By Sam Taylor
Boost Your Business During Coronavirus
When the history books look back on 2020, they’ll look at it primarily as the start (and hopefully the end) of the global Coronavirus pandemic. I don’t think I’ll be surprising anyone by mentioning that the pandemic will impact the way that the world conducts business, with many financial experts predicting that the Coronavirus will plunge the world into a global recession. [1] [2] The next year could define the landscape of business operations for years to come.
In case studies, companies such as Ford, Lego and Domino’s all managed to thrive in the 2008 market crash. [3] There’s nothing about these businesses that sets them apart from any of their competitors objectively, so how did they manage to do so well? Where can you find business growth when the whole market seems to be shrinking? This article will explore a few hints and tips that’ll help you sculpt your Business Growth Strategy to safeguard yourself against the recession that is predicted to follow the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. Love your neighbor
Without getting too spiritual, our actions define us. This is even more evident in the world of business. Your customers, whether they’re other businesses or end-users, will struggle in a recession – if you help them in whatever way you can (without forgetting the need to stay financially viable, don’t undersell yourself!), that good deed will be remembered, and will speak volumes to the character of your business. Airbnb has earned applause far and wide for their actions throughout the coronavirus, through their initiative to offer free housing to 100,000 COVID-19 healthcare workers, [4] while UK-based hospitality chain Wetherspoons faces their venues being boycotted by thousands of customers due to their treatment of their staff at the outset of the pandemic. [5]
2. Always be on the lookout
either for opportunities to sell more, or opportunities to help those in need. This might involve exploring new markets – some countries, such as Japan and South Korea, have managed to control the spread of the virus fantastically, which has meant that their economy has broadly remained functional. Equally, if your usual target market operated primarily in the aviation sector, for example, it might be worth looking at other target markets. It’s always worth keeping an eye on foreign markets, other industries and even more introspectively to understand if there’s a way you can adapt to make sure you’re making the most of a bad situation.
3. Offer a reasonable alternative
One of the top 5 most Googled phrases associated with Apple AirPodsTM is “AirPod alternatives”. [6] You know your customer, and I’m sure you know that your customer doesn’t want to go without your product or service. While your target market might struggle financially with the economic downturn. Offering a highly-rated-but-cheaper alternative to the market-leading product is one of the best ways to increase business growth in a recession.
4. Diversify
whether the products you offer aren’t in high demand during a pandemic, or whether you’ve spotted a gap in the market in its new re-shaped re-imagined format, the Coronavirus pandemic is a fantastic opportunity to switch up your offering to drive your business’ growth. To diversify their offering, Netflix launched Netflix Party, while ChargedUp, who specializes in phone charging stations, has launched CleanedUp, specializing in similarly styled sanitation stations [7]. While it may not be immediately obvious what you could offer your customers in place of your usual products, a good brainstorming session based on your strengths as a business could provide some fantastic innovations that you could launch to explore a whole world of new markets.
It’s also worth exploring what sort of funding you could be eligible for. An increasing number of governments and businesses worldwide are deploying funds, such as grants and loans, to ensure that businesses are kept up and running in the wake of the pandemic. Action Against Corona in Sweden is offering startups and projects up to €1 million if they’re involved in tackling the virus (another reason to look at points 1 & 4!), while global seed-investor Partech has pledged $100m to support startups working in ‘post-COVID trend areas’ such as health, work, commerce & finance. [8] It’s worth checking your local government schemes to see what you could apply for to support your business’ growth in the wake of the global pandemic.
Ensuring that you have a Business Growth Plan is so important, particularly if you can sculpt it around the strong values mentioned above. People primarily buy from companies they trust and believe in; if your business can hold itself to the above values, trust will come naturally. [9] Campaign for what is right and the rewards will reap themselves. There’s no rule to say that any market is doomed to fail in a recession, and with a Business Growth Strategy, you can make sure your business makes the most of its growth potential, whatever the market might throw at you.
One of the buzzwords at the start of this pandemic was Business Continuity Plans, but now, as we come out of it, we expect this shift to be away from BCPs and towards BGPs – Business Growth Plans. That being said, it’s worth refreshing and revisiting your BCP. While the prospect of a second wave of COVID-19 is undeniably daunting, the best approach to take is one of preparation – if you take the time now to ensure your Business Continuity Plan is watertight, you’ll be set up fantastically should anything happen again. Even if we’re free of a global pandemic for the next few lifetimes, at least it might help you sleep a bit easier to know that your business is ready for growth, but prepared for emergencies.
Although these tips serve as helpful guidance on how to create a Business Growth Strategy, it’s vital that you get noticed by your prospective clients, and Booming Businesses can help you to get the exposure you need to grow! Get in touch to find out how.
[1] https://www.ft.com/content/8ccae8d2-6eb0-11ea-89df-41bea055720b
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/recovery-tracker/
[3] https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0810/6-companies-thriving-in-the-recession.aspx
[6] https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=US
[7] https://www.maddyness.com/uk/2020/03/31/19-businesses-pivoting-in-response-to-covid-19/
