Will COVID-19 Affect Your Business In the Fall? A Long-Term Perspective
We hope that this is an entirely erroneous, useless post, but... we want to start a conversation about how to best prepare your clients and business for a potential resurgence of the Coronavirus affecting the fall wedding season. We know this is a difficult situation to wrap our heads around, but that’s exactly why we must discuss it.
Being forewarned=forearmed, if you play it right.
Imagine if you would have known about the possibility of COVID-19 six months ago. What would you have done differently? Would you have communicated and reassured your couples sooner? Would you have created a backup plan?
Studies are showing that there is a potential for a resurgence of the Coronavirus in the fall which means we might not be in the clear, yet. According to Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, of Yale University, “…there will be a second wave and we will have to prepare ourselves for it.” So, take this chance to prepare yourself and your business for what might happen come autumn.
Planning for the future is only going to help you in the here and now. This is going to be a continuously-evolving scenario that we must deal with, and like it or not, that means that you are already engaging in a negotiation. As you’ll see, the five suggestions below are things you should be including now:
Don’t just anticipate that this can happen, but reach out to current clients now.
We recommend this for multiple reasons: first, this is simply the right thing to do. Your clients need to be taken care of during this time, and extraordinary circumstances warrant extraordinary care and professionalism. Maintain your communication touchpoints with your client, so they know you are keyed into the situation, and on top of it. There’s no better way to demonstrate professionalism.
Reach out to your clients on a 1:1 basis. This is about maintaining trust and building upon your relationships, and that does not occur in mass communication
You do not need to tell them to reschedule. Instead, our clients at Paige Hulse Law have found continued success by reaching out to those clients, stating simply that you’re on top of this, and letting them know they can reach out to you at any time. State that it may be wise for them to have a backup date chosen, just in case another unforeseen wave of the virus hits. The purpose of choosing a backup is so that if something forces a date change again, you all will be ready to hit the ground running with the new date. Encourage them to speak to the rest of their wedding planning team as well.
Offering a backup date doesn’t mean you’re asking them to commit to it.
Commitment vs. communication.
To be clear, this does not mean that you are asking your client to reschedule now, and neither of you should confuse the two. Do not tell them they must reschedule, but reiterate that you are acting proactively for the purpose of doing everything in your power to preserve this special season that is their engagement
It is wise to state that these “backup dates” are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you have a future couple or another couple ask to schedule on the date that the couple chooses, reach out to this original client first.
Maintain constant communication
Keep in touch with your client! Again, you are engaging in an ongoing negotiation - if the worst does happen, and a resurgence of the virus does occur, you will be so much better off if you have a backup plan in place, a couple who is aware of and appreciative of your professionalism, and will be incentivized to work around that roadblock with you.
Give yourself a cutoff date.
Know when you, as a business owner, will make the decision as to whether or not you want to reschedule. Is that 4 weeks prior to the event date? Is it a specific date, such as May 16, or September 12? This can be a proprietary business decision you do not need to share, but you need to have procedures in place as a business owner.
What to include in your rescheduling agreement
Conditions Precedent
Clearly state what both parties are agreeing to within the new agreement. In many client contracts, there may be wording that payments are “non-refundable and non-transferable.” By offering a refund or transfer, you may be in breach of your own contract. The conditions precedent provision is where you will clarify these changes and any possibility of additional costs. This includes:
If there will be a rescheduling fee and the amount
How the initial deposit or retainer will be handled.
How any payments that have already been paid will be handled and what the payment schedule will be moving forward
Mutual Release
This is releasing both parties from the original contract and therefore will allow a new contract to take place without causing a breach of the original contract.
For more information, watch our Facebook Live with Pixellu SmartAlbums here.
What to include in your force majeure provision
You can find our recommended language below, but in short, identify:
What constitutes a force majeure event in your provision? ie, pandemics, epidemics?
What happens if this event occurs- lay this out with specificity.
How much notice is required? What happens to the retainer/deposit? NOTE: even if you have a template, check this over and modify it to fit YOUR specific business needs. No template can fit every state and every state’s laws!
