Many small businesses are being forced to close or significantly limit their hours of operation right now due to the Coronavirus. This is obviously not ideal, but we must carry on as best we can. Maintaining a positive attitude is easier when you know you’re doing something meaningful for your business. With that in mind, here are 5 things you can do the help keep your business healthy during the pandemic:

1) Let Your Customers Know You Are Absolutely Still There for Them

Just because everything’s closed doesn’t mean the world is going to stop. Your customers will still have needs, and it’s your job to help them as best you can. For example: nobody’s going out engagement ring shopping right now, but people are still planning to get married. You can use technology like FaceTime or WhatsApp to meet with your customers, helping them browse your showcases and discuss custom options.

This kind of personal shopping works well for several types of retail, and if your customers like what they see, you make the sale and ship it right to them or offer curbside pick-up.

2) Take Some Pictures & Make Some Videos

You know how we’re always telling you to take pictures of your products to share on social media and use on your website, but you just never have the time? Now you have the time. Take some pictures! Make some videos! The content you create now can support your marketing efforts through the pandemic & beyond!

3) Embrace Social Selling

You don’t have to have an e-commerce portal to sell online. Your customers are all stuck at home, and you know they’re on social media even more than normal. Make use of your social media presence to showcase your best stuff. You can even organize an online event, so people can tune in and shop. Retail therapy can make being stuck at home during the pandemic a little easier to bear!

Let people know they can buy by calling the store, if you don’t have e-commerce functionality. You can have their purchases shipped right to their front door. It’ll be like Amazon, but better, because they’ll be supporting their local business during a hard time – who doesn’t love to be a hero?

4) Sell Gift Cards to Generate Revenue

Cash flow is going to be a concern. Offering gift cards at a discount now so shoppers can use them to come in and buy when everything blows over can help offset the immediate impact of having to close or limit hours. If you adopt this strategy, it’s a good idea to remind shoppers that gift cards make great holiday gifts.

5) Provide Remote Trainings

Do your customers need help making better use of your products? Providing remote trainings can strengthen the bond you have with your customers, and may even prove to be a profitable revenue stream in and of itself. These trainings can be one on one – ideal for high touch personalized businesses – or group events.

Remote training sounds very serious, but you can have fun with this: for example, gyms that have been shut down for public safety are having their trainers teach at-home workouts via FaceTime or Facebook Live so people can keep up their fitness routines.