The coronavirus is moving quickly, affecting thousands of people and businesses. As it continues to wreak havoc on the global industry, many companies have shut offices and stores because of the outbreak. Facebook and Apple, to name a few, have closed a number of its offices due to the Covid-19 outbreak crisis.
If your business is affected by the coronavirus outbreak, make sure to inform your customers and get your Google My Business listing updated. It is best to communicate with your customers right away, so they know if your stores are open during the outbreak crisis.
Updating Your GMB Information
Here are the Google My Business details you can update so your customers have the latest information about your business:
Business Hours: Update the hours if they have changed, let your customers know about the time your store will open and close, so they know when to visit.
Business Description: You can let your customers know if your business has been affected by Covid-19 or let them know about the safety precautions your business has taken. If you offer services or delivery, you can let them know if you’re experiencing delays.
Business Phone Number: Customers might want to contact your stores or business, so make sure your phone number is updated.
Google Post: You can create a Google post to share more information and updates about what’s going on with your business. Use Google Posts to communicate with your customers as your business changes regularly.
Important GMB Update
As of March 21, Google My Business has announced that it has temporarily removed some of its features as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, we are taking steps to protect the health of our team members and reduce the need for people to come into our offices. As a result, there may be some temporary limitations and delays in support as we prioritize critical services.”
Some of the features being limited or temporarily removed are the following:
- Customer Reviews
- Review Responses
- Question and Answer
- New Listings, Claims and Verifications (GMB Team is prioritising the review of new listings, claims an verifications for health-related business locations only)
- Business Information Edits (Only available for health critical health businesses)
Temporarily Closed
If your location is temporarily shutting down for the time being due to the COVID-19 situation, GMB has now created an option on your store listing where you can mark it as ‘Temporarily Closed’. Follow the instructions below on how to navigate this on your GMB profile.
If this option is not available on the store listing, you may contact GMB support to inform them about it so it would reflect on your listing and notify your customers accordingly. You can follow the steps below on how to reach out to GMB Support:
As the virus continues to spread globally, the impact across industries is unavoidable. Businesses should do their best to communicate changes and updates to their customers.
Here at DigitalMaas, our work has not paused at all and we have plans in place to ensure that we will remain up and running. You can easily update your Google My Business details through our DigitalMaas platform today.
