Are you a business entrepreneur who sees the pandemic as an opportunity rather than as a challenge? Do you know how you can improve sales, revenues and create new growth strategies in the present times? Have you tried to ensure that your business cuts down on unnecessary expenditures and maximizes profits?
In the past few months, almost all major news platform announced that the world is going to experience an economic recession. Newspapers and TV studios kept debating economic contractions, job losses, closures, etc.
Yet at the same time, we saw a flurry of stories announcing how Amazon, Google, Facebook, and other big firms registered record growth and profit margins. We all read how Jeff Bezos nearly doubled his wealth during the pandemic.
So the question then is- what are these companies doing differently? How are they not only sustaining their businesses but registering record profits even during the pandemic?
How The Coronavirus Pandemic has changed the Business Landscape?
It is no secret that the previous ways of doing business have changed drastically. Gone are t5he days when businesses used to depend on leaflets, flyers and live shows to promote themselves. In an area where hygiene, social distancing, and sanitation have become the norm, businesses have been forced to make the transition.
From working remotely (the new WFH culture) to using digital tools and tech software, there are many things, businesses need to adopt. Let us look at the three main changes being adopted by businesses-
1. The New Norm- Work From Home
We all have faint memories of applying for a WFH in the pre-pandemic period. This was usually done with the expectation of having a less-stressful professional working day. However, the pandemic has necessitated WFH to become a normal part of an organization’s functioning. This has led many companies to move their operations to a WFH set up.
2. The Digital Adoption- Search Engines and Social Media
In the past few months, businesses that were not serious about having a presence on search and social have started to think otherwise. With target customers heavily depending upon digital channels for search, research, buying, and selling, it is important that businesses adopt an aggressive approach to search engine marketing and social media marketing.
3. The Strategy Changes- Sales, Marketing, and Advertising
Businesses have been forced to change a lot of their strategies because of the pandemic. This means investments in different areas, creation of new products, budgeting requirements, and so on. The entire marketing, sales, and advertising strategy have been forced to undergo a complete overhaul. The orientation has increased towards digital platforms.
List of 5 Important Areas to power Growth and Productivity during the Pandemic
In this section, we are going to outline five areas, businesses need to focus on accelerating growth during the pandemic.
1. Business Website
A good business website is more than just your company’s visiting card. It needs to be a digital representation of everything about your company. Business owners should imagine that they are speaking to someone new and introducing their business for the first time, and then create the website. You need to remember that your business website is working 24×7.
For more information on how to design the best business website, please visit- digitrio.com.sg
2. Social Media Pages
The average social media use during the pandemic has increased by over 30%. Consumers are not just using social media to keep themselves entertained. They are using it to research brands, engage with them, and even shop. This is why businesses need to create content, which performs on social media platforms. This will help them with branding, sales, and revenue generation.
3. Remote Working Tools and Software
Many businesses complain about how they are unable to coordinate with their employees during WFH. They also state that they are experiencing a loss in productivity because of the same. This is why businesses need to make their employees start using remote working tools and software. This will help in fixing accountability, deadlines, and ensuring that work is being done.
4. Improving and Training your Team Members
This is the perfect time to ask your team members to gain more skills and certifications. A well trained and highly productive employee can be a real asset for an organization. As a business owner, you can set goals and tie up increments based on how employees are completing their tasks. This will allow you to create a highly-skilled organization for the future.
5. Plan New Opportunities and Products-
Not all strategies and product planning need to start with investments. In other words, as a business owner, you can create a small core group and ask them to spend one hour daily on ideating. You need to do this as your set strategies have already been turned on their head because of the pandemic. This will allow giving your business a roadmap for the future.
Why Small Businesses should not worry about Pandemic?
Many small business owners who might be reading the article need not start worrying. If you examine all the points carefully, you will be able to adopt the same without breaking the bank.
Small businesses can also take advantage of the pandemic by reducing a lot of additional expenditure. This includes saving on rent, as you will be shifting to a WFH set up. It also includes saving on electricity, cafeteria costs, and other additional maintenance benefits.
You might have to pay employees something extra for their data spends. However, that is a very small price. According to many experts, rents and establishment costs are 1/3rd of a small business’s total expenditure.
If you are a small business owner, you should definitely think about making the transition to digital platforms. This enables the creation of a level playing field, reduces marketing spends, and allows businesses to track expenditures.
The Final Word
No matter what kind of business you are, or the scale you are operating at, it is necessary to make changes during the pandemic. If you have a positive framework and are willing to make the small changes, you will see your business prosper.
Can you think of some other ways by which businesses can register growth and profits during the pandemic? Let us know in the comments section below.
