8 Survival Strategies For Businesses During COVID-19

What are the survival strategies for businesses during COVID-19?

1. Track expenses against revenue
2. Streamline operations
3. Consider applying for financing
4. Increase social media marketing
5. Provide outstanding customer service
6. Focus on retaining existing customers
7. Embrace digital flexibility
8. Maintain transparency with stakeholders

Hit by the pandemic followed by strict health protocols and community quarantines, businesses are certainly experiencing major negative impacts. While the consequences for startups and small businesses can be way more brutal given scarcer cash reserves and a smaller profit margin, corporations, no matter how established, are looking for survival strategies for businesses during COVID-19.

It has become challenging for all businesses to keep their finances and leadership capacities up during the pandemic due to supply-demand issues, fewer revenues, and general uncertainty. While there is little known about the future of the economy and the virus, there are ways to adapt your business to the new normal. Read on to learn more!

Track Expenses Against Revenue

During the pandemic, the top priority of businesses should be managing cash flow properly. Cash flow management will educate you on how to balance several financial factors. Conduct a proper assessment of expenses against revenues. This will give you a clear picture of where your business stands financially and help you plan ahead. You can form contingency plans like turning to banks and other stakeholders.

Streamline Operations

Given that it is difficult to gauge how long the COVID-19 will last, it is crucial to be prepared for all scenarios. Many businesses will lean on cutting costs and streamlining operations, which may mean the difference between success and failure in the ongoing recession.

Identify expenditures of your business that are variable such as hiring and travel. Consider cutting down costs that are prone to waste as well.

For example, if your machinery is left overnight, the costs can add up. Reconfigure your business strategy and try to renegotiate fixed expenses like rent, supplies, salaries, and equipment payments. Now is the time to focus only on essentials for survival.

Consider Applying For Financing

Raising funds during this will be extremely challenging, which means you have to be aware of alternative financing plans. There may be several sources of funding available to keep your business afloat. Some of which may include:

• Credit lines
• Business insurance
• Loans from city programs
• Loans from private organizations
• Past due from existing customers

Increase Social Media Marketing

In an era heavily driven by e-commerce platforms, you would want to review your social media branding and ensure you are coming up with value-adding content for the audience.

Launch graphic product explainers or live product launches, generate positive word-of-mouth and create other efforts to build brand engagement.

Provide Outstanding Customer Service

Customer service has long been leveraged for competitive advantage. However, the need for delighting customers is crucial now more than ever. Outstanding customer service means following the best practices such as valuing customers’ time, creatively solving problems, maintaining a positive attitude, and personalizing your service.

Focus On Retaining Existing Customers

Your current customer base already has engagement and familiarity with your brand and services. Hopefully, they will already have been impressed with your service. Take this as an opportunity to re-engage with your existing customers and to see whether there is the potential to offer them products and services which meet their needs during the lockdown.

Where your market offer doesn’t currently have high demand because of the quarantine period, focus your marketing communications to remind your customers and target audiences that you are ready to serve them again, once safe to do so.

Embrace Digital Flexibility

Now is the time to embrace digital flexibility. Think about whether your employees can work from home. Aside from ensuring their safety, you can cut down on-premises costs whilst providing a better work-life balance. Recruit new hires through video interviews and adapt to online platforms for team communication. Take advantage of the technological developments to adapt accordingly during the pandemic.

Maintain Transparency With Stakeholders

Understandably, it might be difficult to pay out suppliers. In the same way, it can be hard to deliver positive results for investors. To add to that, employees are relying on their leaders to stay updated about developments. Every stakeholder can be affected. For that reason, the best survival strategy for businesses would be to remain transparent.

Leadership under the pandemic has become more complex. Transparency and honesty about the situation are key to establishing trust between the management and stakeholders. Address the current situation and its impact on your business to understand their perceptions towards your solutions.

Key Takeaway

In this article, we have rounded up 8 survival strategies for businesses during COVID-19. It is during this crisis that responsible management is especially needed. Making effective decisions quickly, transparently, and equitably will go a long way.

For expert support in creating or developing your business strategy, click here to contact Benito Keh. As one of the most well-known entrepreneurs in the country, he can provide insightful solutions to keep your business afloat and find new opportunities to grow.