Protecting your business during the Covid-19 outbreak

Two days ago, we released a message from our CEO, Callum speaking to how we are here as a partner alongside you during this difficult time, and provide you whatever support we can.

Today we wanted to release a more practical article that could provide a little more in the way of tips and suggestions from team eola that we hope could be useful.

Stay safe

Naturally, our first piece of advice is to stay close to the government advice. This situation is developing on an almost hourly basis. Keeping a close eye on the latest recommendations can keep you prepared, and more importantly, keep you and those you care about safe.

Communication is key

At all times, it is important to keep everyone up to date on where you stand, especially your customers. If you are going to stop running activities for a time, make sure to let them know straight away.

Staying transparent, and keeping your customers updated will help reduce any potential frustrations. It can also show them you care, and will make them feel more connected to you and your business.

Learn from lean

We all have outgoings that simply cannot be avoided or deferred, whatever the situation. However, now might be a good time to look through your expenses and see what can be cut or reduced. At eola, we have stripped back all non-essential costs. We’ll keep delivering on our world leading technology, but we’ve dialled back on our paid ads and travel budget.

Smart marketing

Paid ads are a great way to drive customers and growth, but is it perhaps time to put a pause on some of those? Two areas where even a small amount of time can have a huge impact are social media and content. Even if the advice says no one should go outside, you can create uplifting and inspiring content to keep your customers engaged, and excited to participate once all this ends.

If you haven’t started one already, now would be a great time to start a blog. You can write anything from “5 reasons why {experience we offer} is an incredible thing to do”, to “What to expect the first time you try {experience we offer}” or “5 steps to become a pro in {experience we offer}”. These pieces of content can have an incredible impact on who sees your business, and best of all, they cost nothing to write. Check out our blog if you’d like some inspiration.

Cancellations and revenue

Right now, we expect cancellations to be going up rapidly, while bookings drop off, as customers are told to stay indoors and avoid social interaction. Suggesting vouchers or rescheduling can help you with your short term cash flow.

You can also start looking at offering packages for customers for once we beat the Coronavirus back. Even if they can’t redeem it now, encouraging voucher purchases and activity packages can bring in much needed revenue while the situation persists.

Likewise, as some enterprising businesses have done, you could find digital alternatives to the activities you offer that might appeal to your customers. Maybe they can’t go out paddleboarding, but you could offer a “virtual SUP training and work-out” where you help people with technique, and give them a fun way to work out inside. We’re more than happy to trial these out with you if you want a test subject!

Remember too that we are here to listen and help, however we can. We are just on the other end of an email or call, and our pricing model means that you won’t have to worry about paying to keep your booking system going.

Hopefully some of these tips are of use to you, and we will look to offer more as the situation develops.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay positive. We’ll beat this together.