Coronavirus is at the forefront of the world at the moment as this global pandemic has temporarily brought the world to a halt.
Especially in the United Kingdom where many businesses have been forced to close, putting their staff on furlough and in some cases, going into administration.
Whilst you can read about TruFrame’s actions here. But with the lockdown having now passed (at least in most areas across the UK), it is time to look at how to get business going again, but more importantly, how to flourish as a business going forwards.
There’s no doubt that the pandemic has changed and will continue to change how consumers go about their daily lives – but also how it will affect their ways of interacting with businesses.
To help you get going and thrive, we have put together some top tips for reaching potential customers and attracting them to your business.
Be More Digital
First and foremost, we’re living in different times than we were both. More than ever before, consumers will be looking to conduct business remotely.
That’s why it’s important to be more digital.
Whether it is providing a positive user experience (UX) on your website, reaching new customers through digital means, or offering online quotes (such as through TruFrame’s QuoteBuilder) – there’s endless options to enhance the customer experience.
Offer Incentives
A lot of your competitors will be eager to get started and get business booming again. This means winning customers and converting sales.
By offering incentives such as discounts on windows and doors, you’re giving homeowners a reason to go with you for their windows and doors improvements.
What you offer ultimately comes down to you and your business, whether you’re willing to make a financial sacrifice to potentially win a lot of new customers.
In reality, it could be anything from half price on a window or door repair, 0% finance for the first month or even half price on composite doors or casement windows.
All of these are incentives that will help you edge out your competitor and get business rolling again.
Create A Happy Working Environment
No doubt these times have been stressful for everyone, not just on a professional level but also a personal level too.
Having transitioned to working from home, the thought of working in an office again may be daunting to some people.
But by easing your staff back into their roles and creating a happy and positive working environment, you’ll more than likely be ahead of your competitors who may be putting added pressure on their sales staff and installers to make the sale and deliver a high-quality service.
Be Upfront
With there being a backlog of work, it’s likely that manufacturers and suppliers alike are overwhelmed with orders to catch up on.
This can result in longer lead times.
People are likely to be more understanding at this moment in time, so it’s important to be upfront with customers and let them know that lead times might be slightly longer than usual.
Be Available
This one may sound quite simple, but it often goes without being noticed.
Making sure you’re available to potential customers over your website, social media and over the phone is critical in resuming business after COVID-19.
Why?
Because a lot of homeowners will have spent much more time in their homes than ever before, and by spending this large amounts of time, they begin to notice cracks in their composite doors, window seals that are broken and draughts entering their home from windows and doors.
Homeowners likely also have more questions than usual, and they will want to ask them in the way that makes them more comfortable. Whether that being through messages on your Facebook page, or just through a phone call, it’s highly possible that fewer customers will want to ask questions within a showroom.
Marketing Opportunities
Sending an email out to your existing customer base can actually be a great way of saying that you’re back in business.
We’re not saying email each and every customer (although you can if you want, this would be very personalised and potentially increase engagement between you and them) but just creating a template, making sure that their families are safe, wishing condolences to those affected by the Coronavirus and more, you’re all of a sudden taking a corporate business image and actually being a double glazing company who cares.
Follow this up with an incentive “Now that we’re back in business we’re giving all our previous customers X incentive” this could potentially help you get back to business by tapping into your customer base who already know you and loved the work you did for them the first time around.
Are You Ready To Get Your Business Ready?
By following these steps above, we’re confident you can pick up where you left off and actually go above and beyond for not only your business but homeowners too.
Make sure you have the correct supplier behind you to ensure you get the products you need for the job in a timely manner, without any issues or delays.Take a look at our trade support to see what we can offer you, from 24-hour turnaround times to marketing support and more.