Always keep your tools in good shape!
In a storm or crisis, all instruments on board and all tools in the company must 1) be available and 2) always work well. No matter how much noise and commotion there is, keep them in good shape. And if you don't have them in your toolkit? Then get them now, set them up, and use them!
Here is a list of important communication tools for you, with information on how long it takes to get them up and running.
It is important that every tool delivers results quickly. Always plan and implement in small steps so that you can constantly check, correct, and change quickly, i.e., be flexible, adapt to constantly changing conditions, but with clear goals. To help you do this, we show you how long it takes from the initial idea to going live to get a tool up and running. You should therefore plan each tool in different versions: small, medium, large, so that you can see the alternatives and assess them. If you already have one or more of these tools, then check, check, check! Does everything work? Are you always easily accessible? Do all channels and processes with your clients work smoothly? It has never been more important than it is today!
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Website
Your website is your most important tool. It has to be there and work perfectly – a matter of course, if not already the case, then please make it so now.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes & Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Small, simple: | ||
| One-pager | 12 hours | Ideal for getting started, no frills — who you are, what you offer, for whom, your value proposition, and how to get in touch |
| Medium: | ||
| 4 to 8 pages | 24 hours to 5 days | Includes more content; a natural next step after the one-pager |
| Large: | ||
| Up to 40 pages | From 5 days to 2 weeks | – |
| Extra-large: | ||
| From 40 to ∞ pages | From 3 weeks to 12 weeks | – |
Online store
Your online store is the new foundation of your business. If you don't yet have an order form or a store, e.g., as a local retailer or provider of goods or services, now is the time to get one! There are good and easy ways to get started. You can proceed step by step, even with complex solutions, or review and expand your existing offering. So get started right away!
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes & Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Simple: Order Address (Email, Phone) | 1h | Quick and simple way for customers to place orders. Just provide an email address and/or phone number – ideally both. IMPORTANT: You must have a working order process behind this (receiving orders, preparing goods, shipping, invoicing, payment, etc.). |
| Slightly More: Orders via Social Media Profiles | 8h | Via WhatsApp, Messenger, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Xing, etc. >> This can be expanded into full shop profiles later, which can be directly integrated. |
| Online: Order Form | 8h | A pre-stage before having a full shop. Allows structured order submissions via a form. |
| Online Shop 1: Basic – with cart and order function | 24h – 4d | Initially a simple product overview with detail views, images, key data, pricing, and a cart-based order function.There are simple off-the-shelf systems, but they often have limitations. Carefully consider or get advice if they're suitable. Better: a small custom solution using standard systems that can grow. Even low-budget options exist.IMPORTANT: Recommendations, news, and updates should be present — this is often neglected but essential. |
| Online Shop 2: Medium – with inventory system (WWS), invoicing, payment system, basic customer management | 1w – 4w | More complex now: invoices sent automatically from the system; product, stock, and availability management via WWS; payment options (invoicing, credit card, PayPal, etc.).NOTE: Plan for external payment provider fees (e.g., credit card fees).These features can be built with simple shop systems already. |
| Online Shop 3: Large – with full WWS integration, configurable products, custom displays, advanced customer management | 4w – 12w | Significantly more complex. IMPORTANT: Careful planning with solid specifications and documentation is required.Designed for large product ranges, variations, customizations, customer groups, profiles, returns handling, blacklists, and much more. |
Online shop: additions
Very important and crucial: ALWAYS be available! By phone, messenger, email, whatever! Speed counts, now even more than usual. Deliver IMMEDIATELY, without hesitation.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes & Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Integration with Amazon | 1–2 weeks | Building and setting up an interface (API integration). |
| Integration with Google Shopping | 1–2 weeks | Setting up data transfer and connection. |
| Vouchers | 4–12 hours | Own voucher system: can range from quick and simple to integration with standard systems. |
| Home Delivery | A major advantage for local retailers: you know your customers, know what they need, you're nearby, and you can deliver fast – even without Wi-Fi, this tool is always available to you! | |
| Goodies and Giveaways | Small gifts maintain relationships – local providers should be better at this than the big players. Add a small gift or personal message to every package to show customers they matter. It will be appreciated. | |
| Online Promotion | (See separate topic below) |
Social media profiles
Your social media channels are now essential for direct contact; instead of visiting the store, customers go here and to the website. Which channel is best in each case must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
It is always important to maintain and update your profiles regularly, respond to inquiries immediately, and do so at any time, i.e., “office hours” as we know them are obsolete: we respond when clients ask questions.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes & Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| 2h | B2B, personnel/recruitment-focused | |
| 4h | B2C, B2B (limited reach) | |
| 4h | B2B, increasingly important for professional use | |
| 8h | B2C, good reach and visual appeal | |
| 14h | B2C, note: time-intensive to maintain effectively |
Email, newsletter, groups
So that you don't lose touch and can always provide new inspiration, suggestions, ideas, recommendations, and important information. As a retailer and supplier, you inform and entertain, give hope, joy, happiness, important information, and perhaps even something essential for life. You are never just a messenger.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes & Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Personal emails | from 15 minutes | The simplest form: direct, personal, individual, and close — the way communication should always be. For large groups (>100 people), it’s very time-consuming and hard to repeat. However, this tone should always be the goal, especially now. |
| Newsletter | from 8 hours | A step up from personal emails, sent to groups. Can be done with basic tools, but beware: you can easily be flagged as spam. Better: use a professional tool with a clean design, fast delivery, contact segmentation, analytics, and more. |
| Groups: WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Xing, etc. | from 8 hours | Great if you already have them. If not, set them up now: communities, contact lists, or groups where you can communicate quickly, directly, easily, and flexibly. Simple to maintain and lets you focus on content. |
Portals and lists
ATTENTION: Good intentions are not always enough. It is important to gain reach now and be as easy to find as possible, similar to your location in real life. However, every entry also means work and maintenance, so you need to choose carefully. It is also important to consider the follow-up costs. During the crisis, some offers are free and appear to be acts of solidarity, but after a few weeks they become chargeable, creating obligations >>> this should be checked and weighed up in advance. There are alternatives.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes, Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Link lists | 4h - 2 days | Selection and registration. It’s okay, you can do it; depends on reach and ongoing maintenance. |
| Voucher portals | 4h - 2 days | You can do this yourself (see above), but there can be advantages if the portal’s reach fits. However, several warnings: |
| - Revenue is just shifted to the future and then missing. | ||
| - You bind yourself to the portal. | ||
| - Who gets the loyalty: you or the portal? If you are interchangeable, the portal benefits more from you than vice versa. | ||
| Shop portals | 1 day - 2 days | Basically the same arguments apply: |
| - Advantage: you can use existing infrastructure. | ||
| - Disadvantage: you bind yourself and the partner profits more from you than you from them. | ||
| Amazon | 1 day - 2 days | And this applies even more strongly for Amazon: |
| - Advantage: Amazon’s high credibility, reach, and sales (but only if you put in a lot of effort). | ||
| - Disadvantage: You are extremely interchangeable! If you build your business solely on this, it can quickly become risky. |
Google and other online advertising channels
as an alternative/supplement to link lists, so always: plan your budget and effort! Now even more important than before! So: include in your action plan, review, plan, execute.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes, Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Google Advertising / SEA | from 4h | Attention: must be continuously managed, monitored, and expanded. Can already be done well and effectively with small budgets. |
| Social Media Advertising | from 4h | On Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn. Planning and control also require ongoing effort. |
| SEO: Website Optimization | — | Listed here for completeness, see above: standard in website design. |
| Advertising on local and other platforms | from 8h | Efforts for planning, design, and monitoring must still be factored in. |
Video tools...
are important for anyone who provides online advice and demonstrations and wants to maintain personal contact with their clients, patients, or users: doctors, personal trainers, coaches, lawyers, musicians, artists, and many more.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes, Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Facetime | iPhone, 1-on-1 | |
| Skype | Free Microsoft program | |
| Google Hangout | Google G.Suite: Hangout Calls: https://gsuite.google.com | |
| Zoom | Zoom: free for video conferences: https://zoom.us. data privacy note:https://www.rnd.de/digital/zoom-app-ubermittelt-heimlich-daten-an-facebook-6ZOSE6P7CNFRDCOMBONBLICCCA.html | |
| Webex | During Corona free for up to 100 participants for 90 days | |
| GoToMeeting | Free for video conferences. Chats (open and closed) | Audio and video conferencing for up to 15 participants | No monitor sharing | Desktop and mobile. | |
| Slack | Basic version is free | |
| Microsoft Teams | Part of the Office 365 cloud service, basic version free |
App
The app will become an increasingly important communication tool for you: you will be present on mobile devices, always available, able to send push notifications, and much more. PLEASE NOTE: Native apps are better suited to specific UX situations. They are more complex to develop initially, but easier to maintain and adapt later on, and offer better overall performance. Hybrid apps are simpler and cheaper to start with.
| Tool | Timeframe | Notes, Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Web App | from 1 day | simple app based on existing website |
| native or hybrid app | from 1 week - 4 weeks | in simple form, various levels of expansion |
| native or hybrid app with shop function | from 2 weeks - 12 weeks | with shopping, various levels of expansion |
A few additional points
Adapt your content, images, and statements!
- Content: Adapt your statements, texts, and messages to the circumstances. Yes, escapism is the order of the day in times of crisis. But even beautiful messages and stories of an ideal world should always be told with reference to or knowledge of the current situation.
- Images and design: The same applies here. Under no circumstances should you simply carry on as before! Adapt your images, motifs, settings, and people. An image for Easter today has a different narrative reference than it did last year. You need to take this into account and redesign or at least adapt your content.
- Programming: Reliability is particularly important right now. Work with a safety net.
Plan flexibly and in small steps!
- Plan projects now to be short, flexible, and quick so that you can go live with a working version at any time and immediately.
- Be flexible or agile. Correct and change your course when the wind shifts and the challenges change. Don't lose sight of your goal. With time, you'll get the ship back on course.
- Check constantly: Is everything working, is everything running smoothly, are your results correct? If not, be ready with an alternative solution.
