We need to prepare for when this period ends and that people will have a huge pent-up need for new adventures, activities, and experiences

Right now it’s hard to know what’s going to happen over the next few months as all physical sessions and lessons have stopped during the current UK lockdown. However, it will come to an end. We need to focus on preparing for when it does and the fact that people will have a huge pent-up need for new adventures, activities, and experiences.

Blogging is a great way to keep your customers engaged and to add value. It will also add legitimacy to your business and push your business higher in search results, which in turn will increase online traffic and awareness. Online usage is currently soaring as people are stuck at home. So what can you do to add value and inspire all of us sitting at home dreaming of the activities you offer?

Inspire people to dream and discover new adventures

Right now it’s important for people to have something to dream about. Many are torn from their daily lives and daily routines, which means most people are more open and receptive to discovering new adventures. Not only do we want to be inspired and let our imagination soar, we want to learn new things. Write about why the activities you offer are so fun, exciting, thrilling or calming. Tell people all the reasons why they should give it a go, and describe how they would feel when they do. Use emotional and excitable language to engage and inspire. We recently posted 10 awesome activities for you to look forward to on our marketplace blog as an example.

Ensure people that you’ll be there when this period ends, and describe what they have to look forward to. Write about your activities and the sessions you offer using inspirational imagery and language. Make sure you have vouchers available and encourage people to get one now to have something tangible to look forward to. We’ve also written more about how and why it’s a great time to push vouchers right now.

Educate people and give them something new to learn

While being stuck at home in lockdowns we suffer from a lack of new real-life experiences and instead we go out to discover and learn about new things online. Add value to your potential new customers by educating them on your activity and how they can get started. Describe the reasons why the activity you offer is good for them and why they’ll love it. Is there anything they can do at home to prepare for your sessions? Is there any theoretical aspect of your offering that you can write about? Maybe educate about water conditions, waves and tides or different techniques that give different results. A few examples of these type of posts would be 5 reasons why you should try winter surfing or 4 health benefits with SUP.

Give your customers a chance to get to know you better

One important aspect of gaining new future customers is to start building that relationship already. Make sure that people get to know who you are and relate to you as a person or a team. Write about why you do what you do. Give your customers an insight into your passion and your story. You can talk about your own experience and the story that led to starting your activity centre. The main goal being to describe why you love what you do, and why they will too.

We have started producing a blog series for our partners and other activity centres around the UK to give some - hopefully useful - tips to help you get through this crisis. Have a look at our Academy to find tips & tricks on everything from ways to optimise your site and why to push vouchers right now to relevant government resources. Use this time to be creative in new ways, and prepare for when this crisis is finally over.

We need to focus on preparing for when this period ends and the fact that people will have a huge pent-up need for new adventures, activities, and experiences. Blogging is a great way to keep your customers engaged and to add value.

Why this is a good time to start blogging

Understandably the coronavirus outbreak is unsettling for many businesses. The UK government has announced many loans, grants, tax relief an

Understandably the coronavirus outbreak is unsettling for many businesses. The UK government has announced many loans, grants, tax relief and wage support to help businesses through this pandemic.

With the constant changes and updates, it is difficult to know which resources are current and relevant. We have therefore provided an outline of what has been announced so far and links to resources we think are the most credible and helpful.

The chancellor has set out a package to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.

This includes a package of measures to support businesses including:

A Statutory Sick Pay relief package for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)

A 12- month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England

Small businesses grant funding of £10,000 for all businesses in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief

Grant funding a £25,000 for retail hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank

A new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans

Firstly, we would recommend the governments website. This website is constantly updated with the new measures instilled by the government. It covers a wide range of business sectors and describes clearly the eligibility requirements.

Another page we would also recommend reading is ‘ How to access business finance during the coronavirus crisis’ on the iwoca website.  They are a company that specialises in helping the finance of small businesses. In the following article, you will find what new government finance is available, what new measures are live already and also a helpful insight into what new measures are coming soon to help your business through the coronavirus crisis.

While we cannot provide any direct advice on government schemes, or financially in general, we are here to offer guidance on everything from marketing, technology, and potential revenue opportunities.

As always, we're here to help. Do get in touch if you have thoughts to share or questions to ask.

Understandably the coronavirus outbreak is unsettling for many businesses. The UK government has announced many loans, grants, tax relief and wage support to help businesses through this pandemic. With the constant changes and updates, it is difficult to know which resources are current and relevant. We have therefore provided an ...

Covid-19: Government support resources

What has been announced so far?

How do I find more information?

Resources

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