Whether you succumbed back in April to the panic buying and had more loo rolls in your house than space to store them all, or you just got on with your day to day life in as normal way possible, the reality is the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainty for local businesses and customers alike.
But there’s still a great deal of positive things you can do for your local businesses to help minimise the effects on their owners and their staff who have been enduring a very uncertain and challenging time over the ast few months.
Here’s a short and very easy list of things you can do to help businesses in pretty much every sector (…and most of them won’t cost you a penny).
This is an obvious one to most people but no matter how frustrating the guidelines might seem, please don't take out your anger on the business' staff! They are just following the legislation for all our sakes and to protect our health whilst still doing all they can to serve us and keep their business viable. Please observe the rules while they are in place, wear a mask and respect social distancing as directed by the business owners.
When someone leaves a 5 star review for a business, I promise you, it puts fuel in the tank of that business owner and everyone that works in that business.
It gives a little warm glow and they feel really good and at times like this, we all need to feel really good and you can make that happen today if you leave a review. And please base your review on the service you receive, NOT the covid restrictions imposed!
Of course, thebestof Market Harborough loves it when people leave a review on our website but anywhere you can leave a review will help these businesses. The most important message is to just leave one.
3. Like, Comment and Share (their social media posts)
Whether it’s a new product, a service you’ve had, an interaction with a member of the team, or a meal you’ve had at a restaurant, interacting with social posts from your local businesses or venues could significantly increase their post engagements and widen their audience. It won’t cost you a penny and you can show a little bit of solidarity.
Be supportive, be kind, be helpful. It’ll go a long way to those that are really struggling.
Vouchers could be a vital lifeline for local businesses over the coming weeks and months and especially leading up to Christmas. You can show your support by maybe buying a gift voucher instead of a present bought online because buying a gift voucher will help that business in the here and now. Most businesses allow their gift vouchers to be redeemed between six-twelve months after purchasing and some restaurants have even extended this period because of the current climate.
If you really want to show that you care about what’s going on with a business, why not sign up to their newsletter? You might even find you get to be first in the know about special events, discounts and new products or services and when the business is fully back to normal operation.
We recognise that things are changing virtually every day on what we can do as a society. These few small things in this article could all help support the local businesses who will be affected quite significantly over the coming weeks and possibly months.
We hope that the brilliant people of Market Harborough will join us in supporting our fantastic local businesses with these points as much as possible so our amazing town and local villages can unite and help each other in these challenging times.
Here at the Bestof Market Harborough, we ask that you share this message because if we all did some of these things, the impact it would have would be huge for the sense of well-being across the country.
Thank you, stay safe and healthy,
Simon Perry
The Bestof Market Harborough
