It’s been over a year since the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the U.S. and for small business owners, it’s been over a year since we’ve had to adapt to selling during the pandemic.

But one of the greatest things about small business owners is we like to stick together! Below are some tips we’ve used for Love and Fit that have worked to maintain or boost sales during the pandemic.

Tips for Small Businesses to Boost Sales During the Pandemic

    1. If you don’t sell online, try to!

The pandemic has caused a huge shift in in-person shopping to online shopping. With more people opting for “add to cart” rather than heading to the store, your business has to adapt to meet the customers where they are. Try setting up an Amazon, Etsy, Poshmark, Mercari, or eBay shop if your website isn’t built to handle online transactions.

There are also great options to build out an online storefront and manage transactions on the platform. Research Wix, Shopify, Square, etc. to find out if one of these is a good fit for your business based on cost vs. benefit.

So many people are ordering online, your business needs to be where the customers are!

    2. Post your items on social media if you are a brick and mortar store.

The goal is to use all of the free methods at your disposal to boost sales. If you operate a brick and mortar store, use your social media channels to showcase the products you have. Whether you plan to ship to customers or can arrange for pick-up or delivery, it’s important to promote what your store has to offer.

Take social media engagement one step further by creating a contest for your followers. Make sure it includes “likes”, “shares”, and “tags” to boost the exposure for your brand.

    3. Get creative!

Now that we’re staying home more, we all have a bit more time on our hands. Put some of that time into creative thinking for your business. Is there a new product you can create? Are there new platforms you can advertise on? Maybe your products would flourish on TikTok! You have nothing to lose, so try some new things.

    4. Make the new stay at home vibe work for you.

Marketing is storytelling and what stories are we telling during the coronavirus pandemic? Well, mostly the ones where we’re staying home. Shape your marketing efforts around the new stay at home vibe. Team up with other small businesses for cross promotion and contest opportunities. Sharing is caring and the more we can help each other out, the better!

Get Creative, Use Your Resources, and Work with Other Small Businesses

There’s no perfect way for a company to navigate this pandemic. At Love and Fit, we’ve been rolling with the punches as best we can. Since people are spending more time at home, we created Nursing Pajamas and released a new color of the Cozy Up Nursing Hoodie and both of our Mesh Out Capri Leggings and Guardian Leggings. We’ve tried to be as creative as possible to tap into our network of small businesses and kick a** females on social media.

Have some great insight for small businesses that’s worked for you? Comment below to share your methods for success!