Just breathe.

There’s much talk online these days about what your small business can or should do during a crisis. Over the last weeks I’ve sat in on more than a dozen webinars and podcasts, read myriad blog posts and countless articles. And again this week, I was invited to at least three more Zoom and Instagram live sessions.

While I appreciate all the good intentions out there, the tsunami of advice itself can start to feel overwhelming. How are we supposed to sort through it all and make good choices?

In a word: breathe.

"While unsettling, this is probably the first time you and your customers are in exactly the same emotional (and even physical) place. "

One word that keeps coming up in all these conversations and posts (along with our own recent workshops) is “compassion.” Compassion for yourself, for your business, for your customers and for your community has emerged as a recurring and welcome theme.

Here's what I've learned:

1. Remember to breathe. Businesses are being forced to reevaluate not only what will happen when they reopen, but also perhaps even to reinvent their whole business model. But that takes time and patience. And, as the ultimate “self starters,” it’s not surprising that we small business owners us are up all night thinking about what we “should” be doing. That’s legitimate. But try to give yourself some slack. Breathe. We’ll get there. Just not immediately.
2. Understand change itself. As you may remember from school, people grieve – adjusting to the ultimate change – in ways that psychologists have mapped (Kubler Ross). For several years change managers in business use this same model to examine coping at work. And yes, we’re all grieving a bit – the loss of our normal routine, the loss of customers, the loss of confidence. We’re all on the curve somewhere (I’ve been bouncing between depression and anger recently to be honest), and so are our customers. Understanding that it’s not just circumstances that are changing but also people’s emotional states can only help you and your business. We’re all people here, so empathy will go a long way to helping you move forward.
3. Try to think longer term. As marketing guru Ann Handley put it recently, “try to act in the best interests of the next 10 years, not the next 10 months or 10 days or 10 minutes." That’s not to minimize where we are right now – in real crisis mode trying to keep our heads above water – but trying to allow time and headspace for longer-term perspective can help you balance your approach. What do you want your business to look like farther down the road – and what are customers likely to want that’s different in a “new normal.” Easy? No. A way to keep your eye on the ball and hopefully set yourself up to stay relevant? Yes.
4. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. We’ve all seen the videos now of kids Zoom-bombing important online meetings. Go with the crazy. You’ll get high marks for the bravery of trying and for simply showing up.
5. Stay grateful. As Laura Roeder, founder and CEO of social media automation firm MeetEdgar, recently put it, be grateful if you’re still in business. Your customers will be grateful for you as well – they still need you and you still need them.
6. Be flexible. This isn’t the time for hard selling, time-limited offers or inflexible terms. People have it hard enough without you offering them a take-it-or-leave-it deadline. Be kind. You’ll be remembered well for it later.
7. Focus on the relationship. Remember business, especially small business, is all about relationships. Check in on your customers, let them know you still care and that you’re still there to support them. And then go on doing what you’ve been doing well, remembering to check that your tone is one of kindness, professionalism and support. They’ll be glad to see their favorite brand is still out there ticking along in as normal a way as possible.
8. Return to the fundamentals. Despite those feelings of doom and gloom, it’s a good time to return to planning mode. Remind yourself of your core goals and rethink strategies and tactics in an orderly fashion. Feeling proactive always feels better to me than being reactive. Need a refresh? Take it step-by-step with our blog series on 7 Questions to Inform Your Marketing Planning
   
   

None of us knows where all this is leading. And, while unsettling, it’s probably the first time you and your customers are in exactly the same emotional (and even physical) place. Start with that as a new point of understanding. Then you can re-imagine a new way forward for your small business and how it markets and sells into the future.

But first, breathe.