By Nurul Firzanah Shamsul
Many business owners are puzzled as it is an unprecedented situation for them. They do not know what they can do when most of their customers are staying at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. If you are also thinking along the same line, then you have come to the right place.
I am sharing here on ways to explore what could be done to help you sustain your business despite the current situation.
- Start using social media to increase engagement.
Before we are hit by COVID-19, most entrepreneurs operate their business offline or physically. They promote their business through banners, templates, flyers and publishing them in newspapers or through television, and then customers will come physically into their shops. Since the pandemic hit the world, they do not have the choice but to shut down their business premises and start operating from home.
As we are living in Industry 4.0, most of us are using social media like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter to communicate with each other so why not entrepreneurs start using their own social media to promote their businesses online? There are a lot of advantages by using social media instead of saving your money to do advertising.
As a small business owner, I understand how important it is to keep the cash flow. So, I would like to recommend to all business people to start using social media. You can share tips regarding your products, tutorials, motivation video or your daily routine.
One of the reasons why we must use social media is to engage with our potential customers. By sharing tips that can give benefits to them, it will help our business to grow. So, let us begin by making videos or sharing amazing pictures of yourself to create personal branding.
- Maintain daily operation by using alternative solutions.
Coronavirus has disrupted several things like travel arrangements, staffing, communication, supply chain and many other important components of the business. You can overcome this by brainstorming and using different solutions rather than merely cancelling events, trips and business plans.
Let us try to understand this. Let us say a prospective client wants to visit your workplace or production space. However, they are hesitant to go because of the pandemic. In such a situation, you need to look for an alternative like conducting meetings through video call or Facetime. You will conjointly send them the pre-recorded footage of your premises if the real purpose of the visit is to verify your business.
- Offer home delivery.
One of the foremost elementary rules of business is to keep yourself in the shoes of the customers. And this could not be truer than during the current time when most are compelled to remain in receiving end. At this moment, all customers want to access various services and to receive merchandise delivered at their doorsteps.
Many businesses like Grub Hub and UberEATS are already leveraging this by providing home delivery services. Now, you could possibly say that each one of these are food-delivery businesses and it makes sense that they will thrive and survive during the pandemic. However, it is not true.
With time, home delivery has gained prominence in multiple sectors like meal delivery, grocery stores, liquor stores, and many more. Apart from that, we have also seen some major changes taking places in the eCommerce sector due to Amazon.
All the above sectors have been growing, but not everyone has adopted home delivery for their business. Now this time is ideal for them to adapt to the current scenario by obtaining home delivery service for their business.
- Keep learning from others.
As an entrepreneur, you should always upgrade your knowledge. You must be an outstanding person compared to others. Even though you run the business from home, it does not mean you do not have to gain knowledge. During pandemic is the best time for you to join business class. This is because you can join it visually so that you can save your money, time, and energy. There are a lot of advantages when you start joining a seminar or class because you can know more entrepreneurs so that you can build your networking. Then, you can also learn from their experiences and it is very useful for you to grow your business. Besides, you can recharge your energy to keep positivity. Use this chance, to keep asking their opinions and ask them to share their journey.
- Keep an open mind and stay positive.
The world is a scary place right now. Eventually, things will get better, most things will return to normal, and those things which permanently change are all those that you will be able to adapt to.
Entrepreneurship is always full of challenges and this is no difference. Approach it like you approach any other roadblock. The fact that you are reading this and thinking about how to make it through places you ahead of most.
For me, If you want to stay positive or be open minded, you may watch any motivational video like from Najib Assadok, Azizan Osman, Dato’ Fadzilah Kamsah or Irfan Khairi. They can be your idol and they have also ahieved success in their career and have many experiences in marketing so that, they will help you how to grow your business and shape your mindset.
Sometimes they also love to share their positivity things through their video or live session. I think it is ideal because most of time we are with our mobile phone so, I think it is easy for you to spend some time by watching or joining their live session. That was one of the things that you can do to maintain your positivity. Other than watching any videos, you can also read motivational books. Book reading is very good because it can give a lot of information and knowledge. As entrepreneurs, you must be an outstanding person and always upgrade your life quality.
- Identify, implement, and optimise new sales channels.
With social distancing being the preventative measure to contain the spread of the virus, investing or reallocating resources to different sales channels may be the opportunities you have overlooked.
Here are six ideas to help you sell more effectively in the digital world:
- Build e-commerce functionality on your site so customers can order your goods and services directly.
- Make sure you offer quick, inexpensive delivery to online shoppers’ home or business.
- Add functionality to your website so users can easily book virtual appointments.
- Offer webinars in place of face-to-face presentations.
- Implement an online chat tool so online buyers and browsers have a way to get their questions quickly answered.
- Post a comprehensive online FAQ on your site, with strong search functionality. If you are selling knowledge and expertise, take the time to build compelling online content that provides prospects with valuable information on how to solve their most pressing problems possibly caused by the crisis, and then make that content available across online channels and throughout the digital ecosystem. This is your chance to build your brand, strengthen relationships, create trust, and grow demand for your services.
- Communicate transparently with your customers.
We are all in this together, so the ideal way is to stay transparent with your consumers about what your business is going through. Customers can empathise with companies facing a crisis if communication is transparent. Communicate with customers to understand their perception of the product/solution offered by you.
Here are the five effective tips:
- Listen to your customers.
- Maintain a two-way communication channel.
- Inform customers of changes (good or bad) and win their trust.
- Keep the promises you make to them.
- Thank them for their loyalty.
- Keep your team engaged.
Your team relies on you, so keep them updated about every development. As a promoter, it is your responsibility to keep your team members engaged and stay connected with them through video conferencing tools like Zoom or Google Hangouts/Meet. It is very important to maintain high spirits within the team and understand the general mood within your remote workforce.
Besides, please keep in your mind that your workers are still human. They have loved ones, celebrations, and bad days like everyone else. As an employer, you need to recognise their strengths, weaknesses and interest to better connect with them.
Remote employees will feel more engaged and committed to the company and their role if they know you care about them not only as employees but as people.
“Remember that engagement is not simply ‘checking up’ but fostering personal connection,” Jay said.
You have got this. Keep your chin up!**