Why Small Businesses Matter Reimagined
Small businesses matter - now more than ever. They are answering the call with innovation and determination like never before.
We hope you join us in supporting them by sharing their story far and wide and shopping local! We are thankful to Fairfield County Bank for their continued support and making this series possible.
Step inside Keough's Paint and Hardware!
Four questions with Bill Keough, founder of Keough's Paint and Hardware.
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What do you want the community to know? Are there ways for the community to help you and other local businesses to prosper?
I would like the community to know that we truly appreciate all their support. In times of crisis like the current pandemic and the recent tropical storm Isaias, our team takes pride in being there for the community. For us to continue to prosper, we need our local community to focus as much of their home improvement purchases in our store as possible. It has been very evident that people do appreciate what local businesses can do for them. But it is an important reminder that for us to have the resources to stock the products they are looking for and provide the services they need, we need foot traffic in our store 12 months out of the year. We can better forecast the required inventory levels when we know with relative certainty that our customers will be coming back for all their needs. We also like to hear recommendations and ideas on products and services we can provide to better serve the community.
Are you offering any new products, or ways for customers to purchase your products or services that are popular during this crisis?
We have been able to stay open during all these months even without power during the storm. By adding disposable face masks and hand made cloth masks we have been able to help our community fight the spread of Covid-19. It was a challenge early on to find products but we have been able to maintain a constant supply of gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer throughout this crisis. We have added additional services like curbside pick up on phone and internet orders. In December we launched our newly designed and updated website www.keoughs.com to improve the online experience our customers can have with our store. Many customers shopped our online catalog and would call to do curbside pickup. Some also took advantage of the ship to store program by ordering online and waiting for email confirmation as to when they could pick up their orders.
Are there certain individuals or organizations who supported you and your business through this trying time?
There truly has been a wide range of customers who have supported us. We have seen so many new faces who have discovered us for the first time even though they have lived in the area for many years. Many people do not realize the wide breadth of products we carry. We have many departments throughout our stores like housewares, automotive, rental, lawn, and garden, Weber grills along with the traditional electrical, plumbing, and hardware items. Even the Yeti coolers were in important product lines during the power outages.
Please share the ways your business is adapting to keep your customers and employees safe in addition to the standard guidelines.
Bill nominates The Sandwedge Deli and catering and Orange Theory Fitness of Ridgefield!
Visit Keough's Paint and Hardware online here, or visit their Facebook page here.
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!