Living in Edmonton, street closures due to construction are a frustrating fact of life. Drivers patiently (usually) line up and wait their turns to navigate their way through the seemingly never-ending road closures and construction sites.
But we all see the empty parking lots and stores as we creep-by them: ‘those retailers must be struggling during this phase.’
Of course they are.
But road closures and major construction sites don’t have to sound the death knell for small businesses. We recommend the following steps if you’re faced with a major and potentially lengthy street closure or similar environmental disruption:
- Identify a product or service line that can be sold/is in demand in nearby districts.
- Find a way to promote this product/service line to likely, high value buyers in these nearby districts.
- Consider e-marketing, direct mail, and other direct channels.
- Consider packaging your product/service line with complimentary providers of other services/products, in an effort to widen your buying and referral circle.
- Dig deep into your past-client database, and re-engage them in buying something else from you.
- Consider opening a temporary ‘pop up’ location, nearby, in one of the in-demand nearby districts.
- Evaluate and adjust your payment options, and adjust them if necessary (new split-payment programs for example are now widespread: are they suitable for your buyers? can you integrate these services?)
- Expand your sales team: look into government grants to hire new people, or secure new financing if needed.