Business Doesn’t Stop When Customers Stay Home

Business Doesnt Stop When Customers Stay Home

The COVID-19 virus unfolding in the US and worldwide has profoundly affected most businesses. When people are being advised – or in some cases ordered – to stay home, it is going to affect the say they buy products or services.

 

Companies that depend almost exclusively on foot traffic such as retail stores, entertainment venues, and bars and restaurants are going to be devastated, at least in the short run. And all businesses are going to have to deal with most employees staying home either by choice or by government order.

 

But there are two critical things to remember about the COVID-19 crisis:

 

  1. It won’t last forever.
  2. There is no down time for successful businesses.

 

People are still going to buy products and services. For many, it may be a few weeks or a month before they resume their normal buying habits. But everybody will continue to live their lives even if it’s temporarily behind closed doors.

 

Businesses that can adapt to the rapidly changing environment by doing things like offering online ordering, facilitating seamless delivery, and adjusting on the fly to running their operations remotely will succeed in both the short term and the long term.

 

Managing Your Business Remotely

 

Before the crisis occurred, some took steps to allow employees to work from home at least part of the time. Now it’s essential for managers to learn how to do it with no time to ramp up.

 

There are plenty of things you can do to shift your business operations online right now. For example, if you don’t already have a PayPal account, create one today so you can accept seamless online payments and pay vendors without cash handling.

 

The online tools are already there. You can use Quickbooks for billing and invoicing; Skype to hold virtual meetings with employees and clients; ZenDesk for sharing emails and documents; Avaza Project Management for collaborating with others; LytronLeads.com for checking leads 24/7; and much, much more.

 

Business Doesn’t Stop When Customers Stay Home – Paradigm Change

 

Most of America’s 200 million working people will be staying home for at least the next two weeks. That includes small business owners. But how you use this time can determine the future success or failure of your business.

 

Here’s what’s likely to happen: Most people will delight in the novelty of staying at home for the first couple of days. Eventually, however, the tedium of being trapped indoors without social interaction will start to wear on them. So where will they go to satisfy their need to interact with other people if they can’t go to bars, restaurants, or stores?

 

Why, online, of course!

 

People aren’t going to stop buying food, water, and personal necessities. They are still going to need most of the services they used before they were trapped in their homes by the crisis. We all still need to eat, drink, and be entertained. But if we can’t leave our homes for a while, we will just have to shift our focus to the Internet to fulfill these needs even more than we already have.

 

So how can your business serve your customers online? Successful small businesses will adapt to service captured audience right now and establish long-term loyalty for when the crisis eventually ends.

 

Business Doesn’t Stop When Customers Stay Home – Community Service

 

People are going to be sitting at home for the next couple of weeks. That means most won’t have much else to do except watch and judge the actions of others.

 

Already in the COVID-19 crisis there have been villains, including the brothers in Tennessee who bought up all the hand sanitizer in their town in order to sell it at price-gouging rates on eBay and Amazon. And the young people in Chicago who ignored government orders to follow social distancing protocols and instead crowded into bars and parties on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

 

But there are heroes as well, such as the people who volunteered for the first human trials of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine in Washington State. Or the NBA players and team owners who put up their own money to pay hourly workers thrown out of work by cancelled games. And the health workers who put their own lives at risk to help those seriously sickened by the virus.

 

How will your company fare when all is said and done? Will you be the hero or the villain? What can you do right now to help your community? The actions you take during the crisis can profoundly affect the way people think of your company once it has passed.

 

Business Owner: 5 Ways to Respond to Coronavirus Crisis Right Now

Coronavirus Business Tips

The COVID-19, best known as coronavirus, has changed the business landscape everywhere – from Wall Street to Main Street. And it will take some time before both the local and national economies begin normalizing.

 

In many places, local businesses like bars, restaurants, and health clubs have been temporarily shut by government order in order to enforce social distancing protocols. This strategy will reduce the spread of the virus. But it is obviously damaging for small businesses, even those that remain as people stay home to wait out the crisis.

 

So what can small business owners do right now to protect their business and set the stage for recovery and growth once the virus has been defeated?

 

Here are five ideas:

 

1. CORONAVIRUS AFTERMATH: STAY FOCUSED ON THE “BIG PICTURE.”

 

The market has experienced pandemics, recessions, and upsets before, and many businesses have thrived in the aftermath. This current concern will be no different. Use this time as one of growth; maintain your business presence and prepare yourself to flourish when the market regains its footing.

 

While short-term plans are necessary due to rapidly changing circumstances, they cannot be made at the expense of long-term strategy. The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, like its predecessors, will not last forever. Position yourself to address the world post-crisis. Your actions during this time will inevitably affect the fate of your business when normal operations resume.

 

 

2. Reassure Your Customers

 

The first and most immediate thing you should do is to reassure your customers that your business is still functional – even if it is not currently open – and that you are taking steps to protect them from getting sick.

 

This week, inboxes everywhere filled with notices from companies seeking to simultaneously calm nerves and explain steps being taken to clean surfaces, enact sanitation protocols, and ensure the smooth operation of the enterprise throughout the crisis.

 

You need to do the same. Use e-mail, social media, and all other electronic channels to communicate with your customers.

 

 

3. Take Care of Employees

 

If your external customers are feeling anxious about what the future holds, doubly so are your internal customers: Your employees.

 

Nobody knows how long this crisis will last or how severe it will be. It could require some, if not most, businesses to shut down or limit services for weeks. So obviously, your workers are going to be extremely concerned about their short-term future.

 

Now is a good time to talk to employees. Be transparent with what you are doing. Reassure them that everything eventually will return to normal and explain how you have their interests in mind. At the very least, these kind words will help calm nerves and allow them to remain hopeful through this crisis.

 

 

If you can allow them to work remotely, here are some tips:

 

 

– Use Skype to communicate with employees. You can create groups and separate them by departments for meetings and for sharing important information.

– If you need to have control, you can use logmein to remote control employees screen. This is not something we really recommend, but we want to mention, it is available.

– Use Google Drive to share docs and collaborate online.

– Use a Project Management software to help your employees understand the process flow and their responsibilities. We like Avaza.

– Use ZohoDesk or any Help Desk system to create email templates to help your team communicate faster and more efficiently with your clients.

– Automate your email system. Use a system to create automatic responses based on customers clicks.

– Use a LiveChat, with Artificial Intelligence, to answer to Frequently Asked Question

– Create a Booking / Ecommerce system to accept payments online

– Accept credit card online, we recommend Authorize.net, Quickbooks and Paypal

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4. Switch to Digital Marketing (US Chamber of Commerce Recommendation)

 

Where are you getting your information about the virus crisis? If you are like most people, it’s your smartphone.

 

Right now, businesses need to get their messages in front of where people are looking: Their digital media such as emails, text messaging, social media platforms, and other digital marketing.

 

Now is not the time to come up with a new marketing campaign to boost your sales. This can be the best time to work on your website. This might be a good time to take care of the things you have not had time for in the last few years. If your website is 4-10 years old, it is time to consider an update. Switching to digital marketing now lets your business connect with customers directly and immediately while building trust relationships that you can rely on after the crisis passes.

 

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE. A small amount of business and brands will handle this situation the right way. Be that business. People will remember how you handled your marketing at this time. So instead of pushing your message today, focus on the future.

 

 

5. Consider Rebranding

 

In his ancient text “The Art of War”, Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said, “In chaos lies opportunity.”

 

This crisis eventually will pass. The economy will return to normal although the cultural landscape will likely be permanently changed. In the meantime, consider using this disruptive time to rebrand your business to fit the future.

 

An excellent example is China. Two months ago, China was cast as the villain as the coronavirus spread outward from that country to the rest of the world.

 

Now that the number of new cases in China has started to drop and the country is moving out of crisis mode, China is improving its international reputation by reaching out to countries like Spain and Italy and offering their help in dealing with their national emergencies – rebranding from villain to hero.

 

 

Keep People Safe

 

These are scary times. Even if the coronavirus hasn’t yet reached your area, eventually it will, but no need to panic.

 

The most important thing you can do right now is to keep people safe. Taking these five steps will help protect yourself, your employees, your business, and your community while setting the table for what happens next.

5 Ways to Instantly Build Brand Trust

woman on hot air balloon ride t20 knKv22

Of all the things that go into developing your brand, TRUST is the most important. If customers or clients don’t trust your brand, it isn’t going to last very long.

 

But if you can effectively build brand trust, your brand can keep growing and growing and growing … indefinitely.

 

Need proof? Think of the brands you are most loyal to: Brands like Apple, Ford, Starbucks, Coca-Cola.

 

What do all of these companies have in common? A raving fan base of intensely loyal customers who would never dream of going anywhere else.

 

That’s brand trust.

And that’s what you need to build for your business. Here are five ways to do it.

 

  1. Figure Out Your Superpower

 

Everybody does (at least) one thing really well. For your business, maybe it’s your customer service. Or perhaps it’s product quality. Or deliverability. Or

 

Whatever your superpower is, once you discover it then that unique quality of your business can become the focal point for your branding strategy.

 

The challenge for you is figuring out which of all your best qualities is the absolute greatest. Choose only one.

 

If you focus on too many at the same time, it’s going to be confusing for the campaign and confusing for your customers.

 

Remember: Simple is always better.

 

  1. Be Confident

 

Hey, guess what? If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will either.

 

The people you are pitching your brand to don’t know you. They don’t yet believe in you. They probably are annoyed you are taking up their time.

 

It’s your job to make it worthwhile. And if lack confidence in yourself, they are going to sense it instantly and click off, hang up, or shut the door in your face.

 

And you can’t build your brand if you can’t keep prospective customers engaged.

 

So that means …

 

  • You have to be confident.
  • You have to have something to say.
  • You need to make your brand unique
  • Your brand messaging needs to be instantly engaging

 

Remember: People DO judge a book by its cover.

 

So you have to look the look and play the part.

 

Also, you need to …

 

  1. Walk the Talk

 

The third way to build trust is to never, ever, EVER betray your customer’s trust. Starting from the very beginning.

 

This may seem like Management 101 but you would be amazed by how many business owners make this mistake – either intentionally or by accident.

 

Customers won’t give you a second chance if you make the mistake of misleading them, exaggerating, misrepresenting your products or business, or cheating them. And justifiably so.

 

Remember: There are dozens – if not hundreds – of competitors out there offering products or services similar or even better than yours.

 

In today’s highly competitive marketplace there are no such things as second chances.

 

Instead, you need to build credibility from Day One. If you aren’t sure you can deliver, don’t promise. And when you say something, stick by it. Even if it hurts you financially.

 

It’s often better to lose a little money to gain trust because TRUST pays more long-term dividends for your business.

 

  1. Get Others to Help You

 

The next way to build brand trust is to get other people (or documents) to say nice things about you and your business. This is known as third party credibility and includes (but isn’t limited to):

 

Testimonials – People listen to what other people have to say. So if existing clients, customers, or even just friends say something nice about your business, let people know.

 

Testimonials are one of the oldest and most reliable ways to build trust. And the bigger the credibility of the people making the testimonials, the more positively influential they will be. Look especially for testimonials from doctors, college or university professors, or experts in your business’s field.

 

One more thing: Never stop collecting (and promoting) testimonials. It’s a good idea to constantly actively seek them from satisfied customers in every type of format: Written, video, audio recordings, and even in-person.

 

Formal achievements – Do you have a university degree? An advanced degree? Awards or recognition from important trade organizations or clubs? Tell people. Don’t be shy.

 

You received these honorifics because you earned them. So it’s critical that you let other people know about them because they aren’t going to seek them out on their own. It’s up to YOU to promote YOU.

 

Leverage Influencers – Being a successful business owner is about constantly learning. Find a mentor who has already cracked the code in your industry and try to learn everything you can from them.

 

Building relationships with influencers in your industry also adds credibility to your brand.

 

So don’t be shy! Network! Make friends! Be open to continually learning new things!

 

Use Your Press Clippings – Has the local newspaper written a story about your business? Have you been featured in a TV spot? Better yet, has a national magazine or TV show mentioned your business? Have you been the featured speaker at a national conference?

 

All of these things can be leveraged to build trust in your brand. Spotlight media mentions of your business in your marketing materials. Again, it’s up to you to get customers to trust you. But you can build on every success that has come before.

 

Finally …

  1. Keep Coming Back

 

Woody Allen famously stated, “95 percent of life is just showing up.”

 

The thing about brand building is that it never ends. To be a successful business owner you need to constantly fight the good fight for your brand.

 

Keep coming up with new and interesting ways to tell people about your brand. Then keep drawing attention to your successes and getting media mentions, testimonials, and other third party credibility in front of people.

 

Remember: Success is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

 

If you believe in your business and you are sincere about being an evangelist for your brand, people will listen. Maybe not at first. Maybe not even right away. But eventually.

 

And once you achieve a little success, you can leverage that success into an even bigger success. And then keep coming back again and again to make it better and bigger.

 

Make it easy for people to choose your business, not hard.

 

If you are doing all these things and still aren’t getting traction, then Lytron  can help.

 

Call us today to set up your free consultation. Our expert brand builders can help you define, promote, and expand your brand so that you can achieve the success you deserve.

 

E-commerce Requires Multi-Layer Marketing

COMPLICATED ONLINE ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES MULTI LAYER MARKETING

For better or for worse, the world’s commerce is in the midst of changes the likes of which have been unseen since the late 19th Century’s Industrial Revolution.

 

The “Digital Revolution” is affecting the way people everywhere search, buy, and consume products and services. Today, for the first time in world history, more people are likely to use the Internet to find the things they want than any other way of searching.

 

Businesses have always had to be adaptable in order to be successful. But today more than ever there is so much changing so quickly that businesses that want to be profitable have to be open to new ways of attracting, converting, and retaining customers.

 

Online vs Real World Businesses

 

In many industries, e-Commerce has reached that point where it is almost more profitable to simply run an online business than to have a brick-and-mortar storefront. When you market and sell your products online, you don’t have to worry about overhead like rent and utilities. In some cases, you don’t even have to worry about carrying a lot of inventory or hiring very many employees.

 

Much of the actual work can be either done yourself or parceled out to independent contractors who are paid per job, rather than by full-time employees who require benefits, Social Security taxes, and other payroll expenses.

 

Streamlining Your Business

 

Even established retailers are discovering that online e-Commerce is the best way to attract and retain new customers. It’s also easier to build customer loyalty, tailor your promotions to individual customers’ specific preferences, and develop long-term buying relationships with people.

 

In order to succeed in online e-Commerce, you need an experienced web design professional in your corner.  Contact us to learn more about how “Lytron Lead Generation” can help your business be on the winning side of the Digital Revolution.

Without a Website, Who Can Find Your Business?

Without a Website Who Can Find Your Business

Businesses today need to have an online presence. The days of opening a storefront and waiting for customers to discover your business are long gone.

 

Today, nearly all customers search for the products and services they want online. And why wouldn’t they? It’s faster, easier, and more efficient. And today more than ever, people are all about getting things done quickly.

 

 The Amazon Effect

 

Think of your own shopping habits. If you are like most people, the percentage of products you order online has gone up significantly just in the past couple of years.

 

Part of that has to do with innovative companies like Amazon, which is constantly developing ways to make buying from their website irresistible. Whether it’s promoting voice-activated devices like the Amazon Echo or floating the idea of drone deliveries, Amazon is leading the way in online ordering.

 

And other companies are following suit. Right now, retail businesses and the service industry are in the midst of a digital revolution. And no business can afford to sit on the sidelines.

 

Without a Website, Who Can Find Your Business? The Digital Revolution and Your Business

 

What does that mean for your business? While you may not have the bottomless resources for research and development that Amazon does, you can start somewhere. And for most businesses, that includes a website that customers can access online from their mobile devices.

 

Click and order retail is the future of business, whether you like it or not. Businesses that don’t embrace this future are going to find out the hard way whether or not they are on the losing side of history.

 

When you are ready to boost your business’s online presence and take part in the digital revolution that is going on around you, “Lytron Lead Generation” can help. Contact us today to find out how we can help you create the online presence that will put your business in front of prospective web-based customers.

 

Without a Website, Who Can Find Your Business.

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When It Comes to Customer Service, It’s Personal

When It Comes To Customer Service Its Personal 1

 

If you want to create a deeper, more meaningful connection with your online customers, you need to make your interactions seem more personalized.

 

When people feel as if you know them and they know you, they are more likely to come back to your website again and again as opposed to an impersonal competitor. Engaging customers on a personal level is the key to your online business’s success.

 

When It Comes to Customer Service, It’s Personal – What’s My Name?

 

Countless studies have shown that people respond positively to hearing their own names during live interactions. The same premise holds true for online interactions as well.

 

Using customer’s names in emails, text messages, online offers, and elsewhere helps reinforce the idea that you have an interpersonal relationship with that person. In the same way that people like to hear their name spoken, they also like to see it in print — whether it’s online, on their phone, or elsewhere.

 

Capture your customer’s first and last names during the initial interaction then store this string to use it throughout your future contacts. This will help build relationships with your customers and keep them coming back for more.

 

When It Comes to Customer Services, It’s Personal – Put a Face to Your Name

 

While it’s important for the customer to hear their name, they also need to hear yours. On your website and during your interactions with your online customers, make a point of including your name and, if possible, a photograph of you so that they can put a face with your identity.

 

This helps strengthen trust bonds with customers and inspire confidence in your business relationship. When appropriate, you also can include personal details about your life, such as introducing your spouse and children, including photos of your home, and talking about vacations, your career, education, and more.

 

If you want strong relationships with your online customers, make it personal.

 

Despite Tech, Business Still All About Connections

despite tech business still all about connections

Ever since commerce first began in pre-historic times with people bartering with each other for goods and services, success has always been more about who you know than what you know.

 

Business is about connections, whether they be vendors, customers, suppliers, or even competitors. The more people you know, the more successful your business will be.

 

Different Arena, Same Game

 

The rise of the internet and online commerce over the course of the last two decades may have changed the way people buy and sell products, but it hasn’t changed the way the business world works. It is still critical for business owners to expand their list of contacts and continually interact with an ever-widening circle of people.

 

Whether you are selling a box of corn flakes on the shelves of your grocery store or providing a website for people to order their breakfast cereal of choice and having it delivered to their doorstep the same day, the need for business owners to attract new customers, discover new suppliers, and make new connections with others within their same industry remains the same.

 

Despite Tech, Business Still All About Connections – Networking Advantages

 

Tech has changed the way most companies do business. But gives business owners new ways to make critical connections with others inside and outside of their specific industry.

 

Networking has never been more important. But it also has never been easier. Now it’s possible to participate in networking events, interact with other business people, and seek out and connect with customers, vendors, suppliers, and even competitors right from your laptop.

 

Face-to-face interactions remain one of the best ways to build relationships with other people within your industry. But it’s no longer the only way to expand your list of contacts.

 

Attend networking events. But also join online forums, chatrooms, and other online opportunities to create critical connections with more people who can help your business succeed.

 

Rewards and Recognition Keep Customers Coming Back

Rewards and Recognition Keep Customers Coming Back

The people who visit your website have plenty of other options. So how can you be sure that they will keep returning to your web page over all of your competitors?

 

You can increase the chances that customers will come back to your pages again and again by launching rewards and recognition programs.

 

Recognizing Your Customers

 

People like to be recognized. It’s just human nature. So when you come up with ways to recognize return customers who frequent your website, they will be more likely to come back again and again.

 

Big online retailers like eBay and Amazon are experts at this. They remember their customers’ previous purchases, their preferences, and even items they have looked at before but didn’t buy.

 

Given today’s advanced online software, even the smallest businesses can create and execute effective customer recognition programs that capture key data about their visitors and then use it to improve their direct online marketing.

 

Rewards and Recognition Keep Customers Coming Back – Rewarding Loyalty

 

In addition to being recognized, people also like to feel appreciated.

 

Creating customer loyalty programs that offer incentives for people to return to your web pages is just good business. You can use special offers, discounts, prizes, and other tools to motivate people to choose your business over your competitors.

 

You also can reward people for promoting your business to other people, such as giving discounts or rebates for referrals or motivating people to talk about your business on their social media accounts.

 

Keeping Customers Coming Back

 

With so many online choices, customers today need incentives to choose your web pages over your competitors. Rewards and recognition programs give customers something of value in exchange for being loyal to your business or promoting it to other people.

 

Rewards and recognition programs are a good investment in your business’s future.