How Your Small Business Can Redefine Its Brand During COVID-19

As social distancing requirements became the norm, many customers sought to limit contact with those outside their own home. An April 2020 MasterCard survey found that 79 percent of customers were using contactless payments for necessary purchases, driven by a desire for safety and cleanliness. While some customers want to head back into stores and restaurants, others want to protect themselves and their families. As a business owner, you need to think about your customers’ needs and provide products and services accordingly, Brinkman says.

Improve your digital presence

Gibbons was able to keep her small Monroe, Washington, retail shop open initially, but when stay-at-home orders came from the governor's office, Heavenly Soaps closed from March 24 through May 5. But her customers still wanted their products. So she immediately got to work, communicating with customers that she could still ship to them. She studied Instagram and Facebook marketing methods and began using them to target new customers. Gibbons had upgraded her website earlier in the year and, serendipitously, her checkout options now included “store pickup.”

She also gained a new awareness of how to present products. “It gets down to things like learning how to take better pictures or make your pictures look more inviting. I've purchased some new soap dishes that look like a clawfoot bathtub and put my soaps in there so it's more appealing to the eye,” she says.

Be sure that basic information about your safety measures as well as up-to-date hours of operation are available on your company's website or social media pages, Brinkman adds. Share the measures you're taking to enhance safety, and list any changes customers may encounter when they go to your business.

Gather and use feedback

Get feedback on how customers want to hear from you now. Some may want regular updates on social media, while others may want more in-depth information in an email or newsletter format. Then keep in touch. “The number one thing right now is that people really expect brands to be visible,” says Charlene Tassinari, cofounder of San Francisco-based Canvas & Co.

Tassinari and cofounder Carly Potock — the team that created Google's first digital-video brand strategy team for small and midsize businesses — say that customers want to hear from you now. They want to know how your business is responding to the pandemic, as well as everything from how you're getting involved in the community to how your operations have changed because of the pandemic. It's also important to be mindful of tone and sensitivity to current events. To help brands navigate the shifting messaging landscape, the duo created a five-step framework for adapting messaging during times of crisis.

It's likely that your business has changed during the pandemic. In a recent CNBC/Survey Monkey poll, 72 percent of small business owners said the outbreak is likely to permanently change the way they run their businesses.

Once you have adapted, it's time to look at which changes are sustainable and desirable, as well as how they will affect your business. Think about what your business, at its core, is equipped to do, says Brinkman. Now is the time to pay close attention to how the changes you've made affect customer attitudes as well as how much they cost to maintain to determine their viability, she says.