Communities around the world are facing unique challenges right now. For business owners, the stakes are particularly high – you may be navigating new situations or making unprecedented changes and decisions.
We’ve compiled the below tips and guidance from Square to help you.
To hear more from Square about additional resources and updates on Square products, please reference our Resource Hub, which will be updated frequently.
For more information on provincial and territorial regulations and resources, please reference this article.
Health and Safety
Keeping yourself, your employees and your customers safe is a top priority right now. There are a variety of methods you can use – like contactless payments – to protect your business and customers.
- What Is a Contactless Payment?
- mPOS — How to Choose the Right Mobile POS System
- How to Take Payments over the Phone
- What Is a Virtual Terminal?
Stress Management
With the fast-changing situation and fluctuating economy, you may be facing a lot of uncertainty and stress. Prioritizing your business, customers and employees right now is important, but don’t forget to take care of yourself.
- How to Manage Stress: 9 Tips for Entrepreneurs
- How to Stay Healthy as a Small Business Owner
- 7 Simple Ways to Melt Away Stress
Communicating with Customers
Reaching out to customers to give updates and keep them informed on how they can interact with your business is a great way to maintain your customer relationships. Put together an email strategy to guide your approach to keeping your customers in the loop.
- Voice and Tone: An Integral Part of Your Email Marketing Strategy
- Everything You Need to Know About Email Marketing
- The 4 Musts and Mistakes of Email Marketing
Managing and Communicating with Employees
This time is as unpredictable for you as it is for your employees. Your first priority is to keep your team healthy. Whether that means employees are working from home or not coming into work at all, here are a few resources to help you manage them.
For Employers:
- Government of Canada Resources for Employers
- How to Work from Home Like a Pro
- 5 Ways Retailers Can Help Front-Line Employees Work Safely
Cash Flow Management
Mandated business closures and travel restrictions may make your sales patterns unpredictable. To be prepared, here are some resources to help you evaluate your current cash flow and discover the best way to triage a cash flow problem.
- 5 Ways to Be Resourceful and Save Money
- How to Create a Cash Flow Analysis That Unveils Opportunities
- A Crash Course in Cash Flow Management
Selling Online
Whether your business is experiencing a government-mandated closure or you’ve decided to temporarily close your doors, or you’re starting to consider the possibility of having to, now is the time to consider letting your customers know how to find you online.
If you don’t yet have an online store, below are resources to help you get up and running. If you do, we’ve provided some helpful resources to help you maximize your efforts to sell online.
- The Importance of Starting an Online Store
- How to Choose the Right Online Store Platform for Your Business
- How to Sell Products Online with eCommerce Marketing
- How to Shift Your Brick-and-Mortar Business to eCommerce
- How to Promote eGift Cards for Your Business
Shipping
Shipping might be completely new to your business, or it might have recently ramped up due to an increase in online orders. To navigate shipping, here are a few resources to help you optimize the process.
- 5 Ways to Make Shipping More Efficient
- How to Expand Your Delivery and Pickup Options
- How to Offer Free Shipping Without Breaking the Bank
Utilizing Social Media
Social media can be a great place to build a support network and a place for your customers – and other businesses – to band together and show support online. Here are some tips to get started with Facebook or start using the social network as a primary channel for communicating with customers.
- 4 Steps for Launching Your Facebook Business Page
- 5 Simple Tips for Designing Engaging Facebook Posts
- How to Optimize Facebook Posts to Drive Engagement
- How to Leverage Facebook Insights to Benefit Your Business
We will continue to update this guide and our resource hub with more information and guidance to help you navigate this difficult time in the coming weeks.