COVID-19’s pandemic crushed the world’s leading economies. Besides the growing death toll (over 18,000+ as of 25 March 2020) and contaminations, operations of small and mid-sized businesses have been shaken. Businesses active in tourism, hospitality, and education have been hit the hardest. That’s why when everything settles, millions of businesses will need a practical business recovery plan.
By adopting a proactive approach towards dealing with the Coronavirus crisis, businesses can bounce back and secure their future in the coming months. Being the leading marketing & growth agency in India, we have come up with a simple COVID-19 business recovery plan. In this blog, you will find 10 quintessential tips and ideas that will help you formulate a business rebuilding plan to protect your business and replenish it in the future.
#1 Think how coronavirus is affecting your clients
Be it the service sector, manufacturing or any other, Coronavirus has adversely impacted customer’s buying journeys across the globe. That’s why it is time to think strategically about how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting your customers. Think about what’s bothering them the most and keeping them away from ordering your products or services.
Identifying specific issues can help you create a viable business recovery plan for your business. Here are some questions to guide your thinking:
- Are clients struggling with general market uncertainty?
- Are customers fearful of importing products & shipments from other countries?
- Are clients unable to manage employees in a work-from-home environment?
Need an example for clarity? Here you go:
You are a China-based business that sells hair styling products directly to its UK-based customers. One of the biggest apprehensions of customers in your case will be accepting COVID-19-contaminated products. Mitigate the fear by adding protective covering for every shipment & creating awareness about the lifespan of the virus on objects.
Addressing their apprehensions can help you undertake strategic changes in your supply chain, sales approach, operations, and marketing strategy. And when they have a solution, your business will also start to recover. Consider this as the first step to safeguard your venture.
#2 Identify & communicate
Be it your direct customers or strategic partners, everyone is important for your business’s growth. Once you have identified what common problems (as listed above) your client might be facing, it’s time to work on a solution. Start it off by identifying the clients that bring you the most business. They require your utmost attention since the association with them will greatly help you survive the Coronavirus slowdown.
Once created the list, it’s time to recover and strengthen your business by communicating through the right channel. Consider sending mailers, publishing a press release, creating a candid video, or connecting directly through a phone call.
Having a strong social following, dealing in lifestyle products and catering to young customers? Consider creating a video message.
Having a big email database, dealing in software products, and catering to a mature audience? Consider drafting a mailer
Here’s how Marriott’s CEO, Arne Sorenson decided to talk to its customers:
Whichever communication channel you choose, make sure that your audience is acquainted with it and uses it on a regular basis.
#3 Organize paid campaigns
For businesses, paid campaigns work as a nitrous boost. At times when thousands of businesses are losing hope to recover, this is the best time to put those extra efforts to safeguard your business from Coronavirus.
Investing in paid campaigns will flash your business in front of your existing as well as potential customers. Creating an optimistic advertisement that inspires your customers and makes them hopeful can work wonders in improving brand recall and connection.
This is what you can do to create a pitch-perfect ad campaign:
- Let the brainstorming begin with COVID-19 in mind.
- Use keyword tools to check the demand & market outlook.
- Review your target audience, channels, competitors, and region.
- Know your budget and work backward.
- Work on the messaging
- Create a powerful and relevant call to action.
Wondering how to market your business? Here are the top paid online marketing channels to consider!
#4 Use discounts and get pre-orders
Country-wide lockdowns have been implemented all across the world during the Coronavirus pandemic. People across the world have anxiety and stress over how things will pan out in the coming weeks. At such a time of need, being considerate, empathetic, and generous will greatly help. Here’s an example to make you understand better:
Pret, the international sandwich shop chain, started giving huge discounts to NHS workers and closed its sitting areas to stop contamination. Below is the screenshot from the email.
Think you are not as big as Pret? A small startup in Indonesia sourced a consignment of face masks and sanitizers to deliver the same to their customers along with special discount cards that can be availed after COVID-19 ends.
Businesses active in hospitality can take this time of quarantine to plan packages & campaigns after the lockdown ends to speed up Corona’s business recovery!
#5 Go online for growth
Retail stores and outlets are experiencing lockdowns across the globe but the ban has not yet been extended to digital shopping & orders. Take this time of quarantine to get your business online and activate your digital presence to process online orders.
Most restaurant businesses in China & the USA have started focusing on takeaway instead of dine-in to help the governments in containing the spread. By adopting this policy, you too can also avoid the further spread of the disease and stop your business from going bankrupt.
Don’t have the money and expertise to build a website? No problem! Use messaging platforms like Whatsapp to connect with your current customers and process orders from there. This will hugely help your business bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
#6 Create a content strategy
Content is the king and at times like this, it’s your words that matter the most. Be it your social media posts, your blogs, or paid campaigns, if you want your business to survive the crisis and rise in the coming times, the best thing entrepreneurs can do is to produce high-quality content.
From today till the time the Coronavirus situation lasts, dedicate some of your content efforts to the direction of creating awareness about the pandemic and keeping your audience updated about it. Below are some more content creation & curation ideas till we come together and squash COVID-19:
- Create social media updates to keep followers updated about evolving health situations.
- Create visual health and wellness guides
- Curate authentic content from organizations like WHO
- Share content and updates from relevant channels
- Make valuable content available through the website, social media, and other major channels
When creating content for your audience, focus on below mentioned 8 core content creation variables:
- Length
- Visual appeal
- Spelling & grammar
- Formatting
- Readability
- Expertise
- Trustworthiness
- Overall value
Don’t put your funds into marketing without learning how much content creation costs in 2020!
#7 Channel digital tools for collaboration
To fight & contain the COVID-19 outbreak, businesses across the world are embracing virtual meetings, collaboration tools, and work-from-home processes. While it is not possible for all teams to work from home, it is possible for a decent chunk of businesses if some thought is dedicated to the same.
To make your business bounce back from the Coronavirus, it is important that your team remains healthy and functional. That’s why it is highly important to practice caution when it comes to meetings, business travel, and on-site visits. Long story short, take steps to make remote work part of your work model to survive the testing times.
#8 Look at the bigger picture
For B2B businesses, COVID-19 has been the most damaging but there is no use crying over the spilled milk. Use the restrictions imposed by the pandemic to look at the bigger picture. If you have a few big prospects in the pipeline, it’s the right time to put more effort into lead management and watering potential opportunities.
Coronavirus has greatly limited the regular functioning of businesses and organizations, leaving a lot of time in the hands of senior management. Business owners and top bosses can use the time to relook at their business strategy, marketing goals, and future vision to bounce back stronger.
#9 Seek digital growth professionals
Times are tough, and businesses that will take the necessary steps to tackle the COVID-19 crisis will tend to rise in the coming times. Keeping this in mind, the main thing you must do to strengthen your digital marketing and online presence is to seek a digital growth partner. A digital growth partner will help you with:
- Content creation and sharing
- Assets creation and growth
- Search engine presence
- Social media dominance
- Strategic changes
A digital growth partner or consultant will make sure that you are positioned strongly to bounce back from Coronavirus and future business threats. Email us at hello@upreports.com to kickstart a free email consultation session.
Got all the time in the world to handle digital marketing on your own? Watch our online marketing guide for beginners!
#10 Prepare for hiked demands
A lot of businesses across the world are working at half capacity today but Coronavirus obviously will not last forever. Within a couple of months, it will be business as usual and the demand will jump up. If you don’t prepare now, you will not be able to cater to future demand.
One of the major recommendations of our Coronavirus business recovery guide is to stack up raw materials and make demand predictions. We are pretty sure you don’t want to struggle with a material shortage when the trade and business restrictions are relaxed. Do you?
Believe it or not, following the above COVID-19 business recovery tips, ideas, and hacks will help you cut back the losses and improve future business prospects.
Recovering your business from COVID-19- Endnote
Times are harsh and when pandemics like Coronavirus occur, we all must stand together and prepare with full strength for quick recovery. With these thoughts, Team Uperports wishes you all the best!
A lot of what’s happening today has to do with how we are treating the environment and existing on this planet. As business owners, one of our major goals should be to help Mother Nature maintain the balance. Embrace environment-friendly business practices to minimize ecological damage. And trust us, this will benefit your business too in the long run!
If you have any queries related to Coronavirus and how to secure your business from this threat, leave a message on hello@upreports.com and our team will get in touch with you ASAP.
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