2020 was undoubtedly a tough year for small businesses, especially those who rely on physical space for their business operations. With the conversion to COVID-19, came the closing down of many small businesses which could not afford the required upgrades to their infrastructure. If you’re looking to survive through covid-19, you have probably started considering your options. The good thing is that there are still ways to keep your business running. Here are some steps you can take to survive new normal.
We are almost near to 2021 end a lot of things have changed but still waves are coming and going throughout the world. Some countries are opening up & few others are still with COVID restrictions.
It does not matter if business is based in Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Sydney, London or Ottawa, things are hard for the small business.
1. Make Your Business Workable
Customer requirement post COVID-19 situation has changed. May it be for the product or service industry.
Brainstorm with your team or industry colleagues or in a chamber of commerce meetings how your business can adapt for new normal.
Ask these questions
- What do your customers need now?
- Is there new modification that can revive the product/service cycle?
- Is there an alternative?
It has become more important to understand customer needs in 2021
A great example would be
As a manufacturer, you can create a b2b website design that showcases your products or have online web base quote system to order the products.
Wholesale product number have seen declining, but various segments of industries have survived by switching to ecommerce – Can your business switch to B2C & close the sales gap.
Similarly, service business format has changed. Customers dislike meeting in person, they do not want to give payments. Physically As a business, it time to productize the services by using online tools like meeting applications, payment gateways, appointment calendars, online bio pages, easing the buying process.
“One size fits all” – is no longer a trend, as customers’ requirement has grown to a whole new level.
It is time to talk with your small business technology consultant – how you can strengthen in these challenging times.
2. Communicate More
There is disruption as working hours have shortened. Supply chains, projects, procedures all are falling behind.
Customers are experiencing longer wait times. So you need to change the way you communicate.
Revisit your work flow & change the way you communicate.
a) Pre Sales Communication
- Implement online demos, short workshops for product & services.
- Implement strong client educating & nurturing series to help your customers.
- Use autoamted PDF’s for faster communication.
b) Post sales communication
- Improve client onboarding using videos & personalization
- Improve ongoing communication using small workshops, virtual meets, email series.
- Implement online learning for your customers based on your industry
c) Improve Support Infrastructure
- Implement knowledge base so self help is possible
- Implement ticketing system to track your support
Talk to small business marketing consultant on your business can adopt digital strategy & optimize the business work flows.
3. Revive your marketing plan
During a pandemic situation, you slowed down. That is fine,now it is time to revive your marketing strategy.
It is time to merge the marketing efforts to revive previous marketing campaign with a proper marketing strategy. As business owner, you need to generate new ideas, find the correct social media platform where your major target audience is there. Use brand awareness & marketing automation to your efforts.
Holiday Season is already there. It is time to revive your marketing plan.
Remember the Pareto Principle — 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions. It is time to focus on putting your 80% efforts on that 20%.
We have identified three marketing ideas for small business in this situation. We should balance our efforts to get potential new customers & revive existing customers.
- Start a Content Marketing for your small business that would generate leads
- Choose one social media as marketing channel you can go after, allocate the budget for it.
- Revive the old customer list you have.
Put your resources for the best usage.
Our agency has created specialized marketing packages for small business that ideal for business looking to create marketing strategy in the current situation.
4. Give back to people around you. They need more than ever.
Every body is having tough time, so be courteous. Make sure whatever actions you take, communication you make from your business, it is time to have more understanding.
Giving back does not mean giving in terms of money, but you can give in a lot of different forms.
a) Give back your goods or excess inventory or old computer that you’re not using.
eg: Shoe company can donate to frontline workers.
eg Online education company can give few free months to new & existing students.
b) Donate food & medical supplies to local community.
c) Create a resources page on your website that how you can help others.
Small gestures will help you & your stakeholders around you, so push yourself for a new normal.
Make a Strategy Plan for 2022
This is a challenging situation – you need to put small steps forward to survive this unprecedented situation.
Situation like this require extraordinary patience, creativity & resilience. Further year end is coming, which means you can save on taxes while investing in plan by the end-of-year, then investing earlier next year.
We believe small business are the backbone of economy & making them survive these hard times would be just great. It would be great for consumers & employees at large.
We have created a small list of tools , software & services that can help you swim.
So it is right time to place a COVID-19 Response Plan in place for a new normal.