My heart raced as I heard the news – California was headed for lock-down at midnight. What would this mean for my family? My business? My church?
Troubling news had become the mainstay over the weeks prior due to the coronavirus outbreak from China. But now it hit home.
Was I prepared with enough food?
Did I have enough cash reserves?
Do I have enough weapons?
What will America look like after the government has taken this kind of control in a “medical martial law?”
The Jobless Claims
With the lockdown, of course the hope is less people will become sick. Or at least not all at once.
But what about the hundreds of thousands of American heroes who’ve built successful businesses? Years to build up and only a few weeks or months to completely take so many of them out.
The Tragedy
Layoffs, furloughs, and even worse = closed doors. For good.
Alcohol sales up by over 50%.
Mindless consumption of television at an all-time high.
Anxiety spiking along with apathy and a new sedentary mandate.
Families at each other’s nerves. Kids out of school. Pools closed, parks closed, beaches closed, stores closed, restaurants closed…
The Opportunity
Besides the family-relationships that can benefit from this close proximity (which will be another post), there is huge opportunity for businesses that get it right. And I mean HUGE.
A week into the lockdown, I went on a hunt for the boardgame “Risk,” that I used to play and enjoy with the fellas years ago. Amazon would have taken 3 weeks. Target was out. So was Walmart.
But Barns and Noble had one at a store locally. So I had to follow protocol to get it:
- Visit the website, select my store and buy it
- Call the store to confirm my order
- Pull up to the small table out front to pick my order up – curbside
What an innovation! And what a testimony of how important – now more than ever, a strong online presence is in these days of lockdown. Find it online, buy it, pick it up or have it delivered. Brilliant.
And this isn’t just for businesses that sell items, but also for services (consulting, home services etc…)
Grabbing someone’s attention in the “heat of the search” is the most important thing advertising can do for a business. Plus a warm hand-off from the world’s most trusted brand – Google. You’re now tee’d up for a win.
But only if you can be found.
And if you’re a retailer like Barns and Noble, why not kick your game up while Amazon is down? You could deliver way faster than Amazon can right now, why would you NOT take advantage and get some of your revenue back up? And crush your own sales!
What’s your gameplan? How will things change for you?
The Answer
It’s up to your response. If you retreat and let fear guide your days, watching the newsporn, then you’ll come out of this in big trouble.
But, if you allow this covid-19 coronavirus lockdown to unleash your creativity – for your business, your clients, your family… then you’ll come out victorious. In fact, it’s going to be a really good 3-5 year run for the businesses that survive this crisis, who do it in the right way.
Right now, for coronavirus relief, we’re offering to double-up on the amount of services we offer clients, for the lifetime of the account – without double the investment.
Move twice as fast, get twice your money’s worth, and take big strides forward while much of the world is shrinking back.
Call or fill out the form on this page and I will personally reach out to you.
THE END
Corey D. Rose, Co-founder, Search Geeks