Ideas are needed. Ideas that will enable thousands of businesses to overcome the challenges arising from a new lockdown that will take thousands of consumers off the streets and, consequently, customers out of shops.
For a month, until 15 February, all non-essential shops, restaurants (only take-away) and cafés will close again, meaning that once again these businesses will have to reinvent themselves in order to continue serving their customers, even if they are confined to their homes.
As in the lockdown of March and April 2020, e-commerce, which proved to be extremely useful at the time, is once again on the agenda, as it appears to be one of the best ways to keep businesses alive, but it's not the only way, as we'll see below.
Ways to optimise your business during the new lockdown
Review your business model
Whichever model your business is based on (B2B or B2C), it's natural that, given the current economic situation resulting from the pandemic, revenues will decrease and you'll have to review your business model.
Find out the minimum your business needs to stay alive and start considering reducing variable expenses. Also, find a way to renegotiate your fixed costs, look to change your sales strategies and invest in e-commerce and deliveries.
Taking advantage of a potential migration of your business to online, also consider repositioning your product.
Adopt an omnichannel strategy
As we touched on in the previous point, in a lockdown scenario, the online channel appears to be an excellent way of overcoming the constraints of the new lockdown. If your shop has closed and you want to continue selling, adopt an omnichannel strategy and start to selling through e-commerce.
Omnichannel, the convergence of virtual and physical commerce, not only allows you to continue selling, but also gives you the opportunity to offer a simple and convenient shopping experience to your customers and, with good marketing and management of your social networks, will give you access to a wider audience and leverage your sales.
In this transition from physical to online, the starting point should be to invest in strategically structuring the online sales plan: a online shop or a marketplace. Professionals have to analyse the pros and cons of each option and, quite possibly, adopt both solutions.
While the marketplace offers faster business launches and outsourced logistics, the online shop gives you greater independence, greater personalisation of the experience and greater ability to scale. However, this last option requires greater effort and expertise to launch and grow the business.
Adapt your payment methods to e-commerce
The migration of a physical business to a digital one or the creating an online shop from scratch will require you to pay special attention to payment methods which it makes available to its customers.
If the shops selling basic necessities that remain open continue to use the means of communication, it will be a good idea for them to do so. contactless paymentIf you're looking to sell online, you'll have to invest in an online store. e-commerce solution that matches not only your customer profile, but also the way you choose to sell your products online (social media marketplaces, your own website, etc.).
Whether you own a website or are thinking of creating one, or whether you make distance selling via social networksWhen shopping online, Portuguese consumers opt for card payments or Multibanco reference.
Faced with these business and client needs, the REDUNIQ developed the solution REDUNIQ@Payments which allows:
Remote payments by e-mail, SMS or WhatsAppwith Visa and Mastercard cards without the need to have a website or integration with the online shop of the trader.
O @Payments provides a platform, optimised for smartphones and tablets, where the merchant creates a link, which can be sent by email, SMS or WhatsApp. The consumer receives the link, clicks, and goes to a secure REDUNIQ page, which guarantees that the merchant does not have access to the card details at any stage of the payment.
If a solution of payment by ATM reference or MB Way, REDUNIQ offers the Payment for Services. If the trader sell online without a website through social networks, you can access this payment solution by simply accessing the REDUNIQ and without the need for integration.
Offer your customers credit options
This pandemic can only be overcome if we act as a true community. We are all affected and only with empathy and solidarity can we get through these difficult times.
For a business, this means not only offering your customers what they need, but also giving them greater flexibility when it comes to paying. Help your customers save money and manage their spending through credit solutions, allowing them to pay in the most convenient way, and creating offers.
By helping your customers, you're helping your business.
Maintain communication with your audience
Confinement may drown out the sounds that usually bring our streets to life, but under no circumstances can it "silence" your business. It's essential to maintain communication with your audience.
Whether your business has migrated to e-commerce or remains open-door (trade in basic necessities), social media allows a business, among other things, to increase its reach, recognition or brand engagement, drive traffic to the website, blog or e-commerce platform, increase sales and build a community for the brand.
Remember, you have to add value, act empathetically and avoid opportunism.
Make deliveries
With the impossibility of receiving customers in your shop, delivery logistics are a key factor in maintaining your sales. customer loyalty. Home delivery services are not just for restaurants. The delivery market is diverse and represents an excellent business opportunity for various types of establishments, from restaurants to launderettes and pharmacies, clothes shopsamong others.
Whether or not you've moved your business online, if you're thinking of making home deliveries, you should pay attention to the type of packaging you use to ship your products, the delivery times (don't promise what you can't deliver) and, above all, which means you choose to make the delivery. In the latter case, try to find out which carriers can guarantee you shorter delivery times and lower service fees.
Accept returns and don't charge for them.
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