#Kauftlokal!

03/21/2020

Shops closed, warehouses full, clients gone – what to do? Ideas for local retailers.

#supportyourlocal #shoplocal – Here are a few thoughts and suggestions on how local retailers can work with their clients and generate sales during the crisis. The storm is fierce and severe, posing an existential challenge for every retailer and every business. Nevertheless, and precisely because of this, we need to consider what can be done now. This is especially true for local retailers: What options are available, what can be done now to generate sales and keep the business afloat?

1. Fly the flag: “We're here!”

The store is closed, but we're still here. We're working, talking, and delivering—and that needs to be communicated clearly and widely, in every way possible. Especially on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Xing. By personal email, by phone, Messenger, WhatsApp, newsletter, on your own website... All channels must be used to talk to customers now. Constantly and always! The flag must always fly, you must always be clearly visible to your customers who are sitting at home in their home offices and whose windows to the outside world are their monitors, tablets, and cell phones. Otherwise, they have nothing.

2. Talk to your clients!

Dear local retailers, now could be your moment. Yes, the big online retailers have pushed many small retailers to the margins. Many have also failed to establish their own functioning online channels. But that's the way it is now, and we have to make the best of it. What the big players don't have: They are far away, and you are close. You know your customers and the area much better than they do, and you can get to them much faster.

Talk to your customers: They are sitting at home waiting for you.
Offer them what they need right now: bread, entertainment, groceries, gifts, pastimes, drugstore items, clothing... everything! Life goes on, just behind closed doors.
If they can't come to you, then you go to them. See above for your contact channels: from now on, talk to them constantly, make fixed appointments, write to them, visit them online, always be there for them. Just like in the Middle Ages, when merchants traveled from town to town, only now a) digitally and b) in person, if possible.

3. Now your local proximity is your advantage!

Get out there and deliver while you still can. Preferably several times a day. The streets are empty and you can get there quickly. The best example: My local comic book dealer www.comix-hannover.de delivers reading material for my children! It arrives on the same day – perfect! They even include a little gift because they know me, love me, and know what I like – that's how it works!

4. Open up all your order channels: All of them!

No matter how: take orders! Via Facebook, Instagram, email, phone, WhatsApp, website... If you don't have a shop yet, set something up now that works quickly! Optimize your processes now! >>> We can help you! DRIVE has fast, effective, and flexible solutions that may be right for you: pole-position@drive.eu

5. Respond immediately! Speed counts!

Your contact station must always be manned, day and night! Respond immediately, because at that moment, the client is there, needs something, and is receptive. Now you have to respond. This is a matter for the boss. The old rules no longer apply. Now we have to manage and work differently.

6. The bosses must lead the way!

Show that you are there. Stand on the bridge so that your own crew and your clients can see you clearly and that you are showing leadership! Everyone is afraid, you give them hope. Just by being there and showing yourself to them, you are already sending them the first positive message.

7. Prepare for the storm to get worse.

You cannot prevent the storm. You will have to change course again and again because the wind is shifting and the waves are getting higher. But you must keep moving forward. Ballast must be removed, and all parts on board must be constantly checked and secured. Reef the sails, but the ship must be able to continue moving forward.

The crisis is here, it is bad, and it will probably get worse. But we can and must face it. Because as entrepreneurs, colleagues, clients, partners, and teams, we have a responsibility to each other, to our families, friends, colleagues, and their families and loved ones. We can only do this if we stick together, look out for each other, and stay in touch. We need to give each other what we really need and what we are good at.

8. Go digital!

If you haven't done it yet, NOW IS THE TIME: Go digital! Your website, your shop, your social media channels – take a look at what you're missing and what you need to improve. Make small changes, as is possible in the midst of a storm. We'll help you! We've set up a hotline service at DRIVE: 0173 - 3691189 and pole-position@drive.eu, available on weekends, anytime on weekdays, whenever you need it! Give us a call, send us an email or a private message:

Your website ready to take orders: mini online shop, live and ready in 24 hours
Your order structure working: so that you can be reached on the same working day and take orders
Your channels on air: so that your clients can hear and see you immediately
Digital payment: if you cannot or do not want to accept cash on delivery, expand your payment system.
- a) Introduce your own digital system – it's not that complicated, providers have been geared up for this for many years, especially for small shops
- b) You can join platforms. When you work out the costs, remember that you will be committing to this system for a longer period of time.
Vouchers: If your products or services cannot be consumed immediately, introduce vouchers, e.g. for hairdressers.
- a) Yourself: super easy on your own website or one of the other channels mentioned above, so that you can get money right away if you meet the requirements mentioned above.
- b) via platforms: this also pays off. Advantages: quick start, existing infrastructure. Drawbacks: possibly longer commitment, shares that go to the platform provider and reduce your margin.
- Update, March 28, 2020: Check carefully. Many offers are currently popping up. But good intentions don't always mean good results. And everyone needs to check carefully what they are committing to. Are the terms right? Is it only free now, and what costs will arise in a few weeks? How long am I committing to? Will they then want a share of my sales? How much and in what way? It is important to take a close look now!

9. Seek advice!

Our service is available every day, even on weekends. There are no longer any normal “working hours”: pole-position@drive.eu and 0173-3691189

10. Great local retailers and suppliers who are there and working

www.liebe-hannover.de: Online perfume service – It's your mother's birthday and you need a nice gift for her? A lovely fragrance or other fine accessory, wrapped with love.
www.comix-hannover.de: Comics in your home – before the kids get out of hand and start rebelling, give them some comics. Comix Hannover will deliver right away.
www.sweet-family.de: Tips for quick and easy recipes, baking and preserving, cooking with children, and much more.The sugar, which is organic, is available at your local store or supermarket! The sugar is sourced from beet farmers here in northern Germany!
Bakers in and around Hanover: https://bosselmann-landbaeckerei.com, http://www.bucks-backparadies.de, http://goeing.de und viele andere: Kauft Brot! Und Brötchen auch.
https://www.facebook.com/pit.schwaar: Guitar lessons online - excellent guitarist offers lessons online. Music makes you happy - now is the best time to learn and put it to good use.
https://www.paraphernalia-hannover.de: Paraphernalia's beautiful clothes put you in a good mood and help even on gloomy days.
https://listerliebling.de: Lister Lieblinge – retailers near you – now is the time to support them, they need you, you need them. This platform provides addresses and contact details for retailers in Hannover's List district, including clothing, home furnishings, flowers, books, and much more. And you can also order from (some, many) of them (definitely).
Support Your Local: https://www.haz.de/Thema/Specials/Coronakrise-So-koennen-Sie-den-Haendlern-in-der-Region-Hannover-helfen The Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper has compiled a list of local retailers. We and many others think this is a great idea—the more help, the better! None of us are perfect yet, but we're working on it.
hannoverhelfen: https://www.hannoverhelfen.de - Further list of retailers and offers in various districts.
Kunstverein Wunstorf: https://www.kunstverein-wunstorf.de/ausstellungen Art doesn't always make you rich, but it does make you happy. In the more than 35 years since its founding, many important and always interesting artists from Germany, internationally, and the region have exhibited at the Kunstverein Wunstorf. Unfortunately, there is a break during the coronavirus pandemic, but browsing through the exhibitions digitally is fun and sure to spark new ideas.
KIWI Online Shop by Nicolas Kiefer: produces MOUTH AND NOSE PROTECTION to counteract the shortage of face masks #Mundschutz. https://tinyurl.com/ttuhegn