Maintaining a functioning business is a trying task at the best of times, and making it profitable – doubly so even in normal circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic that swept the globe has added a new dozen variables to the already difficult problem that businesses have to solve to stay afloat. Doing so at the current situation would require more than hard work – introspection, ingenuity, thinking outside the box, and adaptability will undoubtedly be necessary for the continued survival of any business.
So, what extra steps can a business take to weather this storm?
Market Product With Coronavirus in Mind
Regular marketing just won’t do with the pandemic going on. Social distancing has pretty much ruled out billboards, handing out fliers, and similar legacy tactics as a successful strategy for promoting your product. Telemarketing and ads on the radio may still be effective if you can afford the costs of regular ads on these platforms. This is why it would probably be a good idea for businesses to look to the Internet for their marketing.
Online ads, social media marketing campaigns, influencer marketing, and other sorts of online promotions can be extremely effective in putting eyeballs on your product if done correctly. Businesses should invest the resources to research and implement some, if not all, of those strategies, as the effect on their bottom line could be significant and instantly noticeable.
Adapt Your Product to the New Normal
In spite of all hopes, wishes, and our best efforts, it doesn’t seem like COVID-19 is going away anytime soon. As unfortunate as that may be, it seems like businesses will need to adapt to this “new normal” state of the world, despite the inconvenience.
This effectively means that your product needs to be compatible with this new way of doing things. For instance, courses and education have been transformed into online lectures hosted on streaming platforms. Restaurants have almost universally implemented home delivery services. Even clothes outlets have focused on their online presence, and more and more of them now offer their customers the option to try their wares in the comfort of their own home.
Possibilities to bypass the difficulties posed by lockdowns and social distancing exist – businesses just have to figure out how to do so.
Borrow Ideas From Other Businesses
Your ingenuity should be put to good use, making sure that your business is well adapted to the difficulties presented by the current situation. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to reinvent the wheel with everything you do.
To this end, it may be prudent to dedicate some time and effort to study the business practices of businesses that seem to be doing well at the moment. Do some due diligence on both your indirect and direct competition – see what new strategies and methodologies they’ve put into practice and whether or not you could implement something similar to boost your own business.
Reach out to Potential Partners
Partnering up with the right businesses can be immensely beneficial for the interests of both parties if done well. Look for businesses that you are not in direct competition with, but rather ones that create a product that compliments your own or that interests the same customers. Reach out to them and see if you can’t combine your marketing, delivery, and even manufacturing efforts. This can increase your effectiveness in both three aspects.
Straighten Your Finances
This can’t be stressed enough – in order to keep a business operational at this time, you need to manage your cash flow and paperwork as efficiently as possible. Reaching out to a London accountancy firm can ensure maximum efficiency when it comes to that, as well as provide you with invaluable insight and advice on a variety of other subjects that may be crucial to your business.
Implement tech upgrades to keep communication flowing
Lockdowns and social distancing have pretty much guaranteed that a portion of a business’s staff will have to work from home at some point. This means that restructuring your business to address that possibility is an absolute necessity.
At this point, it would be prudent to implement or make an effort to improve on your already existing business-oriented communication platforms. There’s a wealth of collaboration and file-sharing tools online that cater specifically to the needs of businesses – if you haven’t already, make sure that you’re taking advantage of all they have to offer.