Introduction
- Is the Coronavirus pandemic taking a huge toll on your business in economic and financial terms?
- Are you staring at huge losses, which are forcing you to lay off employees and think about taking loans to survive?
- Do you know of some ways, when implemented could help your business not only survive but do well in these troubling times?
From multi-million dollar businesses to start-ups, almost all business owners are asking themselves the above questions. Apart from the health emergency and dangers, the pandemic has resulted in a global economic downturn.
Experts state that this economic downturn is going to be even worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s. Given the alarming state of things to come, it is no surprise that businesses and their owners are jittery when it comes to finding ways and means of doing business.
Not only are we seeing a record number of businesses closing shop, but also millions losing employment opportunities. In this article, we speak to some leading marketing experts and ask them, whether there is a way for businesses to survive this crisis.
List of 5 ways and strategies companies can follow to survive the economic downturn
1. Explore the Digital and take up Online Marketing seriously
Do you know one channel of marketing, selling, and advertising, which has seen little or no impact? Digital Marketing has risen like a phoenix from the ashes and has become the number one go-to strategy for brands all over the world during the pandemic.
Businesses, that have been successful in making the transition to digital platforms (eCommerce, Social Media, Online Home Delivery, etc.), have not only sustained themselves but have also registered growth even during these testing times.
2. Streamline your business and organization to cut costs-
Many businesses have been able to successfully implement the WFH principle and are liking the new setup. They are also pondering over ways and means to keep a percentage of their workforce carried with WFH even after the pandemic ends.
This means that the huge office space (and the exorbitant rent) can be cut down significantly. It also means that you are going to save on overheads, cafeteria expenses, and employee travel costs. This will help you cut down your expenses by nearly half.
3. Ditch traditional advertising and marketing for online channels-
Banner hoardings, television screens, and other traditional models of advertising have been deemed redundant. This means that brands should avoid the exorbitant amounts of investment made in traditional channels and look to cut costs.
By investing in social media platforms, search engine spending, and other online models of promotions, brands can invest in marketing models, which are less expensive in nature. These models are measurable, quantifiable, and offer better ROIs than traditional models.
4. eCommerce is going to define the future of shopping-
According to a leading digital marketing agency, Digitrio, if you are a brand, that has always done business through a brick-and-mortar store, now is the time to make the transition. It does not matter whether you are a store selling fashion items or a Michelin Five-Star restaurant, you can use online channels to make sales.
While setting up an eCommerce presence, might require you to invest, it is not going to be too expensive. It will also hold true for a number of years in the near future. You do not have to reinvest in a new website for at least the next three years.
5. Be prepared to take tough decisions-
Every business faces some unavoidable moments when there are some tough decisions that need to be taken. Letting go of any of your employees or your favorite office space might be very tough. However, keeping the business afloat and letting it live to see another day should be your bigger priority.
Nobody likes to steer away from the set plans and projections. The Coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to rethink their strategies for the future. Keeping your company alive and looking after some of your employees is better, than completely closing down shop and killing the business.
Conclusion
If you have been following the news, you would have read how two significant billionaires, just got richer during the pandemic. I am talking about Amazon Founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos and Facebook CEO and Founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
Both of them run and operate multi-billion dollar online businesses, which goes to show the kind of businesses making money even during the pandemic. This is the time when businesses will need to rejig their core philosophies and adapt to new ways and means to grow their business.
One thing is certain- no business should expect things to back to how it was before Coronavirus hit us. If any business expects that within a few months, we are all going to go back to our lives in the pre-pandemic period, they are in for a rude surprise (that is if they manage to exist until then).