COVID-19 research continues to unfold, and people and businesses are relying on restoration professionals to help provide clean and healthy environments that align with the recommended guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As cities transition into the next phase of reopening, many companies are implementing new cleaning and disinfecting tips for COVID-19, but will also require professional restoration contractors to ensure their business is safe for customers and employees. If you’re a professional in the restoration industry, the following tips can help you get ahead of the curve and provide proactive restoration services to your clients.

1. Check in with your clientele

Before investing in new business outreach, check in with your existing or past clients for easy business opportunities. Chances are, they’ll be happy you reached out and more likely to enlist your services. Not only is your relationship already established, making their needs easy for you to anticipate and address with the right solutions, but it’s also a great way to go the extra mile for your clients, which may translate to positive word-of-mouth rapport and additional recommendations for your business.

As always, communicate with empathy, compassion and with excellent service in mind. If you’re able to offer discounts, package deals or loyalty program benefits to your existing clients, now is the time. These gestures acknowledge that the current global circumstances are out of your clients’ control, and help them know that you want to see their business succeed.

2. Share your process

When you reach out to new or existing clients, be sure you approach them with a solution in-hand. During a global health crisis like COVID-19, many leaders are juggling several tasks and are prioritizing crisis responses to their employees and their customers, so business owners will rely heavily on industry professionals for guidance and next steps in their reopening process.

By describing your pre-clean procedures, cleaning and disinfecting techniques, assessment protocols, safety measures, and chemicals or equipment used during early communication, you can reinforce clients’ confidence in your services and help assure them that you have proactively anticipated their questions. Since infectious outbreaks like COVID-19 are often unexpected, communication is key to reduce fear and build trust with your clients.

3. Build up your team

Many companies lack the in-depth training and knowledge to properly clean and disinfect their facilities during a pandemic, and will likely outsource restoration services in order to keep their employees safe. The risks they face are better addressed by restoration professionals, which means the demand for cleaning and disinfecting services will inevitably rise as businesses prepare to reopen. In order to address this demand, it’s important to build up your team before you’re overloaded.

If you haven’t already, communicate with your team and any additional contractors you plan to work with in order to align your schedules and availability, and to address your workflow to protect your business. This will help you have the numbers you need to tackle any business opportunities that come your way, and help you coordinate supply orders, equipment use and other scheduling factors that help your business succeed. When your clients call you for help, they’ll be relieved and glad to know that you have the manpower, resources and materials needed to perform a thorough clean and disinfection, without a long wait.

4. Promote prior experience

In order to be proactive in your offerings, it’s also crucial to show your clients that you have experience in the areas they need you to address. Restoration professionals offer more in-depth, thorough cleaning and disinfecting services than an in-house custodial staff or maintenance team, and are trained to deal with infectious outbreaks and biohazardous environments.

Take some time to craft a message to your clients that showcases your specialized capabilities and expertise. You can utilize a myriad of communication avenues, such as an email newsletter, traditional advertising, word-of-mouth or personalized client calls. However you choose to communicate with potential clients, make sure you’ve included prior experiences to build credibility in your industry.

COVID-19 has presented a number of challenges that only restoration professionals can address. This pandemic is an opportunity for contractors to proactively address industry needs, provide exceptional services that businesses require, and to ensure a safe and healthy reopening.