JUNE 2020
Business Sentiment Amid COVID-19
Business Golf Classic Returns
Social Media HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020 Marketing Tips
www.ThePathForward.org
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IN THIS ISSUE Business Survey Local businesses share their sentiments on COVID-19
Community Spotlight: Non-Profits How four non-profits helped those in need during COVID-19
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10 Business Golf Classic Returns
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5 Questions With Alan Wolf Restaurant outlook
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CHAMBER BUSINESS MONTHLY
Who’s Who & Who’s Where Social Media Marketing 5 Tips To Help Get You Started
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Scene & Be Seen Taking The Pledge, Help4Hope & More
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HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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Doing Business in the Time Local Businesses Share Their Thoughts
Periodically throughout the COVID-19 restrictions, your chamber sent out quick polls to our members to gauge their sentiment as we navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what we found:
What percentage of your pre-pandemic business do you anticipate regaining upon reopening?
● Half of those surveyed said they anticipate to regain up to half of their business levels. Since we are a tourism-based economy, many of our businesses were affected by the ● steep drop in visitors to the area. As the economy starts to reopen, businesses that were more affected by the ● pandemic feel that their volume would increase.
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e of Corona
Indicate the chief obstacles your business has faced through this pandemic.
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Most businesses said that interruption of sales and business cadence as well as financial uncertainty were their biggest obstacles.
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Navigating federal, state and/or local assistance programs was the thirdmost sited obstacle.
HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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Has your business experienced a reduction or increase in employees as a result of the pandemic?
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Businesses were nearly evenly split on keeping the same level of staff, and reducing their staffing levels during the pandemic closures.
Indicate your areas of deepest concern for business reopening and recovery.
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Health and safety of employees, as well as regaining customer base were overwhelmingly the business’s top concerns.
CHAMBER BUSINESS MONTHLY
Fore!
RBC Heritage Returns
On the heels of the rescheduled RBC Heritage presented by Boeing, your chamber has brought back (with social distancing guidelines) its much-anticipated annual Business Golf Classic on June 22 at Oldfield. Stay tuned next month for pictures!
The world’s eyes will be on Hilton Head Island as the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing returns to Harbour Town June 18-21!
Business Golf Classic Returns June 22
PRESENTED BY
The tournament will not have spectators, but we encourage you to tune in to live coverage with us.
Details are at
www.RBCHeritage.com.
of Beaufort County Hole-In-One Sponsor: Hilton Head BMW
Longest Drive Sponsor: Stretchzone
We’re Plaid Nation.
HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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questions with
Alan Wolf
President at SERG Restaurant Group and chair of the Path Forward Restaurant Task Force
How have restaurant employees adapted the safety precautions outlined by the Path Forward? There has been widespread adoption of additional safety precautions. Each team member adapted quickly to the enhanced cleaning and personal protection practices. In many instances, we have been able to meet additional requests by guests who wish for additional spacing in the seating arrangements offered as well as accommodating all guests who request service by members of our team in face coverings.
How have customers embraced the changes? Customers have been grateful for the opportunity to get back to dining in our restaurants and have gone out of their way to acknowledge the enhanced practices that they see happening in real-time.
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What has been the biggest challenge in adopting the guidelines? We have added additional support staff to ensure the enhanced cleaning practices are completed on each shift. The available workforce has been the biggest challenge to that process, and many of our staff have worked extra shifts to ensure we complete the practices without sacrificing guest and employee safety.
How have restaurants been preparing for the summer season while taking social distancing and other safety measures into consideration? The most notable change is the spacing of tables in the patio dining and indoor dining sections. You’ll see many tables marked inside as unseatable to ensure appropriate distancing. On the patios, you’ll see extra space and fewer tables throughout to ensure appropriate spacing.
What is the one thing that you want restaurant customers to know? Restaurants operate daily at extremely high sanitation and food safety levels in accordance with South Carolina DHEC guidelines. We are used to protecting guest safety every day. The enhanced practices now in place only further our commitment to guest safety when visiting the restaurants of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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Nonprofit Im
Over the past 12 weeks, non-profit organizations have stepped up and helped our to covering rent and utility bills, these and others served more families than ever a
Deep Well Project The Deep Well Project provides both food and financial assistance for our community. Since the onset of COVID-19, 30% of their food clients and 50% of their financial assistance clients are first time visitors. In the 12-week window from March through May, over 38,000 meals were provided. Additionally, full or partial rent or mortgage payments for 393 families (approximately 1,350 people) have been paid, at a cost of $316,357.
Bluffton Self Help Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bluffton Self Help has directly impacted 3,400 residents. Their Food Distribution support has served 629 households. Executive Director Kimberly Hall says “We have seen a 25% increase; to date we have distributed more than 90,000 pounds of food. Through May, 365 families (1,200 residents) have received funds from Bluffton Self Help’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program. They usually help 220 - 320 families in that timeframe. 10 CHAMBER BUSINESS MONTHLY
mpact
Community Over COVID-19
r community and those in need. From providing food as COVID-19 affected the Lowcountry.
United Way of the Lowcountry The United Way of the Lowcountry COVID-19 Relief Fund was created to assist the Lowcountry’s most vulnerable neighbors with the resources they need during this critical time. Families are primarily calling the HELPLINE for assistance with bills such as rent and utilities. 100% of the funds collected provide services to residents in Beaufort and Jasper Counties. Due to COVID-19, United Way saw a 75% increase in calls on the HELPLINE. Many of the callers have never reached out for assistance in the past.
Second Helpings Second Helpings’ food pantry operates through more than 55 agencies and serves approximately 19,000 families weekly. That number has gone up approximately 50% since COVID-19. Coleman explains, “We are spending over $5,000 weekly to supplement the food rescued. This generosity demonstrates how big a heart our local residents have and their passion to fight hunger in the Lowcountry.”
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“We salute all our volunteers who work to rescue food,” said Lili Coleman, Executive Director of Second Helpings. “The local donations we receive are used to purchase foodHiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org and rescue food. We| spread out the JUNE 2020 11 supply to Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties.”
Top Five Tips
Social Media for Small Businesses
Courtesy of Rachel Creveling, Belle Strategies As businesses reopen they may find their marketing budgets considerably reduced. Social media can be a great way to market your company when you have a limited budget, but you have to have a strategy behind it and it takes a considerable time and effort. When you have so many other responsibilities, how do you make the most
of your limited time? You can immediately attract more customers when you use the five practical and proven strategies below to market your business on social media. The first two tips are one-time efforts. Lay the groundwork for long-term success by completing these steps:
Rachel Creveling
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is a digital marketing strategist with a focus on content and online advertising. Her specialty is steadily increasing sales for her clients through measurable, ROI-driven campaigns. Since founding Belle Strategies Marketing Agency in 2012, she has developed hundreds of campaigns for a variety of clientele, including hospitality, retail, lifestyle, non-profit, government, automotive, medical, real estate, and many more. She CHAMBER BUSINESS MONTHLY can be reached at rachel@bellestrategies.com or on social media @bellestrategies.
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Determine Your Objectives and Set Measurable Goals Followers, reposts and comments are great! But, they don’t necessarily equate to sales. When using social media as a marketing tool, generating ROI is crucial. Determine what ROI means to your business. Once you do this, you can easily create measurable goals.
● Perhaps your ROI is brand awareness. ● It might be traffic to your website. ● E-commerce businesses often measure ROI through revenue.
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For many small businesses, social media must generate all of these things and more. Developing ROI-driven campaigns is easy when you set realistic objectives.
Before moving on, take a moment to create at least one measurable goal. Use the following examples as a guide. EXAMPLE 1: Ineffective : I want to attract new subscribers to my email list. Effective: I want to attract 25 new subscribers to my email list over the next 30 days. I will do this by posting one $50 Facebook Ad and one $50 Instagram Ad.
EXAMPLE 2: Ineffective: I want to sell more products. Effective: By (DATE) I want to be selling a minimum of 10 products per day. I will attract new and returning customers via daily Facebook and Instagram posts. I will promote each post to my target audience with a $5 daily budget.
Choose Your Platforms and Develop a Content Strategy There is a misconception that your business must be on every social media platform. Before you download TikTok, consider where your ideal audience is logging in.
Spend your valuable time marketing on the platform(s) used by the highest number of your target buyers. Cultivating a single engaged community is more effective and efficient than trying to keep up with multiple different platforms. The most successful small businesses do this, and it makes their goals easily achievable. When you don’t have unlimited resources to spend on social media marketing, developing a content strategy is a must. This ensures you can stay consistent and consistency is key!
Every social media platform ranks your business on “relevance”. To be deemed relevant by any algorithm, you must post quality content regularly. It’s that simple. A content strategy can be as brief as a list. Write down the kinds of posts you think your audience will like. Maybe that’s testimonials and how-to videos, maybe that’s memes. As an exercise, ask friends and family for suggestions. They know your business best! HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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Batch Create Monthly Content These final three tips require ongoing effort. So, focus on streamlining. Here’s how: Start by batching your work. Rather than trying to come up with a new post each morning, create your content for the entire month at once. Here’s a simple spreadsheet-turned-content calendar you can download to get started.
Here’s one thing to remember when writing effective posts: Utilize a Call To Action (CTA) whenever possible. Whether you’re selling tickets, generating email sign-ups, or holding a flash sale, make it easy for your followers by telling them exactly what to do. Here’s an example:
Ineffective: Enjoy our 30% off sale today and tomorrow! www.websitehere.com
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Effective: Enjoy 30% OFF for the next 48 hours! Use the code FACEBOOK to unlock your savings: www.websitehere.com | Tag a friend who loves a great sale!
Once you’ve created all your content, utilize a tool such as Hootsuite or Planoly to schedule in advance. Assuming you’re using 1 - 2 platforms and posting daily, this only takes about three hours a month.
Engage With Your Community Posting consistently but failing to reply to comments is equivalent to baking a cake and leaving off the frosting. It’s just not nearly as good. Humanize your brand by engaging regularly with your followers. Respond to EVERY comment, no exceptions.
Thank people who take the time to recommend your business, answer questions thoughtfully for everyone to see, and reward the community for their loyalty with perks. A bad comment is par for the course - this is social media we’re talking about - and it’s equally important you reply to those. CHAMBER MONTHLY Social14media is aBUSINESS fantastic tool for customer service. Fixing a problem with sincerity saves
one customer, but it also builds deeper loyalty from others who see your response. If you’re cringing at the thought of how much time this takes, you aren’t alone. Moderating a social media presence with care does take time. Remember that no other marketing medium offers you the ability to mass-create real connections with customers. And we all know a buyers’ connection with a brand is what drives their purchase.
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Measure Results I’ll be honest; measuring results is the least exciting tip. However, these five strategies work together. If you do the first four but don’t make time to review your progress, you might as well do nothing.
So, how do you report as quickly as possible? Pick a few Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and measure them monthly. Here are three to consider:
1. Engagement Rate- How many people actually took time to like, comment or share your post vs. how many people saw it 2. Traffic- How many people visited your website directly from social media 3. If you’re selling something online: Conversion Rate- How many people saw your product vs. how many people bought it
Refer back to tip #1 and let your goals define your KPIs. Every social media platform has an insights section you can easily check once a month. If things aren’t working, revisit your content strategy. Reconsider what kind of content will connect with your community. If things are working, awesome! Keep an eye out for new content types to explore because platforms are always rolling out updates.
HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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SCENE AND BE SEEN
PATH FORWARD: They Took The Pledge
Outside Hilton Head
Fat Patties
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Birdie James
More than 350 businesses took the Path Forward pledge to keep customers and their workforce safe. Details at www.ThePathForward.org.
Branches
H.O.P.E. Life
Java Burrito
Forsythe Jewelers
HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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LUX ~ A Medical Spa
Skull Creek Boathouse
Island Bagel
Beach Play Company
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FARM
Pirate’s Island
The Other Sister’s Wine Bar
Help4Hope: Thank You! We partnered with the Watterson Family Foundation for Help4Hope, and gave out more than 4,500 cards (that’s over 18,000 meals) to families in need, and gave back over $200,000 to 45+ restaurants during the pandemic.
Congrats, Grads! Coligny Plaza restaurants hosted free dinners for graduating seniors in Beaufort County.
HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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Supporting Frontline Heroes Thank you to those who have supported our healthcare workers, and fire/EMS crews during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hilton Head Healthcare treated EMS crews to lunch during National EMS week, and the Sun City Car Club hosted a parade for healthcare workers.
Photos courtesy of Hilton Head Regional Healthcare. 20 CHAMBER BUSINESS MONTHLY
WHO’S WHO AND WHO’S WHERE
Joe Haddad has joined as logistics manager at KBRS. He previously served as territory manager at nexAir.
Be Prepared: 2020 Hurricane Season Are you prepared? June 1 marks the beginning of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which experts predict will be busier than normal.
Michael Kennedy has joined Horizon Home Inspectors. He is a South Carolina native, and previously enjoyed purchasing older homes and remodeling them for resale.
Peak activity is August through October. Now’s the time to check your insurance, review your plans, and more. Click here to learn about how to 21 prepare your business
HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
Hilton Head Regional Healthcare has welcomed four cardiovascular specialists.
Dr. Jay Kalan
Dr. Jonathan MacCabe
Dr. J. Calvin Sharp
Dr. Douglas Westveer
Weichert, Realtors® – Coastal Properties Recently welcomed the following Realtors:
Niall Archbold
Andy Billesdon
Hunter Hart
Dan Hennessey
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Carol Woods
Galina Coe
Jennifer Filkins
D.D. Ott
Cecelia Preston
Joanna Zsido
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Welcome
NEW MEMBERS & ANNIVERSARIES
NEW MEMBERS
Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Bluffton On the Mark Archery
Sourthern Tide Signature Store
ANNIVERSARIES 30+ YEARS
Adventure Cruises, Inc. Barony Golf Course Bayley’s Bar and Terrace at Sonesta Resort Beach House Resort Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island Beach & Tennis Resort Island Getaway Rentals Novit & Scarminach P.A. Office Products Plus Port Royal Clubhouse Port Royal Racquet Club Robber’s Row Golf Course Shipyard Golf Club The Heritage Golf Collection Wild Wing Cafe
20-29 YEARS
Aqua Sports-Sea Wolf Charters Arts Center of Coastal Carolina Broad Creek Marina Capt. Hook Party Fishing Boat Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn Commander Zodiac, Inc. Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort Enterprise Rent-A-Car Fraser & Allen, LLC Hargray Hilton Head Bicycle Company Hilton Head Dermatology & Skin Cancer Care Center Hilton Head Humane Association Long Cove Club RMC Resort Management Santa Fe Cafe SDL Numismatic Properties, Inc. Thomas & Hutton Engineering Co. USCB Small Business Development Center
15-19 YEARS
All My Sons Moving & Storage Bluffton Elementary School Engineered Systems Fiesta Fresh Mexican Grill-North Grace Community Church Healthcare Network Group Pinnacle Financial Partners Smith Galleries, Inc. Wolfe Creative
10-14 YEARS
AFLAC of the Lowcountry Diamond Transportation SC LLC Enmark Stations, Inc. Gullah Sweetgrass Basket Creations H & H Auto Body LLC Harbour Health Insurance Solutions, LLC Harbour Town Yacht Club HH Cleaning Services, LLC Hilton Head Financial Advisors Island Fudge Shoppe Island Time Charters Joe Fragale LowSea Bike Beach & Baby Rental Marleys Island Seafood Grille Palmera Inn and Suites Palmetto Dunes General Store at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort Palmetto Medical Group Sun City Hilton Head Community Association, Inc. Village Cove Assisted Living Zonta Club of Bluffton
4-9 YEARS
A-1 Pool Service Ace Hardware of Hilton Head ADS Security Agape Hospice of the Lowcountry Atlantic Appraisals, LLC/Valbridge Property Advisors Bluffton Rotary Builder’s First Source Camelot Limousine LLC
4-9 YEARS (CONTINUED)
Celia G. Photographie, LLC Charbar Co. Court Atkins Architects Don Ryan Center for Innovation Elevator Lift Systems, Inc. Energy One Erickson Associates Fresh Produce Hilton Head Dental Team Hilton Head Plastic Surgery, LLC Howell-Chase Heating & Air Conditioning Hub International Law Offices of Sally A. Gardocki Lowcountry Paver Mitchelville Preservation Project Palmetto Coastal Landscaping Palmetto Dental Arts Smith Stearns Tennis Academy Spartina 449 The Alliance Group Realty The Bannon Law Group LLC. The Studio Three Sisters Resale & More Wexford Club
1-3 YEARS
6th Sense World® Historic Ghost & Cemetery Tours Amazing Event Rentals Annie O’s Kitchen Backwater Cat Adventure Belle Strategies Marketing Agency Benny Hudson Seafood Built Right Homes Carolina Transit Coastal Signature Homes D.R. Horton, Inc. HMA Consulting Group Homespire Mortgage Kroger - #703 Buckwalter Nash Gallery Olive & Fig Mediterranean Kitchen Simpson Construction Sprenger Health Care Systems Bluffton The Spirited Hand Tom Anderson
Thank you
HiltonHeadBlufftonChamber.org | JUNE 2020
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@HHIBCHAMBER HILTONHEADBLUFFTONCHAMBER.ORG 1 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DRIVE | HILTON HEAD ISLAND | 843.785.3673 216 BLUFFTON ROAD | BLUFFTON | 843.757.3673
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