How to Make the Most of Your Time in 6 Steps

How to Make the Most of Your Time in 6 Steps

2020 was meant to be THE year.

The year we grew our business exponentially

The year I hit the gym and ran my first half marathon.

The year England finally brought football home.

However, the unknown always has a way of throwing you a curveball.

We’re all well aware of the measures being put in place by the Government but not aware of what exactly will be happening over the next few weeks, or even months.

That being said, here are some points that will hopefully help you and your business during this time, especially with communications to clients & employees, generating new business and keeping yourself from going mad in isolation.

Safety First and Foremost – Clients & Employees

This should be a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning.

Your first thought during this pandemic should be the safety of yourself, your family, your employees and your customers. During these times we must ensure we’re doing everything in our power to avoid unnecessary health risks. If teams can work remotely, then they should. If client interactions can be done over video calls and the phone, so be it.

Put measures in place so that everyone is following the same hygiene practices to minimise unnecessary risks.

Government Support & Staying Up-To-Date

With daily briefings from the government, it’s important to follow the latest updates being shared so that we’re all aware of any significant changes.

We must also communicate any significant updates with our teams and clients where possible. We’re in this together, and if we all do our part we can help each other that little bit more.

Keep clear, open communication with everyone.

Team Morale – Remote Working and What That Means For Business… BAU?

Following the government advice, if teams can work remotely, they should. However, this doesn’t have to result in a drop-off in team engagement or productivity, we simply have to get a little creative.

Here are a few tips on how to keep your team communicating during the isolation.

Daily/Weekly Quizzes

Nominated or volunteer a team member to put together a team quiz either daily or weekly for half an hour. A great way to ensure the team engage with each other in a fun, friendly manner that also breaks up the day a little.

Weekly group & 1-2-1 video calls

Some colleagues may live alone, and if they’re in isolation it’s going to be tough for them. We can help bridge that gap with 1-2-1 and group video calls for some face to face time. There are numerous ways to do so, either using Google Hangouts, Zoom.us, Skype, WhatsApp video and Apple FaceTime to name a few.

It’s a great way to engage each other with updates and for some conversation rather than communicating just over email or phone.

Netflix & Other TV recommendation groups

There’s no football or any sport for that matter, although we did find an interesting concept called Marbula One. However, we can keep spirits raised by sharing what we’re watching that’s keeping us entertained during our free time in isolation.

Set-up a WhatsApp group, a Slack channel, or perhaps a Google Hangout for your team to share their latest finds, recommendations and even ones to avoid.

The highlight of the week… Having crumpets for lunch?

People get creative when they’re bored, so why not share what everyone’s highlight of the week is. It could be they finished a book, finished new website development or even something like having ice-cream for lunch.

Immediate Actions

What can you do to adapt your business to overcome immediate challenges now?

Send out a message to all clients, prospects, mailing lists and social channels explaining your current business situation. Are you business as usual with a few tweaks such as remote working? Can they still get in touch with you? Will there be any changes in work delivery at this time?

Clear communication will go a long way.

Next, put together a contingency plan for how you will not only conduct business but continue to drive leads. Ensure the team are all aware of how to use video calling tools and that they’re all sharing the right messaging. Adapt your marketing strategy, traditional marketing isn’t the best case right now so look to up your digital game. PPC & Ads will be essential for driving traffic to your website.

LinkedIn should also be your best friend right now, ensure your team are actively engaging with prospects and leads on the platform. Automation will also be invaluable during this time.

Look for those quick wins that you can get set up and moving right away. A few blogs on what your industry and business are doing in this situation will also provide much-needed clarity for your target audience.

Check out our previous post on four things to consider right now.

Getting To Those Back-Burners

It’s very likely you’ve had a list of ‘to-do’s’ that you never get round to doing. Well, now is the perfect time to get them done.

Isolation means no in-person communicating, no non-essential travelling and a change in the working environment. Let’s take advantage of that. Firstly, ensure you’re getting plenty of rest and some exercise so you don’t go crazy being stuck indoors. Then, let’s look at that list.

Did you want to improve your website and optimise its lead capture?

Implement an inbound marketing strategy that brings the right leads to you?

Considering HubSpot migration?

Exploring new lead generation tactics?

Then let’s do it! Start planning and assessing who can help you with the above and book in some calls. The right agency will be able to help you not only complete these back-burners but also put out the right tactics and messaging in the short term.

Future Planning

Now, just because we’re in crisis doesn’t mean we should be short-sighted. Yes, we have challenges now, but we’re also going to have challenges further down the line that ‘Future You’ won’t enjoy facing.

If we can help get our businesses over the immediate hurdles, and also prepare for the not-so-distant future, we’ll be putting ourselves in the best possible position during these turbulent times.

What Can Catalyst Do To Help?

We’re not medical professionals. Nor are we government advisors. But we are marketing experts and we’ll do our best to help you achieve the most during the COVID-19 Pandemic wherever we can.

Available for consulting, website design and development, marketing strategy and immediate crisis planning. Work with us to ensure your business adapts quickly and effectively to the new business environment, digital remote.

Get in touch today to find out how we can work together.