We live uncertain times with many businesses facing full shut down after two of the hardest months for sales since the Great Depression in the 1930s. The current pandemic didn’t only affect the healthcare system but fundamentally changed the way we do business.
Competitivity and profit are no longer the markers that determine a business’ success, as over 60% of the companies struggle to make ends meet. However, some business models thrived during the current outbreak and may continue to rise in the upcoming months as the world we knew before no longer exists.
Specialists estimate that it may take years before we can bounce back to the way our lives were before if the companies are powerful enough to adjust to the new ways we conduct business. Some others will close their gates forever, especially in the tourism and service industry, as nobody can predict when it will be safe again to open bars, terraces, restaurants, and promote big events.
In a country where over 40 million people are currently unemployed and more than 50% of the businesses struggle to survive, here are some ways you can boost your sales if you own a small company.
Adapt your services to the current situation
The phrase “Adapt or Die” seems more relevant than ever, with people struggling to find new ways to cope with the constant changes caused by the Coronavirus outbreak. If you used to rely on a B2C business model with face-to-face meetings and interactions with your customers, you need to rethink the entire process.
Doing business during these unsettling times must bring the best of you in terms of leadership and marketing, which means you have to prove to yourself and your clients that you can adapt to meet the current market requirements.
In other ways, consider selling your services and products online or directly in stores, and rely less on human interaction.
Market products and services relevant to the current situation
It’s true that most businesses are trying to get back to normal now that the emergency state was lifted by the government, but this doesn’t mean that all products and services that were sold before the pandemic will have a comeback in the next few months.
Your products must stay relevant to the current conditions without losing touch with your authenticity or business profile.
In other words, you can readjust the production lines to meet the current market needs without pulling out from what your business is known for. If you used to sell clothes and accessories, you can easily readjust the production lines to make scrubs and overalls to meet the needs in the healthcare sector.
The same goes for those who used to have cosmetic lines – readjust the production so you can make hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies, and other necessary items that the world is still short on.
This type of market strategy and fast adjustment can be seen in some of the most successful business models in the world, with companies worth billions of dollars, just like the case of fashion mogul LVMH. Louis Vuitton, similar to other luxury perfume and clothing brands, has changed its fragrance producing lines to create disinfectants and cleaning agents.
Slowly return to your business profile
Not all production lines can be redesigned and not all small companies produce goods that are in high demand right now. The good news is that no matter the season, and no matter the current economic situation, people will still need to get dressed, to eat, drink, go to work, decorate their gardens or patios with nice designs, or change their cars.
Sales might go slow for a while, depending on how expensive the products and services you’re producing or how relevant they are for the current crisis. Learn to be more receptive to the market’s needs and wait for better times.