How to support local businesses during Covid-19

Shop local initiatives have always been popular, but following the disruption of Covid-19, our local businesses need your support more than ever. From personal trainers to plumbers, restaurants to photographers – all businesses have been affected by the pandemic to some degree.

One of the best ways we all can help is to support your local businesses as much as you can. Here are our top tips on how to do just that. 

Leave reviews

When you leave a review after having a great experience with a product or service, businesses are hugely appreciative. It creates what’s known as ‘user-generated content’, which isn’t just them tooting their own horn, rather members of the public. 

When the business likes or shares customer reviews on their page, it helps instil trust in other customers. You never know, your comment might just persuade someone to shop with that local business versus an online retail giant. 

So often, we only think to leave a review if we’ve had a bad experience (which is why most companies on Trustpilot have a less than favourable score) so don’t forget to leave plenty of positive reviews too, especially for local businesses. 

Interact with their content

Something everyone can do for free to support a local business is to follow them on social media. Better still, give their page a view every once in a while. Like their content, and share it with your friends. Even posting a meaningful comment will help expand their reach, plus it will give some much needed emotional support to businesses who may well be struggling at the moment.

Shop local

It sounds like an obvious point to make, but given how easy it is to order from large online sellers like Amazon, these days, local businesses often get left behind. Yet, it’s these very businesses that give our towns and cities character, not to mention occupy spaces on our high streets. 

Remember, every time you buy from a local business it puts money back into your community, rather than going to global corporations instead. It can also be a great way to get to know people, especially as the owners may well be your neighbours or even friends of friends. 

Recommend to friends and family

While most of our marketing focus is on social media these days, word of mouth still holds incredible value. When it comes to sectors such as tradespeople, everyone wants to hire someone who will do a good job. So if you’ve experienced excellent quality or service from any kind of local business, don’t be shy in telling your friends and family about it.

From the businesses point of view, it’s also a nice pat on the back when someone calls them up mentioning a previous customer pointed them in their direction. If they are a little quiet due to Covid, it can take the strain off their marketing efforts if your kind words are promoting them on their behalf. 

To sum up

Sadly, the phrase ‘use it or lose it’ very much applies to local businesses. However, even a simple gesture such as liking their Facebook page or putting in a good word with friends can be of huge help. By also keeping local businesses at the forefront of your mind while making purchase decisions, you will help support your community at a time when they need it the most.