The ongoing COVID-19 doesn’t show any sign yet of ending, even as several big-name pharmaceutical companies have developed vaccines and are now taking orders from governments across the world. The industry is among the many industries that have stepped up and went to great lengths to help the concerted efforts to fight the ill effects of the pandemic in the global economy and public health.
In hindsight, it’s interesting to note how both established and small- to medium-scale businesses tried to contribute whatever they can during the initial months of the crisis. For example, mortgage lending companies offered payment holidays for mortgagees who had a hard time meeting their monthly payments. There were also beverage and liquor companies that diverted a large part of their production to meet the high demand for alcohol and hand sanitizers, some of them even donating everything to the federal government.
If you own a business and you wish to chip in whatever you can, here are six ways on how you can help make a difference in your community:
Donate to community organizations.
The simplest and easiest way to help your struggling community is to make a donation to organizations that are helping affected community members. Whether it’s 10 percent of your monthly sales or income or some of the excess inventory that you can spare, every item or any amount that you can give to the community will be a big help.
Volunteer your skills and expertise.
If you or any of your employees are able and willing to volunteer your skills and expertise to aid local efforts to lend a helping hand to locals, don’t hesitate to do so.
If you own a restaurant, then why not help prepare meals for distribution to street dwellers and community members? If you run a wellness clinic, an online wellness session for the community would be a great gesture.
Whatever talent or expertise that you and your employees can contribute, the key is to just push through offering it to the community if possible.
Offer your facilities.
Another way that your business can help the community is by lending your facilities to organizations and government response groups.
If you have a large parking lot, for example, it can be a great place for a command and control center or temporary shelter for homeless people. If you own catering business, then perhaps your kitchen equipment could be used to prepare hot meals for people on the streets and those involved in the COVID-19 response?
Give discounts and freebies to community members and frontline workers/support personnel.
These days, people need every single cent that they can save given the financial volatility of the situation. If your business can afford it, consider giving discounts to clients, whether they’re regular customers or those involved in healthcare. Frontline workers and support personnel are as affected by the pandemic as the average community members, so they should also enjoy such perks from business owners like you.
Also, see if you can hand out freebies to them, whether during their first visit or after their tenth. You can do it without conditions or employ a referral program so you can still earn your keep while doing your share of help to the community.
Keep your rates or prices low.
Aside from freebies and discounts, it’s also a welcome gesture if you would maintain your service rates or product prices low. For this, you might need to work with your accountant to see just how low you can get without adversely affecting your financial standing as a business.
By making your prices or rates well within your customers’ reach, you’re helping the community in a way since community members get their needed products or services without paying a premium for them.
Make it easier, safer, and more convenient for people to avail of your products or services.
With the risk of COVID-19 being transmitted through face-to-face encounters and being exposed to touchpoints in business establishments, business owners should make their products or services available through digital means (such as telemedicine) and non-contact channels (such as deliveries). Additionally, you should consider offering online ordering and payments to minimize human-to-human exposure if your business has something to do with physical products.
With these efforts, business owners like you can still make profits while minimizing the risks of COVID-19 transmission for both your clients and your employees.
It’s critical for every sector of society to work together to bring down the cases of COVID-19 and eliminate all potential risks of community transmission. With these six methods, you’ll achieve just that while doing your share of helping the community as you keep your business afloat.