How to survive and thrive during and after COVID-19

We know business is not as usual. The pandemic has affected everyone on both a personal and a professional level. However, one thing is clear right now as a business owner – you need to decide how to approach the situation. You can either:

1. Hide under a rock, hope for the best and wait to pick up what’s left of your business when ‘normality’ resumes.

Or…

2. Accept what is happening, re-strategize and think how your business can not only survive but thrive during this difficult period.

While option one may sound the ‘easiest’ road to go down (especially with Disney+ and Netflix to keep us company), the world will once again start moving and if you’re standing still right now, you will get left behind.

While each business must find its own path to success, we’ve put together our top tips that any business can use to survive and thrive during and after COVID-19:

1. Keep your customers informed

Apart from your employees, your customers are one of the most valuable assets during a global crisis. Take care of these loyal clients and invest your time in looking after them. Build trust. Show them the value of what you can offer. Remind them that you are there to help them during this difficult period and in turn, they’ll remember you in the post-lockdown world.

2. Think of the bigger picture

How can your business position itself to help people through the crisis? We’re seeing restaurants offering delivery services, networking events running over Zoom, clothing manufacturers making scrubs and facemasks and distilleries making hand sanitiser. Think about how you can pivot so you can help clients in different industries or roll out additional services to keep your business moving. For example, at Visual Print and Design, we’ve been researching and investing in social distancing provisions so we can help our clients continue to run their businesses safely.

3. Market, market, market

People are spending more time online and you know what, they are still spending. With some big companies pulling back on advertising, this creates a golden opportunity for businesses to grow awareness and get your business in front of more people. It’s important to keep your name out there and strategically plan how you can trade and market in a post-lockdown world.

4. Look after your employees

In these troubled times, not only should you be supporting your customers but also supporting your team and employees in any way you can. Your customers will remember how you handled the situation and took care of them…and so will your employees. By supporting your team throughout the crisis, you’ll have a loyal workforce who will make your business their own and do all they can to get everyone over to the other side.

5. Be human

While you must keep marketing, you also need to be mindful. Reach out to your clients and check on them. Ask if you can help. Spend time building up a lot of goodwill and keep yourself top of mind so companies will look to you when they are ready to get back to work.

There is no point in sugar-coating it, COVID-19 has been extremely damaging to businesses.

But we must not give up.

We need to have courage. We need to think smart, spot opportunities and push through.

We can get through this.