How COVID-19 Is Affecting Small Businesses and What Can You Do
The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. It’s an uncertain time with lots of unknowns, and while we don’t have all the answers, we want to share what we know and give our customers and other small businesses some advice that might encounter changes in their market. According to Google’s company announcement, “Since the first week of February, the search interest in coronavirus has risen by + 260 percent globally,” which has worried people across the globe. From social distancing to curfews and government and state-mandated closures, businesses are suffering the hardships of COVID-19.
Authorities are advising people to stay home, as the situation may continue for a while. While some companies are open to remote operation of their employees, others can not. Small businesses would also be negatively affected as consumers go out less and turn to shop alternatives. Small companies will need to act quickly and plan to take advantage of the turnaround and brace themselves for the repercussions of Covid-19.
Here are some of the suggested methods for planning and updating your accounts accordingly:
REVIEW:
It’s essential to keep abreast of how changing markets could impact your paid search and paid social media.
Search for traffic drops— clicks and impressions— in Google Analytics and Google Ads. For example, for a streaming company, they might start getting queries about’ Wuhan live streaming.’ These queries aren’t suitable for the pandemic. It is imperative to track comments inside your social media posts. There is a lot of misinformation around, and some fear-based comments that discredit potential customers.
COMMUNICATE:
Communicating consistently and efficiently would be the secret to preserving the customer relationship. In all situations, marketers will try to establish trust with current and potential customers through constructive contact through email and information directly on their website. In cases where activities or places need to be postponed, companies will consider their long-term relationship with consumers and realize that a refund or rescheduling may be a support point for anyone who can encounter discomfort or inconvenience at those periods. If your company is affected, Google recommends that you update your business hours and description in your Google My Business profile. Besides letting people know when they can contact your company, you can also update your description to provide more detail about any additional precautions you take or changes in services. These updates will upgrade your company details to Google Search and Maps.
A lot has occurred as a direct or indirect effect of COVID-19. While people are advised to wash their hands to avoid the spread of germs, there has been a shortage of hand sanitizers, bleaching and cleaning wipes, and related items. A lot of work culture will be temporarily changed as businesses continue to implement necessary work from home policies, and travel and tourism will be affected as our government temporarily bans travel to some countries where cases of the virus are high.
A lot of these changes can be difficult, but the best thing we can do as marketers is to look ahead and ease the nerves of consumers as best we can by delivering straightforward, concise, and accurate messages.
If you’re in the tourism and travel business, things are changing by the day. Some countries have officially banned travel to other high-risk countries as well as similar non-essential travel restrictions. Nevertheless, interest in “cheap flights right now” has increased by 90% over the past 30 days, and “cheap coronavirus flights” have increased by 2.450%.
While many people are unable to travel right now, there is a growing interest in doing so in the future, mainly when the flight costs are small. Advertise trips or activities in low-risk areas, and provide additional information about what tours and businesses are still safe. Changing the focus to long-term travel might help.
STAY UPDATED:
Sadly, COVID-19 has influenced the health and welfare of people around the world, and it should be our priority to keep people safe. Most, if not most, businesses are still feeling the virus ‘ effects, so staying up to date with the details is essential.
