Hi
COVID has crushed many economies across the globe. In the first quarter of 2020 the GDP (gross domestic product) of the United States shrunk by 4.8% because so many businesses were forced to close. Big names like GNC, Chucky Cheese, JC Penny's and unfortunately many others have filed bankruptcy. There will be many more to come.
All business owners have choices to make now. You either hope and pray for better days or you adjust your marketing and sales efforts to continue operating now and more importantly into the future.
You MUST think about and discover how your business can innovate which will allow you to thrive, not just survive moving forward. Like it or not, believe it or not there will be a new world order. With that new world order will be a new way to buy goods and services. Just look at Instacart and Zoom.
This is not the time to be going it alone. Get professional help from your accountant, business coach and financial advisors. Mistakes will cost you ill-afforded time and money.
What to do now:
1. Pay careful attention to emphasize and over-emphasize how you are protecting the health and safety of your customers/clients/patients and your employees.
2. Innovate. Innovation is the key to success. 99% of all businesses will NOT be able to operate like they did pre-COVID. Innovation has always been and will always be the key to success.
3. I have been harping on this for months. You must cut costs responsibly. If you cut costs improperly it will come back to hurt you.
4. Engage with your customer or patient base. The easiest way and least expensive way is to use social media. Create a blog and advertise it via Facebook or LinkedIn. is a really easy way.
5. Create a customer loyalty program and incentive programs. Eg. Many restaurants that I coach offer discounts on alcohol products to take home. This allows them to move product and still make a profit.
6. This is the most important, look to the future. Once this pandemic ends, and it will, what do you see your day to day operations looking like? How can you dominate your competition? What can you do today that will have a positive effect on your business looking ten years out? Eg. A chiropractor instituted a weight loss program that will help today but in ten years will be a HUGE profit center.
The most important things are to stay calm, work with your advisors to create a plan and have a keen eye to the future.
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