Now is not the time to focus on what you cannot do; focus on what you CAN do with your business to persevere through difficult periods.
I have a client who owns a catering company and some franchises of a retail ice cream business. Over the last 4-6 weeks, we have primarily focused on what he can do to cover expenses. Here are 5 tactics we have implemented:
Find new ways to deliver
With most people confined to their homes, customer traffic in the retail shops has drastically decreased. Through a networking contact, I was able to connect my client with a local restaurant doing brisk takeout business and which has also created a small market for customers to buy necessary grocery items. This partnership has allowed the restaurant (and market) to offer locally made ice cream in pints and quarts for purchase. Normally, my client would only sell his ice cream at his retail location.
Dust off old ideas
My client met a business owner who owns a snack shop in a neighboring town who is looking to expand into ice cream. This business owner was planning to purchase the ice cream from an out of state supplier and have it shipped, but my client assured the business owner that he could make and deliver the ice cream fresher, faster, and cheaper than his out of state supplier. Last year, my client and I had discussed him potentially opening an upscale coffee & dessert shop where he could create small batch, gourmet ice cream. Now he gets to help someone else and experiment with this concept.
Build upon demonstrated success
With his catering company, my client excels at creating and executing events for multi-office commercial buildings and large groups. That has mostly stopped in this environment due to the stay at home orders. However, he was contacted by a nearby county sheriff’s office to request a “treat” for their hardworking first responders. My client was able to individually package his usual fare and deliver it to multiple locations. We then figured out a way for him to continue to serve multiple offices in large buildings with individually packaged treats that can also be saved for a later date if the office has a rotating staff coming in.
Go where the customers are
With his retail shops, my client usually had customers coming to him to purchase ice cream. Now, he needs to meet them where they are to continue selling ice cream. We discussed how he could reach out to homeowners’ associations, apartment complexes, and other group living situations to offer a bulk discount on orders he would then deliver to a central location. In addition, groups that would normally fundraise during the spring (PTAs and other school/youth groups) could partner with him in the same way, earning a charitable donation for each order placed, which he could then deliver to a central location for pickup.
Focus on what matters
Even though he is a local small business, all his advertising is created by the corporate franchise. Not many of his customers (and potential customers) know that all his products are locally made. In fact, other ice cream shops benefit from this but are owned and supplied by a large, national corporate entity. Emphasizing this local aspect is imperative right now, as people would prefer to keep the financial benefits of their purchases in their local communities.
How many of these 5 tactics can help your business survive?
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