12 Tips For Adapting Your Business During Lock Down

MY RANGGO offers 12 tips for adapting your business during the Lock Down. This may include making improvements to your business model, or adapting your usual services to meet the demands of your customers stuck in Lock Down.

1. Offer Online Gift Vouchers – Life goes on, despite people being in Lock Down. That means Birthday’s, Anniversary’s, Special Events are still happening in people’s lives. Use your website and your social media pages to market your Online Gift Vouchers. It can be for lavish gifts such as an overnight stay, Spa Treatments or a 4 Course Meal, down to a Birthday Cupcake or Signature Cocktail. Want to create a professional looking voucher? Download the app CANVA which offers a lot of free templates and is super easy to use.

2. Entice Returns – Do you have a customer data list? Check for upcoming birthdays or events and create a discount code for them to use when you’re next open to the public again. Or offer a free dish or dessert.

If you’re offering delivery only services during Lock Down, include a discount or money off voucher to be used in-house when you are open again.

3. Pre-Ordering – Are you famous for a particular dish or dessert? Are you worried you may not be able to meet the demand if you offer it online for delivery? Consider a Pre-Order Option. As an example: Post on social media on Monday, that you are accepting orders for you famous Leche Flan. Closing Date for Orders is Wednesday at 2pm. Leche Flans will be out for delivery on the Friday. This gives you time to source all the ingredients needed etc.

4. Take-away – Can you stay open and offer a take-away service? If yes, first consider how to minimize the risk to your staff and provide appropriate protective equipment such as gloves, masks etc. You can construct a clear plastic sheet barrier, with a section where money and food can be passed through. If it’s possible move your service desk closer to the entrance so customers don’t have to come inside. Have someone on hand at the entrance, to spray sanitization solution in to customers palms. Add markers to your floors or outside, set 2 meters apart to maintain social distancing.

5. Delivery – Is it possible for you to still offer some of your services via Delivery? If it is, then do it! Promote this on social media and on your website. If you can, consider a Pledge-A-Plate type option too; when a customer orders for themselves, they can also order a meal and delivery to a Front Line worker. And don’t just offer hot meals. Offer frozen meals that can be heated up by the customer at home, in their own time.

6. Collaborate – do you have a nearby business which is selling products that complement yours? Maybe your niche is cakes and desserts whilst theirs is cooked meals. Look to collaborate so customers can order and receive a delivery from you both.

Perhaps list their menu on your social media page too, or include a link to their order page in your post so one delivery can be organised between you both.

Consider Adaptations for your Business Future

7. Update your website – now is the time to check every page of your website to make sure it’s the best it can be. Are you missing information in your room pages? Do you have more recent, professional photos you could use? Have customers complained in the past about missing or misleading information?

Check out the websites of your peers and competitors and think about what they’re getting right and what you’re getting wrong. Then prepare updates with your IT team or consultant.

8. Online Team Meetings and Training – if your employees are all stuck at home during Lock Down, consider running some online meetings and refresher training sessions. You can even consider a weekly online hospitality quiz competition. People are feeling isolated, offering a platform for them to still interact with their work colleagues or to let them know you’re still thinking of them, can help with this. Zoom has gathered a lot of fans during the Lock Down, but there are other options such as BlueJeans or GoToMeetings

9. Maximise Cost-Efficiencies – If you can’t stay open it’s worth using the time to assess your business needs and costs. Are there areas where you could make savings? Check your inventories are there products or items that don’t sell well, or don’t get replenished often? This would suggest there isn’t such a demand for it. Are there other suppliers now, who can offer you better prices? Can you make savings by changing your Internet Provider, your Bank, Water or Energy Suppliers?

10. Tidy up your Data Files – Are you still holding personal information about previous customers. Have you checked whether you’re still following all the correct Data Protection Laws? Especially if you hold details on European guests who have additional protections under the 2016 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Check out this handy article Is My Company Data Privacy Ready? to help you stay on the right side of Data Protection Laws. Registration to view the article is free.

11. Clean up your PMS & CRM – Check through each area of your PMS (Property Management System) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and have a tidy up.

Check the month ahead for previous guest’s birthdays and send an e-card or even a discount voucher for them to use, with a reasonable expiry date, to encourage them to return.

Do you have confirmed bookings for the next few months and you’re concerned they’ll cancel and request a refund? Consider contacting them, rather than wait for them to contact you. Offer additional add-on’s for free if they will keep the booking with you and instead reschedule the dates. Add-on’s might be a complementary airport pick up, a massage or couple’s massage, free main course at your in-house restaurant etc. Consider a decent expiry date for this offer.

If you don’t have a CRM or PMS, take the time now to research the players and try their free online trials – check out our article What the PMS, which includes a downloadable PDF comparison table.

12. Be ready to Open – The Department of Tourism is keen to kick-start Domestic Tourism and some destinations have already opened to tourism, with travel requirements in place. This can only increase, as more LGU’s (Local Government Units) move forward with their vaccination programs, and more hotels, restaurants, bars and tour operators secure DOT accreditation to re-open.

As we have seen in 2020, more areas will start to lift their Community Enhanced Quarantine due to fewer or no cases. This means more destinations to escape to for a holiday or staycation, and more people able to travel.