Surviving the severity caused by COVID-19 in the market made companies realize the necessity of changing business strategies.
Every industry in the world suffered from effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and only a few were able to survive and adapt to the new economic environment. By employing the right strategies, businesses managed to keep up with the pace of change.
Small businesses can survive Covid-19
Every small business can survive the pandemic with the right strategies. These can help startups cope with the ongoing change and adapt to the dynamic business environment.
Prioritizing the health of the customers
It is one of the most important strategies adopted by many businesses. That’s because, in light of the pandemic, prioritizing the health of customers and employees became the main focus. According to Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, a quarter of the consumers are concerned about their health and safety.
Therefore, making customers and employees realize that the business is concerned about their health too will help build customer loyalty and a sense of belonging. This ethical model helped several businesses stand strong in times of hardships during the pandemic.
The whole world was forced to shut down because of Covid. That brought on the difficult task of business adaptation. How could people shop when they couldn’t even reach the stores physically? The business response: digitally.
Many businesses, all over the world, shifted their operations to digital platforms. As per a report released by UNCTAD, the global e-commerce market rose by 26.7 trillion US$ during the pandemic. Those who couldn’t shift their operations suffered huge losses and even shutdowns.
Offering healthcare products and services
Businesses adapting to the pandemic had to go through several difficulties, and one of them was sustaining themselves. People were forced to buy only the essentials because of economic and accessibility reasons. As per a research conducted by McKinsey Customer Experience Practice, the overall consumer expenditure reduced by nearly 50%.
Businesses had to thus include offering healthcare essentials in their business models to, at least, cover the costs. For instance, many cosmetics brands started including sanitization-related products in their services. The apparel business, too, introduced face masks for people’s wardrobes.
Giving due attention to customer feedback
People around the world were desperately in need of essential goods and services, and the businesses that delivered on these customer demands successfully managed to stay afloat.
Customer satisfaction became a game changer as people were facing issues with the new digital mode of shopping. It was very important for businesses to be prepared to solve these issues.
Taking safety measures
Making customers feel safe became the most challenging task for companies. It was crucial to provide a guarantee for safety and security to the customers to encourage them to rely on businesses for products and services. Therefore, many companies took steps towards encouraging their employees to get vaccinated as well as to take regular Covid tests to ensure that customers could use their services without the fear of contracting the virus. This was important for the safety of their employees too.
