- Welcome to The Journey.
Today, we're gonna talk about
how to prepare your business for uncertain times.
- Your health and wellbeing is not
the only thing currently at risk.
I mean, for instance, many businesses in the food retail
and grocery industries, have drastically needed
to change their business models
so their businesses can survive
during these times of uncertainty.
And you may not be able to see into the future,
but it doesn't mean you can't prepare for it.
Ensure your business can withstand any further hardships
by embracing the uncertainty rather than ignoring it.
- Now, this can reveal real opportunities
for your business to grow, and look,
nobody knows when the new normal will transition
to something more stable,
so why not take this disruption
in society as an opportunity.
An opportunity to transform it
into something you can utilize in your business for growth.
- In this video, we'll create your strategic roadmaps
as you plan for your business's future.
Let's start off with step number one,
and that's to plan for uncertainty factors.
Factors that can cause uncertainty
and really include those economic conditions,
fiscal illness and shifts in consumer behavior
to name a few.
All right, Emma, can you tell us a couple
of simple steps to strategize for each of these?
- Yeah, totally.
Let's talk about economic conditions.
So economic conditions, you need to create a plan
to help you predict when the industry will be
at its lowest or highest.
And then from there, you manage your money
by analyzing and evaluating your profit or loss statements.
Then in turn, that can help you to implement new strategies
so you bounce back from the current situation.
- And then there's physical illness.
You'll need to consider
how physical illness may affect your business.
You need everyone feeling comfortable and safe.
So let your clients and staff know
about your disinfecting instructions,
social distancing rules, hand-washing guidelines
and other sanitation and hygiene protocols.
- And the third point, shifts in consumer behavior.
In addition, shifts in consumer demand
can certainly influence both how your business operates
and of course its long-term success.
And I encourage you to ask yourself,
are you catering to new clients and not just your regulars?
Is client safety taken into consideration?
Also, do you have the right marketing strategies
in place like email marketing and social media campaigns
in order to grow and engage with your community?
- All right.
Step number two, tune into how you feel and stay present.
As the decision-maker, you may be feeling burnout,
stressed and extremely overwhelmed by the lockdown
and everything that's going on in the world.
It can all be a bit much, but just remember
that it's okay, and feeling this way is kind of normal.
Be aware of how you feel right now.
And as a business owner, it's especially hard
during these times to run a successful business
since many gyms, and other different areas have forced
to close or pivoted to an online business model.
Many unanswered questions may add to your stress
and anxiety such as like, how do I pay the bills?
Will my business be able to continue?
And can I still generate revenue?
- And something that I often say to those around me
and my nearest and dearest, stay present, or in the now,
be mindful as you prepare for multiple outcomes,
review the current state of your business
on a regular basis, regular basis,
and continue to build relationships with clients
and staff, partners
and more to create a long-term community.
And remember, staying in the now allows you
to become more familiar with what's happening
with the state of the economy at this very moment.
So as you tune into current events,
you can make informed decisions about your business
and economic forecasts can shed light on your industry,
so then, good news, you can plan accordingly.
And this allows you to plan
for multiple outcomes rather than just one.
And hey, if plan A is not possible, then you regroup
and focus on plan B, plan C and you go on.
- Exactly.
And then step number three,
keep the lines of communication open.
It's super important to be transparent
and keep the lines of communication
with your staff members and your clients.
You'll also need to constantly review
and evaluate how you communicate with your community.
So communicate any updates to your community
about the status of your business,
your health and safety protocols,
or just new promotions or virtual classes at your business.
- And now the good thing is, digital strategies
and automation can allow you to take your communication
to another level, which is awesome.
So you can create custom templates
and automatically send email, text messages,
and even push notifications to keep pace with staff members.
And this is gonna allow you to engage
with your clients as well and grow your business, of course.
- Yeah, and you can announce a class
and target past customers
who have previously purchased some type of service from you,
just to increase those class attendance.
But you can also reengage
whenever a client hasn't visited your business in a while
and just notify them when their membership is
about to expire, to really boost your retention numbers.
All in all, communication is key
to building a lasting relationship
with staff members and your clients.
- Number four, focus on a marketing plan.
Can't stress that enough
and you need to implement the basics
of an effective fitness business marketing plan.
Before you can decide or truly invest though,
the building blocks of business marketing plan can serve
as a roadmap, that's what I like to call it, (chuckles)
that you need for an effective strategy to get more clients.
So what should your strategy include?
Let's break it down.
- I'll take this one, Emma.
So I think your strategy has to start
with research and development,
just to help you better understand your target audience
especially at this stage.
So this marketing stage is all about research.
You find out everything about your audience,
literally everything, including their age, where they live,
the problems they wanna overcome,
the goals they want to achieve and more.
Then you jump into competitive analysis.
So you gain a clear perspective on your competitors.
And after doing the research and development stage,
you need to know what you are offering and ask yourself,
why would consumers come to your business over others?
And this is where you start to distinguish yourself
and make your business unique to stand out from the crowd.
- Also, let's talk about clear goal setting.
Clear goal setting so your marketing has the right vision
and it has the right direction.
You'll also need to set aside funds
for your marketing budget,
and don't forget to ask yourself
how you will reach your target audience,
Nealey and I talk about this all the time.
So for instance, is your audience on social media,
like Facebook or Instagram?
Which one of those?
Or did they prefer reading your blog or your emails?
- Next, consider how your online presence factors
into your overall marketing strategy.
So you wanna attract new clients
with an effective landing page,
with a clear call to action, and formative FAQs,
and a Lead Capture Widget for more conversions.
And then engage with clients
on the most popular social media channels.
This can be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok,
whatever you wanna do there,
wherever your audience spends most of their day.
And then share client success stories,
blogs, and expert tips,
important updates on your business, and really
anything that fits into what's going on with your business.
- Also referral programs are great.
Running referral programs encourages local customers
to go out there, tell others about you, your business,
and when current clients refer new clients,
a referral program lets them earn rewards.
I love this personally, (chuckles)
such as discounted memberships,
free gym classes, you name it,
but don't forget to continue to make adjustments
and evaluate your marketing throughout the pandemic.
- And this one is probably one of my favorites
but step number five,
remember your self-care plan matters too.
A topic that is being openly discussed more
and more is self-care,
and it's important for your overall journey.
And as a business owner, you often think about others
and how you can cater to your clients,
your staff members first, but remember that taking care
of yourself is vital for running a successful business.
And although this may seem uncertain
and out of whack right now,
you should definitely schedule some "me time"
to reflect, refresh and rejuvenate.
Develop a routine, both in and out of the business,
and it's essential because then you can create good habits.
- Now, some people may think
that taking a vacation is the only way to clear your head.
You guys, that's totally not true.
It's just simply not true.
Taking some time for yourself or talking to someone even
that can give me a little clarity in the head for the day,
like a business coach, an advisor or a good friend
who can help you navigate the uncertainty
and answer your questions, it can be extremely refreshing
and good to help clear the thoughts
and let those new ideas float in.
- Nobody and no business is perfect.
It's imperative to realize
that there are endless possibilities
to improve from where you are right now.
It's one of my favorite parts
of being a business coach and consultant.
I get to provide more than just hope
and mindset shifts but real-life results
that are proven best practices,
and execution with tools
that boost the key performance indicators of your business.
Nothing is better.
- All right, that's a wrap.
You just learned how to prepare your business
for uncertain times.
Be sure to like this video and comment below.
- And while you're there, make sure you subscribe
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This is The Journey, we'll see in the next video.