How to Manage a High-touch Business in a No-touch World
Many businesses rely heavily on in-person contact or involve the touching of shared physical objects to carry out daily business functions – and unless you are an undercover germaphobe (we salute you) there are probably way more of these businesses than you ever even realized. So what’s a high-touch business to do in a “no-touch” world?
Go Virtual
This one is probably pretty obvious but we are now living in a mostly virtual world so we all need to adapt. Even businesses you might have thought could never succeed without human contact are getting resourceful with virtual offerings. Think car dealers doing virtual show rooms and vehicle tours, business coaches offering virtual team-building workshops, or video production shops creating broadcast spots from client created content (I think we know a guy…). After all, if gyms that rely soley on having their members in studio are doing it, you can too.
Pro-tip: make sure you’re set up with the proper video conferencing platform or live-streaming service to make sure you avoid any awkward tech mishaps of the camera freezing on you yawning.
Adapt…and Sanitize
For businesses that need to operate in the physical world with shared areas or objects, the only option is likely to be to heed the CDC and WHO recommendations and allow customers to visit while maintaining social distancing guidelines and up your level of sanitization. One of our favorite examples comes from a Nashville-local bike shop who offers call-ahead consultations to gauge your wants/needs and then schedules a one-on-one appointment for you to come to the shop to test out personalized options of sanitized bikes. Talk about service!
No Contact Home Service
If you have a business that incorporates delivery or entering people’s homes (security system installation, home contractors, etc) No Contact service is a great thing to offer and promote. As long as your team is able to show up in the proper protective gear (masks & gloves), avoid direct contact with the homeowners, and is able to sanitize any shared surfaces upon leaving, many customers will still be interested in at least having the conversation about your services. Heck you can even tout that your client doesn’t even have to be home while you are there to quell any additional fears.
The point is to get creative! Your business offerings may look different than they did a couple months ago, but those who adapt, succeed!
