Local businesses that have relied on face-to-face interactions have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic, making shifting to an online model essential for keeping afloat. In light of this, today’s episode contains a series of strategies for businesses such as these to use that will help them make the transition. Our first bundle of tips pertains to retail services, and we talk about how taking this moment to go digital can be seen as an opportunity to expand your client base. Next, we shift our focus to service-based businesses and provide three main paradigms that you could package your service into so that it could live and thrive online. Finally, we speak to the third category of face-to-face businesses: foodservice outlets such as restaurants. It might seem like your fine dining model is ruined but you could save it by condensing your menu and offering a delivery service. Many families could do with a morale boost from not having to cook and getting to eat a delicious delivered meal. In all three categories we mention today, we also share some of the best software platforms you can use that will speed up your process of going online no matter your degree of computer literacy or product type. Make sure you tune into this one because these creative and dynamic tips could potentially get your business running better than it was before!
Key Points From This Episode:
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How coronavirus is affecting local retail, services, and restaurants.
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A major model that has been under threat from different forces: brick and mortar retail.
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How easy a local speciality product can be transitioned into an online model.
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Seeing this moment as an opportunity to expand your business’s footprint online.
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Where to find niched markets for your product beyond your hometown.
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Recommendations for software platforms that allow you to get going online.
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Why Shopify is a great platform: payment, shipping, themes, and more.
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How to sign up with Shopify and background work required such as photographing products.
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A reminder that your prior loyal customer base won’t require a fancy UI on your Shopify.
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Other web platforms for people with varying degrees of computer literacy.
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Niches which platforms have that could match your product to international audiences.
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How much face-to-face service-based business must be suffering now.
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Examples of creative ways service-based businesses have shifted online.
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A tip to transition your service into a web-based consultancy version of itself.
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Zoom-based, consultancy-based, and online course-based service models.
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Solutions for food services: start by narrowing your menu to popular take out options.
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Presenting a subscription-based model as an online food service.
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Options like providing the meal frozen or in its ingredient form with a recipe.
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Reasons why people would love to order take out: boredom, stress, etc.
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Platforms that can be used to get your food business online.
Tweetables:
“Business is having to change day by day to meet what is needing to happen to get things done in this environment” — @michaelshoup [0:00:57]
“If you are in a situation where you have products that can be shipped, this is actually a great excuse for you to move your inventory online and expand your footprint.” — @whatsPaulUpTo [0:04:11]
“Figure out how to turn your particular service into more of an online consultancy version of the service.” — @whatsPaulUpTo [0:013:18]
“It’s just nice to be able to say, ‘Oh, I know that two or three nights a week some people are going to come by and they are going to drop off a hot meal on my doorstep.” — @whatsPaulUpTo [0:20:15]