Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us are worried about our health, the health of our families, but also the health of our economy. We wonder what we can do to keep small businesses running while we are all under quarantine, restrictions and closures. Companies are doing their best to adapt business during covid-19 and to continue to provide their products or services and manage employees. How can companies change to meet the rising need to stay operational, while their employees work from home and supply chains are compromised?
Here are 3 Areas to Adapt to Maintain Business During COVID-19
Online Presence
Many medium or small brick-and-mortar businesses have not made it a priority to establish a robust online presence. In small towns or tight communities, it is easy to get the word out for goods and services; however, with customers social distancing, businesses need to build their online portfolio or shopping system — a key adaption to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Your business can continue to function and grow with an excellent online presence by allowing customers to find you remotely.
Shopping, educating, and conducting business is quickly shifting to everything being available remotely. Ask yourself how your company can conduct business online that is cost-effective and remains a secure platform. Keep in mind when you are building the online presence of your target audience and focus on the connections you have developed with your current customers. Answer this question: How can you best serve your customers during this time specifically?
Employee Relations
How you handle communication with your employees is another way you can adapt your business due to COVID-19. It has been possible to have employees work remotely for some time; however, COVID-19 made finding remote options indispensable. There are many positive aspects to having team members work remotely, such as lack of commute time, employee attendance, and money saved in office space costs.
Research over the last few months shows a growing complaint from employees that supervisors and other staff are holding virtual meetings that are not necessary. We put too much of an importance on putting in eight-hour workdays that businesses are bogging down employees with meetings to ensure that they are working consistently. Shifting to a work dynamic that focuses on the output and quality of work that an employee is accomplishing versus the time spent might be right for employee morale and increase overall production.
Develop Business and Marketing Plans
In this pandemic, we have seen that most individuals have been living paycheck-to-paycheck; in fact, over 70 percent of people admit to living week by week with very little in savings. Businesses are not exempt from developing their plans for the future. Companies need to make plans today if they wish to thrive in the future. They need to have written plans of how they will advertise to their customers and how they might develop or deliver their products. Businesses also need to build a reserve of funds should an emergency or a disaster happens. Developing plans may seem impossible with the current environment. However, it is better to have procedures in place and pivot when necessary than to be caught off guard and struggle to keep the business afloat. Discover and understand the aspects of your business that you can control and what you can?t, create your plans based on the items that are in your control.
