By Adeife Adeoye
Earlier in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic
hit the world with a storm, causing a global health crisis. Along with
the painful health crisis, businesses worldwide face global economic
challenges, including unemployment, recession, total lockdown, collapse
in demand, and uncertainty.
There have been improvements in the health side of the crisis, but what about the business side?
Now that the country is gradually
relaxing the social distancing guidelines and work start again, what
will your business look like?
COVID-19 hit every business differently.
Some businesses were able to shift to a remote work model, while some
couldn’t. With the new trends emerging, the post-pandemic economy will
be nothing like before for most businesses.
So how do you prepare your business for that?
The Big Plan
If your business is going to bounce back
into the economy, you need a plan. To create your re-opening plan, you
need lots of internal and external assessment of multiple factors that
could impact your business. Here are things you should consider in
preparing your reopening plan
Do you still want to stick to your old business model?
If you’ve been running a regular brick
and mortar store, it’s time to rethink your model. The pandemic has
shown customers they don’t need to go out to get what they want. My sure
bet is that your original business model might not fit into the future
economy, so it’s time to rethink your business model.
Here are reasons why you should rethink your business model:
Your original business model doesn’t work anymore.
The economy is changing, and consumers
have changed their priorities. Statistics show that ecommerce platforms
in Nigeria have undergone about a 35% percent traffic increase between
January and May 2020.
Nigeria Ecommerce Trends
Global e-commerce sales have been
growing at a rate of 10-20%. However, over recent months, e-commerce
sales are doubling from last year’s.
Global Ecommerce
These trends raise important questions about the post-pandemic economy: Will the numbers decrease as the world begins to reopen?
The answer is NO; I don’t see the
numbers decreasing; I see it increasing. Consumers prefer the comfort of
buying from their homes.
A recent study by CustomerThink shows
that some customers prefer shopping online because they spend more on
impulse purchases in brick-and-mortar stores. Some customers shop online
because of the convenience of being able to buy at home rather than
dragging their children to the store.
What does this mean for your business?
It means your business should adopt a new online model – get your business online.
With the emerging trends, your business must focus on its online presence, or you’ll be losing so much money.
Getting your business online is very easy to do, and it requires little to no stress, here are three steps to get started.
1. Get your domain and
design your website. Your domain is the address of your site. It is
unique to you, and more like your physical store’s address. For
instance, Google.com
is a domain name. Once you get a domain name, then you can get started
with your website. Your company’s website is the foundation of your
online presence. You don’t need a complicated website; you can create a
basic website yourself. There are lots of free tools to help you get
started.
2. Engage with social
media. Social media is key to your business. Most people turn to social
media when they need help with most things. If your business isn’t on
social media, customers are less likely to trust you. So make sure your
business is on social media and active with your audience.
3. Promote your
business online. If you want to make enough sales online, you have to go
a little bit extra. You’d be surprised how many people can find your
business online with simple tools, and the best thing is you don’t have
to strain your budget. You can use tools like Google Ads, Facebook Ads,
and Microsoft Advertising to expand your reach and get more customers.
Tweak your business plan
Your business is evolving; your business plan should also change.
Revisit your current business plan. Give
yourself time to adjust and make some tweaks to your business plan
while taking into consideration your current business situation.
Before you redefine your plan, do some
research on your competition, talk to your customers and employees. It
would give you a clear insight into what you want your business plan to
look like.
Make the most of the current customers
We’re all used to this famous Nigerian
adage, “the devil you knew yesterday is better than the angel you’re
about to know.” The devil you knew yesterday are your current customers,
and you need to treat them right. Your customers are opportunity to
make more without having to spend more money looking for new customers.
You shouldn’t ignore the potential
profits of shifting your sales focus to your existing customers if you
want to scale through the post-pandemic economy.
You need to improve your customer
service. Make sure that your customers love your products or services,
and make them happy. Identify your customers’ needs and meet them.
Retaining your customers should be your goal, and the best way to do
that is to make them happy.
Identify you’re business strengths and highest-earning products.
Survey your business and identify which
products or services are the most successful and stable. Once you’ve got
that, invest your available resources into these successful products.
Doing this will help you manage your resources, and you’d be
specializing in one thing. Specialization is one of the best approaches
you might find helpful to sustain your business.
Pay off debt
You should pay off your debts regardless
of the economy’s state. This period is when many businesses,
homeowners, and borrowers default on loans. As a business owner, you
don’t want that to happen to you. Make sure you pay off your debt; it
will give you more opportunities to get more loans in the future.
Don’t cut your marketing budget
Most businesses make the mistake of
cutting their marketing budget during times like this, but this is when
your business needs marketing the most.
Customers are always looking for ways to
make changes in their buying decisions. Help them find your services
and products and choose them. Marketing is key to your business’s growth
in the future; rather than quit your marketing, step up your marketing
efforts.
Conclusion
Nothing guarantees your business success
in the post-pandemic economy, but implementing these can ensure your
business survives tough times and profits from them. It’s about
analyzing your current business position and planning for the future.
*Adeife Adeoye is CEO/founder at Penpalms (adeifeadeoye@penpalms.com)
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