Business owners around the world are asking themselves the same question right now.
How can I help?
We’ve learned that in times of crisis—humanity steps up to the plate.
There are thousands of businesses around the world looking to make a positive impact right now. If you’re one of them, we’ve put together a list of ways that you can help.
Business doesn’t have to come to a complete halt, it just needs to come from an ethical place. Remember, there’s a reason that this is a list. It’s not so you can check off everything listed—it’s so you can see the available options and choose the best one for your business, right now.
You don’t have to be the superwoman or man that saves the entire day. You can be the business owner who does what makes sense for them, their employees, and their company while doing good for the world.
Here’s a list of 6 ways to do good as a business right now.
#1: Create New Offers
Your business might not have an offer that makes sense right now. For example, a personal trainer might not have offered at home live-streamed workouts. But now, that’s a different story. They can offer all of their clients at home workouts via live streams or video calls. Their clients will be happy to be able to keep working out, and the trainer will be happy to keep working.
What offer could you create based off of your existing products?
#2: Give Away Free Products
If you have a business that does have relevant products right now, you can give away those products for free for a certain amount of time. For example, at DigitalMarketer, we gave away access to our paid Lab membership through the end of March. Marketers around the world that were at home and looking for ways to stay productive were able to learn from the certifications and courses that are normally member-only.
What product could you give away for free that would help people right now?
#3: Make Products the World Is Short on Right Now
Some businesses are in a place to be able to pivot their product assembly lines and create much needed products like hand sanitizer, ventilators, and masks. Wantable, an online personal stylist platform is turning their warehouse into a shipment center for masks. With the help of volunteers, they’ll have sewn masks sent to their warehouse, inspected for quality, and then distributed to hospitals and people in need.
Do you have the ability to create much needed products right now?
#4: Collaborate with a Charity Organization
Not every business has a product that fits well into the current global situation, and that’s understandable. For these businesses, this doesn’t mean they need to shut down until the time is right to sell again. Instead, they can collaborate with a charity organization to give a certain percentage of profits for a specific timeframe to charity organizations that are relevant right now.
What charity could you partner with?
#5: Provide Support and Guidance
Understandably, not every business is in a place to offer free products or have the access to a facility that can make products like hand sanitizer and masks. But, every business does have an email list of customers who are looking for support and guidance during this time. This isn’t permission to spam your list with COVID-19 campaigns, this is an opportunity to help your customers in ways you haven’t before. Linking them to charities, job boards, webinars, and more can be what they need from you right now.
What are your customers’ biggest pain points right now and what solves them?
#6: Create a Place for Community
While everyone is going through the same experience in one way—in another, we’re all having a totally different experience. Ecommerce businesses are wondering how to make their products and get them shipped overseas. Marketers are asking their peers how they’re changing their messaging and campaign structure. Business owners are figuring out if they’ll be able to survive the next few months. Since your customers all have one similarity, you can do your good for the world right now by offering them a community around it. For example, an ecommerce Facebook group to talk about the ways everyone is figuring out how to get products, a marketing Slack group to showcase great examples of COVID-19 messaging, and a Zoom call for business owners to talk about what they’re doing to ensure longevity.
Where can you create a community for your customers to talk to others with similar problems?
It’s humbling to see so many business owners step up and ask themselves how they can help the world.
You can ethically promote your business right now, helping those in need while ensuring you’re able to pay your employees.
Just remember, any positive impact is impact. No matter how large or small.
