While working 24/7 sounds like the road to a swift death, there’s no arguing that a business that runs all day and all night has major advantages over a business that doesn’t. Whether you sell groceries and basic supplies at a corner store or you offer 24/7 tech support for your web hosting business, you will always get an edge provided that your all-hours service stays consistent. If you want to get the upper hand over your competitors, here are a couple of things to consider.
Keep it consistent
Your services should be consistent when it comes to offering an after-hours service. Let’s take a corner store as an example. You shouldn’t be restricting what products your customers can and can’t buy after a certain time, and if you run a 24/7 diner or restaurant then the quality of the food and the menu needs to be consistent throughout the day so that your patrons and customers can trust your service no matter what time of day it is.
If you decide to have a diner that operates 24/7, then you can offer special discounts and meals when it reaches past midnight. This could include hangover cure foods early in the morning, special “munchy box” meals at night to help people sober up, and specialised cocktails and alcoholic drinks during the evening.
You don’t have to do it alone
You can make use of outsourcing and freelancers to help your business provide a 24/7 service. A medical practice can’t possibly expect to run a 24/7 service like a hospital can, but you can provide after-hour medical answering services if you find the right business to partner up with. They can offer basic medical advice, take appointments and even leave notes behind for your doctors and nurses when they return to work in the morning.
Similarly, a tech company that offers 24/7 service doesn’t need to hire employees that work into the early hours of the day. Instead, the service can be outsourced to other businesses that operate 24/7 or countries that take over your calling centre due to the difference in timezones. There are plenty of ways to utilise outsourcing to turn your standard business into a 24/7 one, it just takes a bit of research and smart planning.
Understand the needs of your audience
It doesn’t make much sense to run a 24/7 service or business if there is no demand for it. Make sure that the area you operate in or the industry that you provide a service for has a need for a 24/7 service. For example, there’s no point running a 24/7 bakery if you don’t offer something to patrons past midnight. Most people will be returning home from bars and clubs, so it doesn’t make much sense to sell them cakes and pastries because you’ll also have to keep baking them throughout the day.
However, if you change your menu and offer something like soda, coffee, tea and foods that help them sober up, then you could increase your business. It helps if you are near some clubs and pubs as well because it means that your location will become a prime spot for people that are on their way home and want to sober up to prevent a nasty hangover in the morning.
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