There’s light at the end of the tunnel... after a year of Covid-19 restrictions, ‘Stay at Home’ orders and the closing of schools, the government’s Roadmap Out of Lockdown is well underway to get all British businesses back open again for summer.

If you’re one of those businesses that’s had to fully or partially close, hopefully you’ve now got a date in place to aim for reopening, and as a consequence, a million and one things to prepare!

Some of our Cornerstone Your Business clients are in this exact position, so I thought I’d highlight a few of the ways from a marketing perspective that you can get your business post-lockdown ready....

1. Update your website

It’s been the gateway to your business for the majority of the past year while face-to-face hasn’t been permitted, but there’s no reason to make your website take a backseat once your office, store or venue is back open.

This vital part of your marketing can still be working in the background, driving enquiries your way, answering client’s questions and supporting your brand identity. With lots of businesses having taken transactions online to create an ecommerce website, keeping this going alongside your shop-front provides an additional revenue stream too.

So prepare now: make sure website information is correct (including opening hours), that contact details are current, that there are clear details of where to find your business and what date you are scheduled to reopen. And don’t miss the opportunity to promote anything new.

2. Engage employees

It’s important in your rush to reopen that you don’t forget your internal marketing. Employees have had a tough year too and they will no doubt feel excited, but also daunted about getting back to work.

Communicating with them about what changes will be taking place, what they can expect and what will be expected of them will support their transition back into the workplace and cement their loyalty to you.

You can also provide links for external marketing content that your staff can share on their own social media channels to their clients, contacts, friends and family.

3. Schedule content

All markers are pointing to businesses being very busy when lockdown is lifted, as consumers rush to catch up on everything they’ve been unable to access in recent months.

While you’re busy dealing with this rush, you want to be concentrating on giving your clients the best service possible, and not on all the other little day-to-day jobs which usually take up your time.

In terms of marketing there are plenty of scheduling tools you can set up now to take one job off your list when your business reopens. Planning and setting up your social media content and digital marketing will not only free up time post-lockdown, but will also mean you can create considered, thought out content that engages with the widest audience, rather than rushing to just get something out when you’ve got a hundred other things to do.

4. Customer communication

The ‘who can do what when’ roadmap can be quite confusing, and it’s likely your customers won’t know off the top of their head which dates will affect the reopening of your business specifically. So communication now is vital.

You could send out an email newsletter with your own roadmap, including dates for when certain parts, and then all, of your business will be open again; how restrictions will allow them to engage with your business on those dates; and how they can pre-book an appointment or reservation.

You should also be making them aware of the Covid-safe procedures you will be putting in place to put their minds at rest. And perhaps even a note to remind them to get in touch if they require you to go further than this because they’re shielding - in which case you might be able to offer them a meeting outdoors or at the start or end of the day.

5. Being grateful

If you’ve gained new customers over the past year, now is the time to reengage with them and thank them for their business. We all have a choice with the purchases we make, and showing your customers that you’re grateful for theirs will not only make them feel good, but also more likely to support your business again in future.

If you’ve had to shut shop completely over the past year, reach out to the customers who supported you pre-Covid-19. Remind them that you’re still going strong and you’d really value their business again once you’ve reopened (and don’t forget to tell them when that is!).

You could even include your own thank you to your customers, by way of an offer, discount or reward scheme to encourage them back to your business.

So there are a few ideas to get you started on planning for reopening your business post-lockdown. Do get in touch with me, Jessica, to book a discovery on 07929 905 229 and learn how an outsourced marketing manager can support your business.