Road works outside your business: how to keep customers coming for months

When road work is affecting your business, start before the first digger arrives: get the schedule from the town or the contractor, tell your regulars early, and make the way in obvious with signs, photos of the entrance and an updated Google profile. Then give people a reason to make the detour, such as a small reward during the works, add takeaway or delivery, and celebrate the reopening with them.

Here is the full plan for construction outside your shop, from the first notice to the reopening.

Why construction outside your shop hurts so much

Road works rarely drive customers away for one big reason. It is many small ones at once:

1. They cannot see you. Fences, scaffolding and machines hide your window and your sign.
2. They think you are closed. A trench in front of the door looks like a closed business.
3. They do not know how to get in. If the route to your door is not clear at a glance, people go somewhere else.
4. Noise and dust. Nobody wants a coffee next to a jackhammer.
5. The habit breaks. Within a few weeks, a regular finds another café on the way to work and never comes back.

That last point is the real risk. A temporary dip in sales is survivable. Regulars who get used to someone else during the works are much harder to win back.

Before the works start: what to do

1. Get the schedule. Ask the town council or the contractor when the work starts, how long it will take, in which phases, and whether the pavement in front of you stays open.
2. Ask about access. Will your entrance stay free? Where will people cross the trench? Where is the nearest parking and bus stop?
3. Get the site manager's number. When something changes overnight, such as a closed pavement, you need to know who to call.
4. Build a cash buffer. Look at your POS reports for the last few months and estimate how much you might lose. Move bigger purchases to after the works.
5. Ask about support. Whether any help or compensation exists for businesses during long road works is a question for your town council or a lawyer.

How to tell regular customers about the road works

Your regulars should hear it from you, not from a fence in front of the door. Tell them two to three weeks ahead and again on the day work starts.

1. At the counter. Staff tell every regular: "They are digging up the street from Monday, but we are open. The entrance will be round the back."
2. On the door and by the till. A short notice with the dates and a simple map of the route.
3. On social media. A photo of the entrance and the detour.
4. With a message to your loyalty card. If customers have your card on their phone, the message appears on their lock screen.

An example message you can adapt:

From 3 March the street outside will be dug up. We are open as usual. The entrance is from the side street next to the pharmacy. Every visit during the works comes with a small treat from us.

With Rewardly you can send a push notification like this to everyone who holds your card at once, or schedule it for a set date and time, such as the morning the work begins. Rewardly reports a 90% read rate for push messages. Only customers who agreed to marketing messages receive it. Push notifications are included in the Advanced plan and higher.

During the works, one message every two to three weeks is enough: a new entrance, a new phase, a new item to try. More than that starts to annoy people.

Signs and a clear way in

People decide in seconds. If they cannot see from the street that you are open and how to reach you, they walk past.

1. A big "Open as usual" sign. On the fence, on the scaffolding or at the end of the street, visible from both directions. If you need permission, ask the contractor or the council.
2. Arrows to the entrance. From the corner, from the bus stop, from the car park.
3. Light and colour. A lit window and an open door say "we are here" better than any sign.
4. A clean, safe entrance. A doormat, a swept path, a handrail or a walkway over the trench if the contractor builds one. It matters most to parents with buggies and older customers.
5. A simple map. On the door, on social media and in your message: where to come from and where to park.

How to update your Google profile during construction

Anyone looking you up on Maps should see that you are open and how to get in.

• A post with a photo of the entrance. Google lets you add posts with text, a photo or a video to your Business Profile. Say that you are open, where the entrance is and how long the works will last. Google says posts older than six months are archived unless a date range is set, so for long works add a new post at every change.
• Photos. Add current photos of the entrance and the route, so people know what to expect.
• Opening hours. If you change your hours for a few days, use special hours, which Google's help describes for changes of up to six days in a row. If you have to close for seven days or more, Google suggests marking the business as temporarily closed. If you do close for longer, here is how to make sure customers come back after a closure.
• An offer. If you give a reward during the works, you can publish it as an offer post with dates.

Give customers a reason to make the detour

A detour costs your customers time and comfort. Pay it back with something small that only applies during the works.

• A reward for visiting during the works. An extra pastry, a small coffee with lunch, a hair treatment with a cut. Staff give it when the customer shows their loyalty card.
• A stamp card. If you do not have one yet, the works are a good moment to start, for example with a digital loyalty card on the phone. A customer halfway to a reward has a reason to cross the walkway, and the reward at the end brings them back once the street is finished.
• Something new on the menu. A new drink or dish people can only try at your place.
• A thank you. A sign saying "Thanks for coming through the mess" works better than an apology.

Avoid blanket discounts: they are hard to remove later and teach people to wait for deals.

If your loyalty card runs on Rewardly, you can also set up a location message: when a customer with your card is near your business, it appears on their lock screen, for example with a reminder of where the entrance is. This is also part of the Advanced plan and higher.

Takeaway, delivery and selling outside the shop

If people do not want to sit next to a digger, go to them.

1. Order ahead and pick up. By phone or message, collected at the entrance with no wait.
2. Delivery to nearby offices and homes. Your own, for short distances, such as lunches for the offices on the street.
3. A stand away from the trench. On the corner or at a neighbour's, if your permit allows it.
4. Gift vouchers. On the Professional plan you can sell vouchers through your own shop link. Whoever buys one today comes in once the works are over.

Team up with the businesses next door

Road works hurt everyone on the street. Together you can do more.

• Shared signs and one map for the whole street.
• One voice to the council and the contractor. A single contact for all businesses is heard more easily.
• A joint promotion. For example a paper card with a stamp from every neighbour and a small reward at the end. You can design and print one with the free loyalty card maker.

Keep your staff

When sales drop, the first idea is often to let people go. Think twice. When the street reopens, you will need a team that knows your regulars.

1. Cut hours where it is empty. Your POS shows which hours do not pay during the works.
2. Schedule holidays for the worst phase.
3. Share the plan with your team. People who know what is happening and when it ends are less likely to leave.

Celebrate the reopening

The end of the works is the best reason for customers who drifted away to come back.

1. Announce the date as soon as you know it.
2. A small celebration. A morning with free tastings, or a day with a treat for everyone who shows the loyalty card.
3. A message to your regulars on the day: "The street is finished, the front door is open again."
4. New photos on your Google profile, and remove the old posts about the works.
5. A reminder for those who did not come. In Rewardly you can set a follow up that goes out on its own if a customer has not come back within a number of days you choose. You build it yourself as a sequence of steps, on the Advanced plan and higher.

FAQ

How early should I tell customers about road works?

Two to three weeks before the start, and again on the day the digging begins. During long works, announce every change, such as a new entrance or a new phase. Tell your regulars in person at the counter as well.

Should I close during the works?

Usually not. Months of closed doors break your regulars' habit, and some will not come back. Closing makes more sense for the few worst days when the entrance is truly blocked, announced in advance on the door, on Google and in a message.

Can I get compensation for lost sales?

That depends on where you are and on the specific works. Ask your town council whether any support exists for businesses during long road works, or speak to a lawyer. This article is not legal advice.

What should the sign outside say?

Short and big: "Open as usual", an arrow to the entrance and, if needed, "Entrance round the back". People on the street will not read more. Put the details, such as dates and the reward, on the door and in your message.

How do I know if it is working?

Compare weekly sales and the number of receipts with the same weeks last year. Also watch how many regulars still visit during the works. If the number keeps falling, try a different reward or bigger signs.

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