What’s up, everybody? It’s Jesse Stoddard here from Stoddardagency.com. I’m going to cover today how to profit during the quarter. Most important is how to continue to profit from your small business during the Coronavirus Freakout.
Welcome to part two. What happened after my initial announcement? A lot of news happened. So if you were following, I did a video a couple of days ago about how to profit during the Coronavirus Freakout. See Previous Blog – How To Profit During Questionable Times.
- Before I go any further note that I said profit during the Corona thing and not from it, we won’t be talking about how to exploit others or how to use human suffering to our advantage.
I’m going to give you a simple three-step approach to making sure your business stays healthy during all this lunacy. And we’re going to do it by taking excellent care of the market you serve and being incredibly cool to others.
Why does this whole thing affect small businesses and what is all the worry about?
Well, if you’re a small and local business, which is mostly who I serve, you may be asking these questions.
- How am I going to get more customers?
- How am I going to keep customers?
- How will I keep my doors open if I’m being told to close them?
- How will I pay my bills?
These are all valid concerns, but let’s stay positive for a moment. Many customers are looking for in-home options, and online sales are on the rise. We’re going to go over that in detail and a little bit here, but I want to make some points before we do.
We’re going to cover how you can adapt. In most cases, “The Obstacle Is The Way.” There’s a good book with that title by Ryan Holiday.
Everyone is on social media right now and ad costs are cheap and dropping fast. So we’re going to cover all those things. Those are some benefits, some answers to how you are going to keep customers or get more customers and schedule a free strategy session.
I can help create a custom plan for the next 90 days for you.
Regardless of any circumstances, you will get more customers and profit from your business.
We are in lock-down, and we are still going to thrive. You might be trying to figure out if you are a non-essential business owner. If you are not a doctor, and because you are reading this, then your small business may seem non-essential to the government, but you are essential to others, including yourself.
If you’re any kind of a local business if you’re a doctor, dentist, attorney or service provider, real estate agent, mortgage broker, a real estate stage or anything related to the real estate industry, there are some gray areas there.
I have an example of a business owner who is creatively working. I just saw a post from one of my clients who’s an estate planning, bankruptcy attorney and she was doing work with people remotely by driving around to pickup and drop off documents with lots of glove-wearing and sanitizer for the transactions. She is overcoming, adapting to the situation and making it work while following the rules as best as she can.
Encouraging email from Commerce, and Employment Security Department Leaders partner for economic resilience and recovery effort for the outbreak.
The U.S Small Business Administration approved Gov. Inslee’s request for a disaster declaration, and all counties in Washington State are now eligible for assistance, this unlocks low-interest loans that will help small businesses meet their financial obligations during this time. It will even be easier to get a SBA loan.
Up to $5million of the Governor’s Working Washington Fund will be made available as micro-grants to small businesses across the state to help prevent closure due to COVID-19. Commerce will distribute these funds. Check coronavirus.wa.gov for updates on the funding timeline and follow commerce on Twitter@WAStateCommerce for an announcement when funds are available.
These are opportunities for you to thrive during this time.
- Mico-grants and loans
- The department of revenue gave authority to waive interest fees and due dates for a broad range of taxes including property tax exemptions, business license renewals, and others.
- Unemployment insurance is rapidly expanding capacities – If you have employees that need to go on unemployment, that is possible now. You should look into it and coronavirus.wa.gov has a ton of information or just go to the US small business administration.
The Biggest Business Impacts on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Positive News
All of this information makes a solid case for Internet Business Branding and to go ahead and do your business online.
- Ecommerce is likely to grow as consumers eschew physical stores and crowded gathering places – Could create logistical challenges. People will and are finding new ways to communicate.
- Social networks could be a major beneficiary as people turn to these platforms to connect with friends and family who may be at a distance or to access news content.
“More people will spend more time on social media. Social media is the new newspaper, radio and TV all rolled into one. And you have more opportunity to get in front of your market than ever.” – EMarketer
“The coronavirus is likely to boot digital media consumption across the board as people spend more time at home and communicate in person less” -EMarketer
- People will consume more CONTENT
- CONTENT (When done correctly) SELLS
- You have more opportunity to get MORE people to consume MORE of your content than ever before.
What happened since my last blog and video. Well, last time I told you to do what I’m doing with my clients.
- Turn all focus to “adapt and overcome.”
- Begin building an audience – The audience is the new email list. In other words, when people watch your videos, you a custom audience on Facebook, which you then can use to show other things to later. And it’s almost like an invisible audience. It’s there. You just don’t have the actual email emails of those people that you can begin building these audiences.
- Less work, more views.
- Begin building audiences without need to send emails because you are building an audience with videos.
Overview on Intent – Based Branding
- Show highly relevant video ads to strangers.
- If they watch them, re-target them with more video content.
- Re-target them with “traditional ads” that tell them to do something. (Conversion ads)
- Simultaneously test conversion ads to strangers.
What is in the content?
- Intent-Based Branding always contains three things.
- Provide value.
- Builds goodwill.
- Makes an offer.
- Put this type of communication out in your marketplace as much as you can.
Three-part leadership framework
Put this part of your communication out into your marketplace as much as possible. (Intent-Based Branding is perfect for this.)
- Step 1 – Address the worries and concerns as they relate to how you serve your market, not you pretending to be the CDC or the world health organization. It’s how you can help someone.
- Step 2 – Give helpful information. (as it relates to their worries and concerns)
- Step 3 – Tell them what to do next. TELL THEM WHAT TO DO NEXT. MAKE THEM AN OFFER.
EXACTLY WHAT TO DO
- DOUBLE DOWN ON OUTREACH, EXPOSURE, COMMUNICATION.
- Do NOT send the same Covid-19 emails everyone else is doing. There are a million out there. They already sent them. You want to be more creative than that.
- Be in front of your audience as much as humanly possible. They are going to be stuck at home for a long time. (CONSUMPTION = CASHFLOW)
- Consumption will eventually equal cashflow, maybe not in the next two weeks. But after that, so you’re planting seeds, you’re preparing for what happens after the craziness is over or overcoming it to actually profit during it.
- LEAD, LEAD, LEAD.
Types of Campain/ Promos
- BRING YOUR AUDIENCE TOGETHER. RELIEVE THE ISOLATION AND BOREDOM.
That’s the number one thing I can say. People are isolated. You need to bring them together. Use the technology available.
- Facebook and Facebook Live
- Emails, texts, and phone calls
- Webinars, virtual consultations and video walkthroughs
- Virtual Seminars & Summits
- Challenges
FOR TRADITIONAL BUSINESSES
If you’re a traditional business and not an internet business or you’re not necessarily e-commerce or you don’t have a big portion of your business online. If you are a local brick and mortar, understand vidideo ads are like TV on the phone. You have to understand that it’s all about targeting for you. Okay? So how can you adapt? What could you offer if you’re not offering e-commerce?
I can help you with that.
Many customers are looking for in home options and online sales are on the rise. You can adapt in most cases, the obstacle is the way everyone is on social media right now and ad costs are cheap and dropping fast. So if you’re interested in, in help with this and you want somebody to guide you with, with, with strategy then contact us, my office that we do this schedule free strategy session, I can help create a custom plan for the next 90 days.
Contact Jesse Stoddard at Stoddard Agency right now for a complete consultation to start your business online today or to increase your business sales anytime. (206) 880-0913