Thank You for Staying with Us Throughout the Health Crisis
It’s been a year like no other, in a time like no other, dealing with a threat in our midst that’s invisible to the naked eye but indivisible from the road ahead for all of us, personally and professionally. Yes, the world has suffered pandemics before, there have been life-threatening viruses circulating the globe before, but this feels “different,” most Americans agree, due to a host of factors, like cross-border contamination and closed school buildings and shelter-at-home orders and travel bans. Like massive layoffs and bankruptcies and shortages of TP and smiles covered by face masks. But also like tech showing up in a huge way to keep us talking, working, singing, communicating over the screen instead of across desks and tables. Like people video-chatting up a storm, riding bikes and taking walks, reconnecting with friends and family, redefining “quality time.”
So, yes, the world has seen contagious, infectious disease before and it will see it again … but that doesn’t mean that we’re not currently living through a momentous and unprecedented time in our history that will probably only be fully understood decades from now.
And through it all, small businesses are staying big on hope and holding on tight until a safe loosening up can begin again. Not all have been able to stay afloat—establishments that rely on in-person traffic have been the hit the hardest, of course, and regions like ours that depend on tourism for the health of their economy are seeing ripple effects in both expected and unexpected ways. But if there’s ever been a time when it’s tremendously advantageous to be an online service industry that operates remotely, that time is now. Web-based businesses aren’t just hanging in there, some are thriving, like e-commerce sites, food delivery services, streaming services, cloud companies, telecom, CRM systems, analysts and consultants and advisers.
But as online retail has soared, so, too, has online hacking and phishing. With virtually everyone at home on their computers, it’s never been more important to protect your devices, sites, and data; to get your message out electronically and digitally instead of face-to-face and in print; to keep adapting to new policies for businesses and adhering to new regulations.
Our clientele has done just that. You could have shuttered your windows and locked your doors and just called it a day. But you didn’t. You could have left our calls, emails, and texts unanswered. But you didn’t. You could have let your employees go and kept the focus inward, but you didn’t—you’ve kept on whoever you could and you’ve kept giving whatever you’re able, contributing to our local economy and our tight-knit community.
As a result, we’ve been able to continue serving businesses that serve others. We’ve helped our restaurant clients by changing their take-out menu and delivery options on their websites. We’ve put pop-ups and updates on a variety of web pages for attorneys, accountants, and therapists. We’ve added landing pages reserved for COVID-related news and come up with creative ways to garner interest in our clients’ products and get the word out that they’re still open, when they’re open, and what changes they’ve made to remain open.
It’s been the individual cogs in the wheel that have kept things rolling during this pandemic. And that’s why we wanted to devote this month’s blog to expressing gratitude to any and all of our clients who have been able to keep their business alive throughout this crazy spring up to the present … and who, in turn, have helped us keep ours alive. With all the sad, heartbreaking statistics we hear every day about infection levels, hospital occupancy, ventilator inventory, and fatality rates, it’s staying alive that we must celebrate. Staying positive. Staying in business. Staying the course.
We’ll be doing just that. We’re here for our customers, just as they’ve been here for us, and we’ll continue to adjust our services to any emerging issues or developments to keep our clients on pace and up-to-date. Call us anytime, for any reason. We’re not just in this together, we will all come out of this together.
RWS Consulting: 202-409-8113 or info@rws-cc.com