How Business can Thrive During A Global Pandemic?

Your business is based upon relationships with your customers, vendors and employees.  Keeping in touch with these three stakeholders is particularly important to ensure your business survives the current economic downturn as a result of the global pandemic.  By creating a plan to ensure that you maintain communication with these three constituents, your business may succeed and even thrive during the global pandemic.  Whether as the leader of your organization or a manager of your business unit evaluating how you approach your three contributors to your success will help you and your business survive.

Customers

Keeping your current business and winning new business does not just mean winning customers.  It is much easier to secure existing business than it is to acquire new clients. Your current clients already know you, like you, and trust you. Right now, businesses need to prioritize reaching out to current clients before new clients.  A personal check-in goes a long way. All businesses are a relationship business. Now, more than ever, it is important for you to remember this.  Check on how your customers are doing before you check-up on how their business is doing. A heartfelt email or phone call to show customers you are thinking of them is always appreciated.  If you get the sense that they are willing to talk about business, ask them about their current priorities.  What are they struggling with during the pandemic? What new objectives are they trying to achieve?  Can your expertise solve one of those problems? Can you help them achieve their new goals and objectives?  If you can add value, support your customers and see where your assistance can help them out.

Vendors

Your budget is tightening, and your service providers might be willing to examine their current pricing structure. That does not mean you need to eliminate their services; however, getting creative with their pricing and examining ways you can create more value for less expense may be an option. If your vendors do not have the ability to reduce their fees request something that still creates the outcome that you desire, but maybe involves less of your involvement or a longer arrangement at the current pricing level. These smaller offers also pave the way for a longer relationship when the pandemic is no longer an issue and the vaccine has created herd immunity.

Employees

The Human Resource profession over the past ten months has changed dramatically.  With many employees working remotely HR professionals will continue to face significant changes in the near-term.  The need for timely information to support the immediate needs of the staff will only get greater.  HR metrics to evaluate performance, gauge communication challenges, support effective talent management practices, retain employees, along with the evaluation of employee satisfaction and engagement will become a key focus for the future.  HR leaders will need to find new ways to reach out to employees to evaluate that their needs are being met.  A plan to contact the staff to ensure that communication remains uninterrupted and that questions are getting answered will need to be implemented. 

Action Step: Choose & Implement Your Strategy

To be successful, select one of the targeted audiences above and act on it.  Reach out to a customer, vendor or employee and ask how they are managing the changes as a result of the pandemic. Listen to their concerns and if you can help solve one of those problems, put together a plan and strategy to help them.