occupy which really resonates with the prevailing conditions and consumer behaviour.

Be a solution.

Adapting your marketing messages

Don’t disappear. Adapt and stay relevant.

You may need to change your marketing plans and become reactive and timely. The same old content may not be appropriate right now.

Instead, get in your customers’ heads and provide messaging and call to actions that remain reliable during COVID-19.

Take stock and look at your ad spend and overheads. You can likely pare some of it back without abandoning marketing completely.

Instead, you should be informing your market of what’s going on with your business and promote your new or altered sales propositions. Make sure to spread the word about new products, deals or promotions, like gift cards.

Work on your website

A lot of selling will be moving online. Now more than ever, you should take a hard look at the standard of your website and online sales funnel.

If you run ecommerce, this is more prevalent than ever, but even if you don’t the speed and quality of your site will still impact sales through a lack of confidence in your business.

Work on your:

• path to sale
• simple site navigation
• site speed
• mobile friendliness
• ecommerce professionalism

Radical pricing

It’s time to get brutal with your sale prices.

If you have underperforming stock, you may need to radically discount. If you don’t see an uptick in certain items or services, reduce the price.

Similarly, if you have a product or service that is booming in these circumstances, have a think about modest price increases to elevate your sales or, if demand is good, beat the competition with great discounts.

This is only temporary but a survival mindset is a must.

Plan ahead

This won’t last forever, so now is the time to redo your sales and business plan. As we’ve found out, times can change quickly so put time into sales predictions, review the viability of your products and plan for future sales opportunities.

You can often find opportunity amid chaos and now is no different. Keep your eye on the horizon and model what your business will look like and how you’ll be selling into the future.