The world is affected profoundly due to COVID-19. Global lockdown and social distancing are the norms for people and business houses. Most brands today are undergoing severe losses regardless of whether they are established or a start-up venture. And that has made most brands reconsider their marketing and business development strategies for the rest of 2020. Today, business development strategies got replaced by business survival strategies.
Marc Mitchell Ravenscroft shares tactics for business survival
Every business and the corporate houses find it challenging to keep their financial engine running in the lockdown phase. Less revenue and loss of business opportunities have become daily predicaments. Delayed operations and reduced employee productivity are also two other challenges that most companies are facing. The pandemic effect was harsh on the affiliated market industry, small businesses, and start-ups compared to established business houses. While established brands had to slow down operations, the start-ups and small companies had to shut down operations indefinitely completely. And all these resulted in a downswing in the world economy.
Gradually, when the unlock phase was getting initiated, there were apprehensions concerning its success. Even though few start-up brands and other organizations want to resume operations, they remain shrouded in doubt and uncertainty. No one can point at a fixed solution now, claiming that it will work. Yet, there are a few marketing and sales leaders like Marc Ravenscroft, who come up with useful guidelines for business survival during this global pandemic.
- Keep track of the costs instead of your revenue status
Businesses and corporate houses now need to carry out precise assessments about the variable and fixed costs. They should get clear about actual revenues as well. This examination will provide a clear idea about the company’s financial standing. It will allow the company owners and entrepreneurs to decide their future move once the pandemic reduces.
- You can plan business policies for the next three to eighteen months
No one knows when the pandemic will end! Hence, it would be best if you stay prepared for the long run. No one size fits all. Therefore, you decide whether you want to plan for the next three or eighteen months. You have put on hold costs related to travel, marketing, hiring, and many more. If the effect runs longer than you speculated, you have to reconsider costs about salaries, lease payment, and other variable costs.
You might want to re-do your sales strategy. Go ahead and sell online instead of in-person. Also, evaluate if you need to scale up or down the marketing expenses. It is also essential to revisit your communication strategies along with sales revenue objectives. Perhaps you can expand the timelines for specific goals and objectives. Entrepreneurs should have transparent communication with their employees and business partners.
- Assess the viability of the present business model
The market presently is changing weekly. It’s because the economy is fluctuating, and the government policies are also changing. You probably can’t make business assumptions and speculations like before. Now you also need to keep track of the cash flow and the current financial metrics. Be cautious of every expense you make. You have to assess the potential bad debts, new sales, credit cycles, and collections.
- Get patient in getting investments
Your business would need the necessary capital to stay in operation. It would be best if you had money in a crisis like this as well. Some companies have their finances in place to invest, and they might make use of it now. On the other hand, the investigators will get more careful and vigilant than ever. Chances are they would take more time to decide whether to invest in a business or not. However, business houses need not fret on that.
The fact is, every economic downfall has had a restart phase followed by a profit-making period. One can hope that this pandemic, too, will make the economy follow a similar curve. Do you need capital for your business? If yes, you can approach the known investors instead of asking someone new. The known investor has an idea about your business potential and can invest without a doubt.
- Maintain a good relationship with the contracted parties
You might face challenges to pay your suppliers and vendors during the lockdown phase. But it will do you good if you alert your landlords, suppliers, and vendors about the financial condition. When they know that there will be delayed payments because of valid reasons, they can stay prepared, and there will be no misunderstanding. If you can provide an approximate date, it will add an element of certainty and show that you are trying your best to procure the payments.
The lockdown phase will keep imposing multiple business challenges on companies of all sizes. Different companies will have their ways to survive and continue doing business. The ways mentioned above can be of help and make you operate in such testing times with caution and correct strategies at hand.