5 Steps to Being Productive While You're in Quarantine.
We are a creative agency, and as a creative agency, we thought it would be beneficial to help you do this 😄 ! Most importantly everything listed below can be done from the comfort of your home and does not require any financial investment to accomplish. Stay safe and stay healthy!
Five things to keep you busy during a possible business slowdown:
1. Spend time with family. RELAX
We think this is the most important step. Let's face it, sometimes the best way to be productive is to rest! A good rest can revitalize your spirit and give new energy to your life. Maybe you will be stuck at home for a few days. You can get really creative and get your kids to draw you napping, they have to be very quiet🤐 and take at least 45 minutes. The best picture wins $5! Below are some more fun activities that can be done during your Staycation.
Let the kids cook dinner
Dust off the old board games
Plan a garden
Nap... then nap some more 😴😴😴
Practice your short game 🏌 in the backyard
Family movie night
List all of the alternatives for toilet paper.
2. Get creative and innovate 💡!
There is a 10 out of 10 chance that you think this step is cliche 😁. The reason we listed it is because so many small business owners never have the time to get creative about what they could improve about their products and services.
If you choose to take a few extra minutes to be inventive in your business, you may find some key ways that you could increase the value you bring to your clients and increase your competitiveness 💰!
Ask yourself these questions and one suggestion to help you innovate in your business
What can I do that my competition isn't doing?
Are any of my procedures/processes out of date?
How can you surprise or delight your customers?
If you had absolutely no fear of failure, what would you try?
Will your products/services still be relevant two years from now?
If a business just like yours opened up across the street, what would you do to compete with them?
Create a feedback form to collect valuable information from your customers.
3. Train and sharpen your skills
Facing the tough truth that you and your staff may be at home with little to no work to do, what would happen if you took this time to develop some extra skills 🤔? If there are any skills that you or your staff could use to increase your value or streamline your process, now is the time to learn them! Below are a few ideas of training you can take advantage of:
Customer Service
Safety Training
Sales Training
Product/Service Training
Soft Skills Training
Professional Development
4. Tie up those loose ends
Every small business owner has things fall through the cracks, often this is because they have not had the time to set up processes that keep this from happening. Tying up loose ends can include anything from organizing your storage to switching your accounting software (I didn't say this would be fun 😎!). Below are a few items that you may finally have the time to address in your business:
Re-write your employment application
Go through your recurring bills to make sure you aren't wasting money on anything
Move important files to the internet
Organize your home office
Call and thank your exceptional staff
Look over your insurance plan
Check your contracts/terms and conditions to make sure you're not liable for anything
Update your calendar with your staff's birthdays so that you can surprise them on their special day 🎉 🥳️!
5. Do this quick marketing checklist.
There are certain things that may have fallen through the cracks in your marketing because the time it takes to look into them is rarely time you have. Below is a list of 5 things that you can do now so that you can hit the ground running after a possible slowdown.
Make sure your Business Listings are accurate! A lot of businesses don't know that Google My Business works WAY better if their information is on multiple search engines. Use this free tool to make sure your business information is accurate everywhere so that you have strong local SEO. Yes we know dealing with things like local SEO can be a huge pain, but so is losing business to the guy who did it before you 😉.
To learn more about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) check out This Blog Post!
Update your Website Are the photos or content on your website outdated? Now is an opportunity to log in and make a few quick edits to make sure everything is up to snuff!
Invent a Tagline
People remember businesses that have good taglines. Do you have one? If you do not, well then, time to get creative! Check out this blog for more branding ideas!
Respond to Reviews
There are many businesses that have a lot of reviews that have never been responded to. If someone has said something nice about your business lately, why not take a minute to thank them for that review? On the flip side, if someone has said something negative, now may be the time to set your reputation straight.
Write 5 cards to your top 5 clients.
If you have five clients that are specifically wonderful to work with, take this opportunity to let them know how much you appreciate them by writing a handwritten note.
If you have any other marketing needs, feel free to connect with CIS Agency to get some local help 😁
Connect with CIS Agency!