Post-Pandemic Business Strategies

Many businesses and entrepreneurs have been affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic; the damage isn’t limited to one sector or industry. Numerous organisations have had to adjust incredibly quickly to ensure they remain in business. Now, businesses are trying to evaluate what they can do to improve their business model after COVID-19.

Of course, there are businesses that were already planning on adjusting their strategies, but the pandemic made the need for change that much more relevant. It isn’t always easy to adjust the way your organisation functions, and this might require more changes than previously anticipated.

Here are some post-pandemic business strategies many businesses are considering implementing or have already implemented.

More Remote Work

Remote work was already on the rise, but the pandemic has made it clear remote work will remain more relevant than ever over the next several months. At this point, business owners should recognize hiring remote workers may be the only avenue to get through these trying times. Organisations should reconsider whether employees truly need to come into the office, and figure out how to empower employees to learn to utilise remote working tools like Slack and Zoom as quickly as possible.

This means entrepreneurs might want to consider investing more in their digital presence. If you haven’t considered IT support before, you might want to investigate hiring a company like EC-MSP to ensure your IT systems are safe. It might be one of the best investments you can make during this pandemic.

Safety First

First and foremost, you should understand the safety risks involved with your business. Your city, state or province may have reopened prematurely, and this could have large-scale consequences for your local community. For example, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas are seeing record numbers of daily COVID-19 cases because these states were eager to reopen for business.

You should ensure your employees are taking all the safety precautions necessary to work at your business, especially if you are in the restaurant or retail industry. If you’re a business owner, you also may want to listen to concerns from employees regarding whether they want to come back to work or not. There’s no question entrepreneurs should worry about their bottom line, but remember that if your employees are not taking the right steps to interact with customers safely, it could end up being the kind of PR disaster your business may not be able to recover from immediately.

New Marketing Initiatives

Your business might have been doing incredibly well, but the truth is families are not thinking about the same things as they were pre-pandemic. You may have noticed some of the largest corporations in the world have changed the wording in their advertisements to recognise that the world has changed, and their new campaign might offer some kind of hope for the future or understanding of the “new normal.” If you were embarking on an extensive marketing campaign, you may want to revisit the campaign to make sure it isn’t completely tone-deaf to the current situation.

Millions of people have lost their jobs, so encouraging individuals to make a large purchase for something that isn’t completely necessary is going to be a tough sell post-pandemic. There are other ways to rethink your marketing campaigns, or you may even consider holding off until the timing is better.

Proactive Pivoting and Innovation

Small business owners are realising they might have to be a bit more proactive if they want to protect their bottom line. While some business owners might have the resources to survive AND still pay their employees, this certainly isn’t a luxury for everyone. In fact, in the UK it’s estimated somewhere around 20% of smaller businesses will “run out of cash.” It’s easy to see that many of these smaller organizations might need to become more innovative when it comes to cash flow.

If you’re a beloved local restaurant, you may be dismayed that you will have to close for an extended period. However, some entrepreneurs are pivoting to make sure their food can get delivered to customers’ doorsteps. You should examine these opportunities and consider whether your business has the brand strength to implement that business model. Pivoting might not be for everyone, but it’s something to think about.

Conclusion

There are many obstacles when it comes to running a business these days. You must think about the competition, how automation and artificial intelligence might threaten your business, and maintain a robust digital presence to ensure consumers can find you online. These were already obstacles for entrepreneurs when there wasn’t a pandemic, and the difficulties have only increased.

Safety must be a priority because no one wants their employees getting sick. It’s important for organisations to make it clear to the consumer that they understand what they are going through – a bit of empathy can go a long way. It might be difficult to make that empathy sound genuine in a marketing campaign, but it’s worth the effort. Last, organisations should adjust for the “new normal” in terms of remote work, and consider pivoting if need be.