Adapting your business during the coronavirus outbreak

As the coronavirus continues to impact our everyday lives and decimate businesses around the world, many are beginning to question whether it’s time to adapt their strategies so that they can continue to trade during these difficult times.

Below, we’ve put together some tips on adapting your business and serving customers in new ways during the global pandemic.

Shift your sales

If business has dried up and you’re looking for ways to find new clients, it might be time to rethink your current staff rota and reassign roles and responsibilities. Unless you’re able to operate as normal, every employee should turn to sales, reaching out to new and existing customers and finding new ways to position your business as the world continues to change.

That means taking to the phones, emailing clients, using LinkedIn and building an effective content and social strategy that’s focused on selling your products and services, whilst being conscious of the public mood and showing empathy and support. Finding the right balance between the two may involve some trial and error, but your sales efforts don’t need to stop.

React to consumer demands

Businesses should be able to rapidly innovate around new needs and demands, sparing no effort to develop new products and services.

Use the crisis as an opportunity to reinvent your business and design products around your consumers’ needs right now.

You may pivot from your original goals and perhaps serve markets you aren’t experienced in, but the key is to utilise the talents of your team and the resources available to deliver goods and drive sales.

You may not need to reinvent the wheel. Some companies are simply changing their distribution channels, offering Zoom consultations or free home deliveries to adapt to social distancing rules and are enjoying great success.

Think about your current offering, explore ways it can be adapted, and see what customers think. Experiment to find out what works.

Cut costs

Where possible, look for ways that you can cut costs. If you’re not using software, pause monthly payments. Speak to your suppliers and suspend deliveries.

Ask about holidays on rent and utility bills if you’re struggling. Put an end to all non-essential purchases like luxury drinks for staff and a music license.

Furlough staff whose roles cannot be adapted during the lockdown. Rely on government loans and grants to help you weather the worst of the storm.

But before you pause any payment or let someone go, consider the opportunity cost and decide whether their work can be resumed post-crisis.

In some circumstances, it might be wise to swallow the expense in the short-term if it helps your company grow in the long-term.

Maintain a presence

Though you may be tempted to hit pause on all marketing during the crisis, you should think carefully before doing so.

Even if your business has entered hibernation mode, it’s critical that your marketing messages are regular and consistent.

If you disappear from social media or abandon your SEO and content marketing, you’ll find it harder to pick it up in six months time, and you may lose face with customers who turned to rival brands in your absence.

According to Marketing Week, the best marketers are upping, not cutting, their marketing budgets during the crisis.

With more consumers at home on their smartphones than ever before, and more professionals working through LinkedIn and Slack, both B2B and B2C brands have a unique opportunity to improve relationships with their customers and drive sales.

Impress customers now, and they’ll stick with you as we come through the other side.

At Zudu, we too are changing the way we run our business and help our clients run their own. If you’re looking for support adapting your strategy, reach out today for a free chat.