 Hey, it's Emma from GoDaddy's The Journey, and this is Darlene from GoDaddy's How To. And with the COVID-19 outbreak and this dynamic time that we're going through, as you can see, we're both working from home, as I'm sure maybe you are as well, but we wanted to put together some educational and helpful videos to support you during this climate. And today, we're going to talk about shifting service engagement from face to face to online. How can we adapt your business in a social distancing concept? A service business, especially one that mainly operates face to face with its customers, lives and dies by its ability to make sure that everyone's taking care of safely and efficiently. Yeah, in fact, you could argue that all around efficiency is the key to a successful small business. What's more is that this effect is magnified when your income relies on setting a revolving door of customers in motion. The importance of managing your orders, appointments and bookings appropriately can't be overstated. And if you haven't done so already, shifting your ordering, scheduling, payments online can help you focus on both you and your client's needs. Let's talk a little bit about the benefits of shifting your operations online as your business responds to COVID-19. Yeah, online availability is not only changing the way people make purchases, but also how business owners interact with their customers. Customers are able to schedule, view or order whenever and wherever they want, all without leaving the comfort of their home. And this makes the customer experience much more convenient than that of conventional shopping. Yeah, I completely agree with that. I mean, when it comes to just what I've done the past few days, ordering food online, changing appointments, rescheduling appointments, whether that's something like a hair salon or a doctor's visit. And this will be a practice that you continue to implement and benefit from. Honestly, regardless of what is going on. Businesses are also adapting to a social distancing concept. So gyms, yoga studios and karate dojos are holding online video sessions for everyone to follow along at home. Yeah, actually, I noticed that with ClassPass recently, I have a ClassPass membership and they're doing a great job of offering at home workouts on their app. Like you just click a link and you can stay active at home, which is which is great and important during this time, especially keep your mental health. Also, medical professionals are able to use web conferencing instead of in-person visits, which I already use when I don't want to go to the doctors. But restaurants are also offering more pickup and delivery options too. Yeah, definitely. And like I saw an announcement, Grubhub announced that it will delay collecting fees as restaurants deal with COVID-19. So they're on it. And we're just encouraging you to consider these options as well so you can be on it too. OK, so here's what you need to do. You should expand your online channels. If you don't already have one, you'll need a set of a website that's optimized for online ordering or scheduling. Yeah, and additionally, consumers aren't shopping solely on their desktops anymore. Right? This means continually optimizing your site. So it's responsive across all devices. Like for me, I'm doing majority of my ordering purchasing behaviors on my cell phone. Same. As an alternative, many businesses turn to third-party websites to handle this process. Yeah, for online video conferencing, apps like Zoom, our favorite at GoDaddy, who have lifted the 40-minute meeting limit on free basic accounts for K through 12 schools around the world. You're going to also want to ensure that your customer service team is covering all channels with the most up-to-date information. Yeah, and if you commit to having several options available to customers, you'll need to have customer service representatives on deck to answer any questions or concerns that come through in a timely manner. And then you're going to want to make it easy for you and your customers. Many of the top online ordering systems will integrate with most of the well-known POS or point-of-sale systems. And this streamlines your process in a number of ways. By having the order inserted directly into your system an online order will be handled just like any other order. Many online systems offer multiple ordering points, such as from your Facebook page, Google listing, or from customized branded ordering apps. Yeah, the same goes for booking appointments. Sync the booking calendar with your personal calendars to easily manage both your personal and business schedules. And if you have websites plus marketing, you can also add online appointments. So you'll want to accept several methods of payment, having a variety of payment options available at checkout will help with the follow-through on purchases. You can offer a range of payment options in your online ordering process, including paying with Fenmo, PayPal, Apple Pay, and also gift cards and using promotional codes and coupons. Yeah, and be sure to include an option to check out as a guest. This is so true. You don't want to lose out on sales to folks who just aren't interested in creating an account or like for me, I just don't want to take the time so you could potentially lose that person's business. Anything that you can do to make ordering easier will increase your online orders. Which leads us into, let's talk about offering delivery or pickup options. You'll need to decide whether you're going to deliver or allow customers to order online and then they can come and pick up at your restaurant or store or warehouse. And remember, customers are ordering online for convenience and time-saving benefit. Yeah, but hey, delivery is more convenient for a lot of people who might not otherwise be able to buy from you. Pickup also has its benefits. You can quickly fix any errors and the customer might buy a few last-minute items while they're there. Yeah, and let's talk about how to promote your new online ordering system, right? So getting the word out about your service will be an important factor in making it a success. And since you've taken all the time to set this up, you deserve to be rewarded with customers. Yeah, there are millions of ways to promote any new venture, but here are a few easy ones to get started. Number one, put up posters around your store, send out emails, and post on social media platforms of course. And then two, if you're using a third-party provider's platform, you'll benefit from their marketing and advertising. Yeah, actually some companies like Chow Now offer a marketing launch package to help you tell potential customers that you now, hey, we have online ordering as an option. And marketing costs are important in calculating your ROI or return on investment. So any discounts you can negotiate with your provider will help improve your numbers. Yeah, so for example, offer first-time customers an incentive, like 10% off their first order. That's how Grubhub got me, actually. It has discounts. Pre-delivery, you know? Yeah. Done. But the choice is yours. And online ordering system will certainly help you maintain and possibly even grow your business. Yeah, incremental sales that drive top-line revenue should be front and center in any entrepreneur's year-over-year strategy. Just be a good detective and be sure to investigate all of your options and find the best fit for you and your operation. And when it comes to offering your services, the best approach is to make the online experience as easy as possible for your customers. We realize it's a difficult time for everyone right now, and shifting service engagement from face-to-face to online can be stressful. But we want to give our support to our community and businesses out there. Yeah, so we are going to come together and keep creating videos like this to help support you during this dynamic time. And hey, darling, I get to see you, which was awesome. It's good to see you too, Emma. And if you have any questions, you can always call our GoDaddy support line. Stay safe. Stay healthy.