Rajendra Zadpe
Apart from immediate health issues, it has now become apparent that coronavirus does not pass without leaving behind certain long-term commercial and economic implications.
Although it may be tempting to concentrate on just keeping alive right now, putting out fires if and when they're starting to emerge, it's important to plan for the future of your company and be completely prepared for what's coming next. Here's a helpful five-step guide to getting started.
When other companies are going to concentrate on here and now, struggling to sustain a regularly operating service, this might be your opportunity to create a new network of prospective customers. Putting time and energy into creating new leads will ensure that you have a pool of potential clients to draw on once things have settled down.
In addition, your leaders should have increased confidence in you as a company. If you're looking for new clients at a time when most of the competition is going through a recession, you're telling your customers that you're at the top of things.
For certain parts of the world, the general public is told to remain at home poses significant difficulties for companies. Unless your business follows the B2C model and relies on face-to-face, in-store contact with customers, this poses a serious challenge, especially in the longer term.
So, get imaginative and brainstorm various ways you can still offer your service or your goods. One clear example is that restaurants and cafes that operate at home-only or offer free delivery, discounts, weekly or monthly subscription-style offers, and other opportunities help to stay ahead of the competition.
Ask yourself if your product or service may be of additional benefit or significance in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, and change your marketing to reflect this, particularly if you are implementing a changed service for the duration of the outbreak.
Increased and versatile marketing is also important right now because many people would question if those companies are still in operation. Make sure your target audience knows that you're open and that you're still solid.
It is necessary not just to consider how to survive as a company during the outbreak, but also to have a plan in place for what happens afterward. Don't believe that after the danger to public safety has passed, it's all going back to the way it was before the outbreak.
One main concern is that being confined to their homes would possibly cause many consumers to move to online or remote solutions, and it should not be presumed that post-coronavirus solutions will be reverted to the solutions they used prior to the outbreak.
Let's assume that you sell B2C or B2B financial services directly to your clients. Customers may have preferred you to use automated solutions to ensure the perceived reliability and protection of your unique, personal approach. Now, at a time of prolonged home-containment for many, consumers are moving over to digital, remote services.
After the epidemic has been controlled, fintech companies providing automated solutions will be more effective, and you will have fewer customers left. That is why it is important to be versatile and to change the services so they wouldn't be only useful during the outbreak but remain a viable option after everything has settled down.
In order to be successful in strategizing and executing all of the above, a good starting point is a list of challenges that your company may face. It is important to strategize for various situations and to take any chance into account.
Consider everything from the disruption of supply chains to difficulties in interacting, attracting customers and competing with other businesses in your business. No matter how you think the epidemic is going to spread and how it could affect you, prepare for any possible scenario, including the worst you can imagine.
Start incorporating them now, so that if the unthinkable comes to the worst and everyone operates from home, they will be confident and knowledgeable with modern forms of communication.
There's no telling how this case is going to unfold. Things may return to normal in a couple of weeks, or we can face a global recession a year down the line. It is vital for businesses of all kinds not to give up, to have a firm plan in place and to remain versatile and responsive in order to remain competitive.