How can you support any small business during COVID 19?

Everyone is adjusting to the new normal that COVID - 19 has forced upon us this year, admittedly we are all dealing with it differently and in our own way personally, and small businesses are no different.

We have been so lucky to receive some wonderful messages of love and support from our community offering support during COVID-19.

Many customers have offered words of encouragement and other customers have messaged or e mailed us asking if we are delivering because they specifically want to give business to a small local company. 

We have seen a real uplift in people wanting to spread floral love which is absolutely great and we love receiving your reviews and feedback so thank you! 

Its always great to support local if you can and I think  this year so many people feel the same as they want to see the small local businesses survive! 

Its always great to leave reviews to these small businesses as it really does mean the world to us all!  

There are some great things you may be able to do to support the wonderful world of small business during this time

1) – Write a google review

This is probably the number one thing you may be able to do to support any small local business for free! 

Write them a positive review on google. 

Reviews are a fantastic way to let a small business know you value them, and the service they provide, but did you also know it really boosts their website ranking as well?

We are used to leaving reviews on Facebook, but whilst these are great  the reviews don’t provide any extra boost to a companies website.

Unfortunately leaving reviews on google is not quite as easy as on the social platforms, but here is how you can do it:

If you’ve been given a link

If the small company has provided a link to leave a review, follow that and it will take you to a login page that looks like it is specifically for Google. You can actually log in here with any email address and it will allow you to leave a review.

If you don’t have a link

If you don’t have a link, search the business in Google and it will come up with a side bar detailing the business. Simply click on the reviews and you will see a box appear saying”write a review” this will then take you to the login page that looks like it is specifically for Google. You can actually log in here with any email address and it will allow you to leave a review.

Need some ideas on what to say? You could mention things like:

-what you thought of the customer service, and how the company understood you

• Your excellent customer service experience
• Your favourite part of dealing with the company
• Why you would choose to use them again
• If you had a great experience at an event they were holding
• If you thought it was good value for money

Here is a link to us if you would like to leave us one! 

https://g.page/contemporaryflowers/review?rc

We are all very busy and I understand only too well  that its easy to say I will do it later but sometimes that later never come does it! I am guilty of this but have made a conscious decision to change and act on it straight away !! :)  

2) – Buy a gift voucher for future use

If there are businesses that you use regularly that cannot open during this time or are working reduced hours  you may consider buying a gift card for future use. I have done this a lot this year for Birthdays to favourite local restaurants and pubs and also local spas.

Most vouchers are redeemable for at least a year, and I know that a lot of small businesses are extending the expiry dates to be flexible for the consumer as we are.

If you don’t see something on their site about gift vouchers, drop them an email. They will appreciate hearing from you.

3) – Search some local independent companies for your basics

There are so many local bakers, farmers, flour producers, egg suppliers that have had their turnover hit because they normally supply cafe’s and restaurants. 

These companies are now supplying direct to consumers and you can get some FANTASTIC produce! We have been using local suppliers weekly for deliveries of food and veg boxes. They also provide local cheese, eggs and all sorts of other basics (including flour!)

A lot of these companies are using Instagram to publish their availability, so it may be worth searching your local area. If you are local to Canterbury Kent,  and want some recommendations you can leave a comment on the blog or send me an email and I’ll send you a list of those we love. Picture from Foodari which i adore! x

There is quite a lot you can do to support small and medium sized businesses during this time. I’m wondering if you have any other thoughts on what you can do to support some of your favourite businesses? Or perhaps you are a small business and have some other ideas on how people can support your company?

Leave me a comment below

Thanks for reading!

Rachel x