5 Tips To Keep Your Business Running In Tier 4
The government announced Tier 4 over the weekend affecting nearly 18 million people. Although your company may not be under the government’s definition of essential, we are aware that it is essential to you. You need your business. After researching, I have compiled the 5 best ways to use technology to your advantage. These will help you look after your company as we emerge into the next phase of this devastating pandemic.

1. Online Presence

Since the start of the pandemic, social media activity has increased by 61% worldwide, and there is a 70% increase in web browsing. This means it is only natural that businesses also move to an online forum.

87% of customers now begin their product search online. Although many businesses cannot be open physically due to the importance of protecting each other during the pandemic, they can still open online.

The statistics suggest that moving to an online platform would hugely increase sales. 35% of small personal businesses have moved to an online store, and many will remain this way, even after the pandemic.

Moving online has many benefits during Tier 4. Companies can not only continue trading but increase their trade. A business may reach more people online than they would in their physical store. There are technological tools available to assist businesses with setting up and growing their online presence.

Some tools of assistance worth exploring are Hootsuite, Buffer, or Tailwind. These are all useful tools to easily build social media sites for a company.

2. Big Data

Data is essential in progressing and utilising your business. Companies can process their data to notice trends in product sales and what customers want. Many businesses are struggling during the pandemic, so they need to know what is or isn’t selling. This will save the company money since the data will allow businesses to identify and reduce unwanted and unpopular stock. In the long term, this will increase sales as companies will be able to optimise their stock based on predictions from data collected. By using data insights, businesses can quickly identify what the customer wants, meaning there is less risk involved.

To practically do this, the business will need to invest time in analytics tools. These tools allow the company to view insights and analytics regarding their stores. KodyPay incorporates analytics tools along with multiple other perks to help all businesses (See www.kodypay.com for more).

An analytics tool will manage your content online and translate the data to you in a readable format. This will enable the business to make changes based on accurate data.

3. Facilitate Home Working

Many of us have been asked to work from home to protect each other during the coronavirus pandemic, so it is more important than ever to make sure that your business is facilitating this. Clear communication is much more difficult when employees are in different parts of the country. Therefore, businesses must adapt and invest in technological tools. Zoom and Google Hangouts have become essential services that encourage collaborative work and facilitate important conference calls.

Many feel lost without the office environment, and the business may suffer because of that. Coda, Airtable, Notion, and Tab are all effective tools supporting remote operations. They provide digital boards of tasks which organises the employees’ jobs and encourages them to track their work. By breaking tasks down, the high pressures that companies face are relieved.

4. Personal Advisor Services

Since COVID-19, 60% of customers in the retail sphere have expressed a desire for online appointments with a company. These appointments could be advice about whatever your company is offering: retail, cosmetics, finance, medication. The younger generations, in particular, claimed that personal advisor services would make them more likely to engage with the business. 82% of young people also said that personal advisor services boost their happiness, encourage them to spend, and they almost always recommend them to a friend. Therefore, you could dramatically increase support for your business by offering these services.

The major retailer, John Lewis, recently set up one-to-one hour video conferences with their customers. Here they offered customers advice on products, which showcased their commitment to the welfare of customers. Without entering a store, customers are less likely to commit to spending. Therefore, they would benefit from speaking to an individual, just as your business would benefit from the sales. Offering personal advisor services is a brilliant way to create loyal, dedicated customers. This option for a business is certainly worth investing time in.

5. Remote Ordering

In Tier 4, click & collect and take out services are still able to function. Therefore, many businesses are moving towards this to prevent them from closing altogether. Click & collect has been a popular response to the pandemic, and some stores record click & collect volumes up by more than 200%.

Particularly for small businesses struggling to survive, click & collect is a vital option worth considering. This is because it is much more cost effective than deliveries. It prevents companies from having to close, meaning they can still make money during the pandemic. Since the pandemic, 42% of customers are now much more likely to use click & collect. This reveals the importance of adding click & collect to your business.

An easy way to start using click & collect is by downloading KodyPay. KodyPay incorporates socially distanced checkout flows such as click and collect to encourage businesses to continue to trade. It is simple for both small and large businesses to set up, and it means that they can still make money safely whilst abiding by the Tier 4 guidelines.

In the three months leading up to September, 243,000 have become unemployed. This evidences the truly undeniable struggles and difficult decisions that businesses are facing due to the pandemic. As parts of the UK enter Tier 4, it is vital that companies are aware of the supportive resources available to them. These 5 suggestions aim to guide companies as they navigate through these unprecedented times. To help support small businesses further, KodyPay is introducing a 90-day free trial with 0 sign up fees. There are no set-up fees, no contracts, and no commitments necessary. This will enable you to see the benefits of KodyPay to your own business, risk-free. Contact KodyPay for more (https://kodypay.com/pricing)
['Elizabeth Kozlowska']
['Tier 4', 'Coronavirus', 'Lockdown', 'Technology', 'Business']