Coronavirus and online sales: Take care of the health of your business

The purpose of this article is help all Argentine brands that sell online to go through this moment of uncertainty and global crisis.

At this time there was much talk about the different health measures to adopt to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus Which is definitely a priority. But this time we want to share tips so that your brand maintain sales levels in the coming months.

We believe that the greatest challenge will be the cash flowespecially for SMEs, and consumption is going to change quite a bit: people will buy less of some products, more of others.

Given this situation, you need to propose an action plan that focuses on health of your business.

To achieve that goal, our first suggestion is that you make a diagnosis of your financial situation: Calculate the charges for the next 30, 60 and 90 days and then discount the invoices to be paid in that same period. This will give you a clearer idea of how many days you have to plan actions.

The formula would be like this:

Collections for the next 30, 60 and 90 days – Invoices to be paid in the next 30, 60 and 90 days = Action planning possibilities

At Tiendanube we are and will continue to be focused on ensuring the greatest success of your business. For this reason, we share with you the following strategies that we gathered based on our experience and also from conversations with various brands that have overcome different economic crises.

We are sure that these strategies will help you sustain your business in these complex times.

Adapt your shipping strategy to the current situation due to Coronavirus

After you have processed the , you will be able to coordinate the deliveries of your orders.

Keep in mind that logistics operators are working with some limitations and taking the necessary health measures. Therefore, we advise you to consult .

Until this whole situation is completely normalized, we recommend:

will build trust. If you cannot send your orders, a good strategy for your potential customers to buy from you these days is to tell them that bliss purchase will be dispatched as soon as the quarantine ends and that, until then, you can cancel it free of charge. This strategy can increase trust in your consumers and help them define themselves faster by your products. See how she did it storecloud :

You can create a message similar to this through and define which page(s) of your store you want it to appear on. Learn how to do it in our .

On the other hand, keep in mind that once the mandatory quarantine is over, it is likely that logistics companies will have a high demand for shipments and will not be able to deliver orders on time.

So that your business does not suffer this impact, we recommend diversify your current shipping optionsthus reducing the risk of having a shipping solution that is more saturated than the rest. At Tiendanube we offer several alternatives so that you can integrate the one you prefer with your store:

Create an exclusive online shopping campaign

It is a reality that buying online is going to be safer in the coming months as it is an activity that minimize physical contact. That is why it is important that you yourself, from your place, encourage this behavior in your consumers. For that:

Creates social media marketing campaigns with key hashtags and offer attractive promotions. See how Tiendanube does it

Form alliances with other brands and offered product combos irresistible. These actions are usually very successful on social networks like Instagram.
If you cannot ship your orders, a good option is to provide your potential buyers with a exclusive promotion only for a few days, For example, a discount coupon, clarifying that the order will be shipped as soon as the quarantine ends but that, if they buy now, they obtain that important benefit. This is how Tiendanube does it:
do you dare to bet on the gift cards? If your potential client has a friend or family member whose birthday is during these quarantine days, gift cards can be an excellent option to be present despite the distance!
Some cloud stores are already offering to send these cards by mail, with the credit or the product that the customer defines, plus a greeting message, like ! Look:

Note: In Tiendanube we offer the benefit of free subscription to all stores (already customers or new) that sell essential health products until September 30, 2020. If your store meets these conditions, we invite you to !

Generate cash with stock

If today you have a very high level of stock, encourage your sales with a special promotion (in case your sales have been affected by the current situation): the important thing at this point is have money in handliquidity, since this will allow you to maintain your cost structure.

At Tiendanube we know that one of the promotions that works very well is the along with some other benefit (such as installments without interest, for example).

Another possibility is to offer discounts on the purchase of complementary items (such as pants and belts) or actions of the style “Take 3, pay 2“.

I know all the .

At times like these, creativity and flexibility can help your business sustain.

Keep the stock level as low as possible

try to work with negative working capital (sell before buying) if you consider that you will be able to deliver the products to your client within the stipulated period. In general, stores work with a monthly inventory, but you can reduce it to 15 days if necessary.

Understand the changes in consumption and diversify your product offer

The crisis brought about by the Coronavirus has very specific aspects that will determine changes in consumption, mainly around isolation measures.

Going forward, we see four consumer trends that will be on the rise:

family entertainment: all together, at home, unable to go out. How can you help your client to entertain themselves with the family?
anti-loneliness: many people live alone and they also need to have fun! (or at least be distracted).
Work at home: Most companies have started to implement a remote work policy, at least for a relevant part of their employees. However, not all houses are prepared to function as an office 100% of the time. How can you help your customers equip their homes and be more productive?
Essential elements: In addition to the basics (such as food, medicine and alcohol gel), each person has their own definition of what is “essential”. Gym clothes? Cooking pot? Dog food?

Diversifying your offer is something you should do constantly, but in a likely scenario of falling sales, it is important to understand what type of product you can offer to your target audience depending on the business you have.

Finally, it is possible that once the isolation measures end, the changes in consumption will continue, and this will have to do with an eventual economic recession in the country and in the world. Some products maybe lose relevance temporarily, so Diversifying can help the health of your store.

I invested in the most efficient marketing channels

Marketing does not have to stop, on the contrary, there are already businesses that, as they expect a drop in sales in their physical store or show roomare increasing the digital marketing budget for their online store.

Therefore, it is important to think which campaigns are really effective. Efforts should be directed only towards actions that help generate salesfor example:

Alliances with stores of complementary products and influencers,
WhatsApp groups with your customers (to publicize promotions),
email marketing campaigns,
online advertising campaigns on Instagram Ads, Facebook Ads and/or Google Ads.

This is not the time to focus on your brand as the branding contributes sales only in the medium and long term and, as we said before, the important thing now is to have the money in hand. The branding it will be a priority again after the crisis. 🙂

We share some free articles and courses that can help you carry out the marketing action that suits you best, depending on the characteristics and possibilities of your business:

Reinvent the experience of your physical store

Many face-to-face initiatives, such as events, are not viable today since crowds must be avoided, but you can take advantage of all the online tools to try to replicate a more human and personal experience with your clients and potential clients.

Even more so in these times where everyone, in quarantine, has a greater need to socialize. The live broadcasts (also known as live) on social media (Instagram, Facebook, and/or YouTube) are key to connecting and getting closer to them.

Through the live you can:

Tell the news of your brand (promotions, discount coupons, etc.).
Interact with your followers through questions and answers (which they can send through the comments).
Interview professionals in your niche remotely (using the option Invite another user to the live streamin the case of Instagram).

Take advantage of all the options of these tools to sell more and more online!

Work remotely as much as possible

Related to the previous point, do not forget to promote the safety of your collaborators. Ask them to work from home and, if it is not possible, invest in private transport such as Uber or Cabify, create work scales so that there are fewer people working at the same time and reconsider the days and hours of the day.

Also, encourage a proactive remote culture and I defined the digital tools so that your team can communicate easily and maintain the quality of the work. It’s also a good idea to organize groups and meetings online so that everyone is always on the same page.

Finally, don’t forget to tell your audience about the new actions of your brand and be prepared, along with your team, to answer possible questions that may arise in relation to this topic.

Here are some articles to help you work remotely successfully:

Reassess your means of payment and renegotiate your debts

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