Studies show that 200,000 businesses closed because of the COVID-19 crisis. We can’t deny that not all businesses were able to truly protect themselves when the pandemic and recession hit. If your business is still struggling to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, here are some tips to give your business a fighting chance.
Stay agile
The word “pivot” has been thrown around in the business world ever since the pandemic hit, and rightly so. Now more than ever, small businesses need to be agile enough to roll with the punches and be able to adjust as the wind blows. Whether COVID-19 cases rise or fall, you need to always be prepared for whatever scenario.
Many companies across the world were quick to move to a work-from-home setup and your business also needs to be ready to do so when the situation calls for it. If working from home is impossible based on your business’s nature, make sure you have alternative channels through which you can provide your products and services. Partner with the most reputable delivery services and online platforms to ensure that you can keep serving your customers even if your city goes on lockdown again.
Don’t skimp on marketing
While it’s understandable that you may be saving as many resources as you can, one of the first places where you shouldn’t skimp on is digital marketing. Business experts suggest that marketing is the one area of business we shouldn’t neglect when a recession hits because it’s an opportune time to build loyalty. It’s not about not spending your resources; it’s about how you spend them.
Hire a CMO who can help you gain a keen insight into your target audience — their values, priorities, spending habits, and what they’re willing to spend money on. They will help your business come up with good campaigns, content, and promos that will catch the eye of your potential customers, and hopefully, that attention will translate to sales. The business challenges of 2021 are undeniably more complex than we have ever known, and bringing in an expert from outside can help you gain the resources you need to shield your business and boost your sales during these difficult times.
Create more offers; don’t charge less
It may be tempting to lower your rates and prices to get more people to buy what you’re offering, but decreasing your prices or rates will only be a losing proposition, especially if your business is going against bigger businesses and corporations with more resources and deeper pockets. The best ways to beat your direct competitions are the following:
- Offer superior service. Study your competitors’ products and services and check how you can improve on what they’re offering. If their food and drinks are subpar, make sure that yours taste better. It might incentivize customers to choose your food over theirs.
- Mix up your products and services. If you haven’t added to your menu in a while, or if you haven’t added new services to your roster, now is the time to do so.
- Amp up your post-sale support. If your competitors don’t offer certain after-sales services like replacement, repairs, or refunds, consider adding these services to your roster to get ahead of the competition.
Constantly ask for feedback
It may seem like handing over the reins to others is counterproductive when your business is already barely surviving, but it can’t hurt to receive honest feedback from people within the business and even from an outsider’s perspective.
Don’t hesitate to ask your staff or employees about which of your practices they think are working and which ones are not, and for their suggestions and recommendations to improve your sales. If you’re not as involved as them in the day-to-day operations, then they most likely have a deeper view and insight into your business that you don’t have. You’ll be surprised how insightful your staff can be since they’re instinctively more aware of your business’ comings and goings and may be able to offer solutions.
On the other hand, an outsider’s perspective is also valuable since they can see things from an objective point of view, and they might have a keen understanding of your competitors’ products and services as well.
There are a lot of business-savvy people in your circle who are ready to support you. Come to them with a listening ear and see what advice you can take. Navigating a business, no matter how small, will always be challenging, but even more so in a pandemic. So take all the help you can get, where you can get it.
