COVID-19. A GREAT EXAMPLE OF ADAPTING TO THE CHALLENGES PRESENTED TO LOCAL BUSINESS.
The faster we adapt our businesses to meet the challenges of Covid-19, the faster we start our recovery and get business back to normal. Making it easy and without any unnecessary social contact for your customers to interact with your business is a very good idea
I suggest, after you make your workplace safe for staff and customers, you look to your website for the solution and talk to your local website designer for help. There are a few good reasons for this,
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Your website is always open for business
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Transactions are contactless
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Customers have complete control of the order and their time
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Payment is completed at time of order
Time is a valuable commodity and will be the most valuable asset post Covid-19, as more and more business sectors open for business meeting new social distancing and safety measures. People are and will have to be patient waiting for service, but customers will definitely favour companies that minimise the time they have to spend purchasing.
Here is an example of a little online booking system we added to Bold Heath Equestrian website, a need which came about as a result of the safety demands of Covid-19.
Problem
Janet, at Bold Heath Equestrian, has various arenas available to hire for horse riders to train on. These riders book the arena in hour slots, for whatever discipline they want to train.
Pre covid-19, riders would telephone the office to book and then pay cash when they arrived to train. This requires staff to answer the phone, keep track of the paper diary system and then collect payment for each booked slot.
There is also the risk that riders changed their minds at the last minute, if they didn’t feel like it any more or the weather wasn’t to their liking.
It may seem like a straightforward answer the phone and take the booking scenario, but when you actually look at the whole process in more detail it is easy to see the flaws in this way of working.
What did we need to achieve?
Reduce interaction for staff and customers, while keeping business running as normal with scope to increase sales.
Solution
An online booking facility meets the needs for both staff and customers, for safety and social distancing. It is also a good investment that allows the business to get back to normal sooner, opening that much needed revenue stream.
Riders can go online to their website, select an arena and time slot that suits them and make a secure payment. It also means with a booked slot they only have to arrive, tack us their horse and ride.
No cash handling. They don’t have to locate staff on duty to make payment, so no need to handle cash either.
For Bold Heath Equestrian,
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an online payment saves a trip to the bank
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they can better rota staff to meet bookings
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payment at booking stops any no shows
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opens a revenue stream even during lock down
You can check it out on their website here - https://boldheathequestrian.co.uk/booking-arena-hire
It’s time to be brave, invest in change and revolutionise to come out on top after this pandemic.
Catchy web design is a local website designer, providing a full service including website design & development; seo (search engine optimisation) and ongoing monthly site maintenance & online marketing.
Give me a call today, Cecil 07870 551 962, let's chat through your requirments