Today is a difficult time for small and medium-sized businesses to sustain their operations. However, with social distancing, this is one effective way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Amidst the presence of COVID-19 in our lives, not only are people staying away from shopping due to the cuts in their incomes and their need to save money for bad times but they also feel reluctant heading out due to the fear of catching the virus.  This is a worrying sign for a lot of small and medium-sized businesses as they are suffering immense losses on a daily basis due to their incapacity of being able to retain their customers during this pandemic and are not aware on how to sustain the business during these uncertain times.

Unfortunately, the thing we all need to realize however is that there seems to be no obvious end to this pandemic and the current situation should be our new normal for the next upcoming months or even years. Hence, small businesses need to retain customers and adapt to the new situation. This is why we have compiled a list of ways that will help you retain your customers during the coronavirus outbreak.

1.     Focus on Communication – It’s Key to Retention

Proactive communication with your customers is extremely important. You will need to make sure that you are in touch with them through various virtual ways, for instance, getting a virtual phone number in Australia to help keep in touch.

With changing and uncertain situations each day, most customers tend to empathize with you and try to be cooperative. However, it is your responsibility as a business that you communicate the changes you are bringing into your business, for instance, changing your business hours, providing contactless delivery, etc. By doing this, you keep your customers in the loop and make them feel involved in the business processes.

2.    Gift Cards

Gift cards are an excellent way to make sure that your customers return back to you during these tough times, as well as inject cash into the business. If you were to offer vouchers or gift cards, it would make your customers return to you for their essential purchases as well as this could help bring in new customers which can be an excellent way to expand and retain customers. As human contact is limited, it would be viable shifting your operations to making it e-commerce based and partnering up with a home delivery service.

3.    Utilize Delivery and Online Shopping

If you are a business that sells products, then you should be tapping on all the advantages associated with online shopping and home delivery to their maximum. This will help you gain new customers, retain your previous clientele, and keep your sales going to help grow your business in a different way than usual.

Since there seems to be no end to the pandemic, this seems to be the only way to adapt and adjust to the new normal. By utilizing these facilities, you will maintain your sales and keep your customers during the Corona Virus outbreak.

Going online will also prevent you from facing many losses and chances are that you may even gain profit out of it, as online shopping has started to have a very therapeutic effect on many as it helps give them hope and certainty in these incredibly uncertain times. This would be the most important step out of the three that you must focus upon as this will enhance your sales and generate cash flowing into the business.