Small Business Superpower: Connections with Your Customers Matter

My connection with my interviewee in this episode of Pivotal - a Focus on Digital Marketing goes back before I even had my first job.  in addition to knowing Veronica since middle school, I also get to brag that I was her first customer back in beauty school.

Veronica Passaqula is the Founder, Owner, and Esthetician at The Beauty Sport in Santa Rosa. The brick & mortar hair and skin salon has continued to focus on the connections that they have with their customers, and that can be seen as soon as you walk into the salon through smiling faces and repeat customers. When the SIP order went into place for Sonoma County, they had to shut down their salon and turn to online delivery orders, as well as a new Facebook group to keep up connections and continue providing support to their VIP clientele. 

In this episode, we also talk about how life doesn’t always go as planned, and as long as you have that true connection with your customers - they will be there with you through fires, power outages, pandemics, and even bad wifi connections!

They will be open for retail soon, so shop online for sustainable hair care products and skincare (for curbside pickup or delivery): https://thebeautyspotsantarosa.com/

They have also done a great job showcasing life at home and making their customers understand that we are "all in this together" when it comes to our roots... https://www.instagram.com/thebeautyspot

Post-Shelter in Place California Business Will Be Different

Today California Governor, Gavin Newsom shared a video about the plans to open California (along with the other pacific coast states, Oregon and Washington) back up after the COVID-19 pandemic slows (still no official date until we see trends in hospitalization numbers flattening). The plan will focus on opening the shelter in place orders in batches.⁣ He likened it to a dimmer, with small parts of the state, and businesses opening back up slowly.

⁣He also said things won’t look the same when the state reopens.

Using the example that servers at restaurants will likely be wearing masks and gloves, and continue practicing social distancing (aka fewer tables to serve customers, six-foot marks on the floor to wait in lines, etc) for months after (or until we get a vaccination). Article on Eater.com.
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This also means that life at wineries, restaurants, breweries, and small businesses won't be going back to "normal" for a while either. No more bellying up to the bar, or standing crowds at Russian River Brewery. No more large wine tasting rooms open to crowds of visitors for a while this summer. ⁣ No more hair washing stations at salons right next to each other. Possibly no more concerts (whaaaaa), or nightclubs for the summer. Once again, this is just me guessing… There is NO news about any of how post-SIP in California will look like, just a video of Newsom talking about what things may look like, along with the six criteria for how they will know its time to open back up (NBBJ article here has more info).

It sounds like the status quo won't be happening this summer (at least part of it). And that SUCKS. ⁣ Yes, I am aware that it is needed to keep us safe, so the coronavirus doesn’t flare up again. And I am SO damn proud to be a bay area native (we were the first area to start the shelter in place orders in the country). But, it is okay to grieve the summer we were hoping to go back to. Especially for business owners in the hospitality industry. And even more for my restaurant friends. I want to give everyone permission to complain and grieve (though, I don’t recommend doing this on social media where your customer are).
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Right now is a great time to plan for what life MAY be like for your business after the SIP order is lifted, and social distancing (keeping customers, and employees six feet apart) is the new normal. We don’t have all the details because we can’t be certain when the orders will be lifted, and what that looks like. ⁣But planning ahead and brainstorming what your business may look like this summer, should be a part of your weekly/daily discussions with your team. ⁣
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More wine tasting reservations with seated wine tastings? A push for longer wine experiences (a trend we were already seeing), and even more personalized virtual tastings? A continued emphasis on takeout/pick up orders, maybe partnering with another local business to create packages or picnic items? More food trucks? Redrawing floor plans to keep customers away from each other? ⁣
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...And I definitely hope every business is making sure your website has a way for your customers to order your products or services as easy as possible. And yes, this includes adding new products and services to your e-commerce website. ⁣

Creative marketing ideas will become even more important than ever when thinking about business planning for the months ahead. ⁣Here are a few more creative marketing tactics from wineries and restaurants.
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Obviously these are just my random thoughts after hearing Newsom, so I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do try to plan for the worst, and hope for the best. ❤️❤️❤️

My plan is to try to be there for anyone who needs help in developing a digital strategy and content creation (looking for Instagram specific help, I have an Instagram Marketing online course, specific to food and wine industry marketers). If you have a quick question, t I am always available through Instagram DM at @sharayray, or email, or let me know if you want to work on a bigger project together.

I want to help out however I can! Because we are all in this together, and right now is the perfect time to plan ahead and make small changes to pivot your business.