Mistakes Business Owners are Making Now that Can Hurt Them After COVID-19
The COVID-19 crisis has thrown us all for a loop, but now that the shock has worn off, it’s time to fight for your business! This is a tough one because it’s tempting to try and wait it out so you can get back to what you know, but now’s not the time to bury your head in the sand.
What should you do when you don’t know the next step, feel insecure and are concerned about your business? Don’t make the mistakes so many businesses are making, leaving them at a disadvantage when the pandemic ends. Here’s a look at the most common mistakes companies are making and why you need to be proactive for your business to survive:
1. Putting accounts on hold
Many businesses have opted to put client memberships on hold as a first step in handling the crisis. Don’t self-sabotage by taking away your primary source of revenue! If you didn’t have a back-up plan before, you need to create one—and quickly. Stopping all income leaves you without the resources to build your business back up.
Instead, give your clients options: offer a membership discount or keep memberships going with virtual memberships. Some clients will still need to put their accounts on hold, but still keep in mind that the health and fitness of your clients are what is important right now!
With the right strategy you’ll be prepared to provide the best service and value for your clients:
- Offer online classes, workouts, sessions, lessons, and appointments. (Check out our blog on tips for hosting the best online classes for more.)
- Reward clients when they sign-up for online classes, purchase a membership or refer a friend.
- Keep clients updated on your business and how you’re handling COVID-19 by sending out daily social media and text messages.
- Add a personal touch and call your clients to see how they’re doing and let them know you miss them. A phone call may be what it will take to get them to continue your services online!
2. Assuming this won’t last long
Have you been waiting, hoping this crisis will end before it affects your business or clients too much? If that’s the case, you’re already late to the party. The truth is, we don’t know how long it will last and this will change the industry forever. Making the mistake of assuming this won’t last long can be detrimental to your success, leaving you scrambling to try and keep up.
Make choices and changes with the knowledge that this will not be temporary. Rather than waiting to reopen your doors, now is the time to play it smart by creating a long-term business plan with a virtual model that allows you to offer livestreaming classes, on-demand, recorded classes, workouts, or lessons, and even an online store!
Pivoting your business online is not short-term—it’s all about taking your business to another level! Once you go virtual, you’ll be more competitive, have a new revenue stream and be able to grow from local to a more global market.
3. Cutting ties with loyal staff
Cutting ties with your team will leave them unsure if they can count on you, trust you and whether you’re even their best choice to go back to when it comes time to reopen. Keep your teachers working from home with online classes. If you allow students the option to view their classes on-demand, give your teachers a cut of that income as well. What about your front desk staff? If you’ve gone online, that means you’re still open. Let them work from home part-time by reaching out to clients, taking attendance for online classes, and other behind the scenes tasks that can help save you time.
Don’t drop the ball by limiting contact with your staff while we’re all distancing. Moving online opens up opportunities for everyone – you can even reconnect with past instructors that have moved away and have your clients taking classes with them as well!
4. Closed your doors without offering a solution
Lots of companies experienced a knee-jerk response based on fear and uncertainty when the pandemic really started to gain speed, closing their doors completely without a plan B. Why is this a mistake? Again, it cuts off your revenue stream and as a result, you may not be able to reopen once this lockdown is over.
It’s plain and simple—you need to stay open! Focus on what options are still available to you—streaming, offering on-demand options for clients, and setting up an online store. You can’t do what you did before and expect the same results. It’s time to get creative! Rather than closing your doors, pivot and take this time to set up a long-term plan for your business. Are you looking for an automated all-in-one software to help manage your business? With the lockdown in effect, now is the perfect time to set that up!
It’s Never Too Late
Do you know what the best part about making mistakes is? Learning from them! They say, if you’re not making any mistakes, then you’re not doing anything at all! If you’ve had some missteps, that’s OK but now is the time to plan. Move forward with a long-term plan to avoid making choices that can hurt your business.
WellnessLiving wants to support you as much as we can and so we recently hosted an amazing webinar called COVID-19 Action Plans and Survival Strategies for Your Business. In this webinar, we give you the inside scoop on forecasting your cashflow for different scenarios, mastering your social media messaging, giving more value to potential new clients with a freebie, and more.
Click here to go straight to the full webinar for FREE now!
