Small businesses have taken some of the worst blows during this Covid19 pandemic. Because the pandemic unexpectedly took the world by storm, a lot of small businesses were not prepared to deal with the repercussions. Adaptability has been the sole reason that many small businesses were able to survive this daunting time. But survival can no longer be the standard for these businesses. The pandemic has changed the way we do business in the long run. Therefore, moving forward there are 3 things that every small business owner must consider if they want to continue to grow and sustain a profitable business: Customer Consuming Power, Product/Service Availability, and How Their Business is Organized.
CUSTOMER CONSUMING POWER
There’s no doubt about it, the global pandemic has drastically changed consumer habits. People were forced to reflect on what exactly are their bare essential needs and a ton of mindless spending is likely to be a thing of the past for the common American household. Thus it’s important that you evaluate where your product/service stands in the minds of the consumers and determine how you can present your business as a necessity in their lives. It’s also important to consider that the average American household took a huge hit financially and will take time to recover. If you know that your product/service is something that consumers need, be considerate of your pricing. Because whether it is a necessity or not, if you try to price gouge at this time, you’ll lose business. However, do not get me wrong, I am not saying to undervalue your product/service and price it so low that you can barely make a profit. Find the right balance and stick with it.
PRODUCT/SERVICE AVAILABILITY
For quite some time now, the world of business has been increasingly digitized. Now more than ever, we are seeing the importance of establishing an online presence. Beyond having an online presence, businesses have had to adapt and figure out how to make their products/services accessible outside of a brick and mortar location. This is something that every business needs to address moving forward. Are you online? Can you over curbside pick up? Can you offer contactless delivery? And so on and so forth. Pre-covid this may have been a matter of convenience, but post covid, this has become a necessary part of the way we do business.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
As we all realize that business is war, the cornerstone of small business has undeniably changed forever.. Small businesses already operate with fewer resources than larger corporations, thus adapting isn’t always as easy. But one thing that you can take away from this pandemic situation is that from the very beginning, you need to be thinking ahead. How can you lower the cost of your business? How can you cut out unnecessary spending? Do you have unnecessary employees that don’t add value to your business? Do you need an office/retail space or is this something that can be a work from home opportunity? How can you figure out what works for you faster? Are there products/services that you can get rid of because they are low selling items, but are adding to your cost? Business owners should be asking themselves these kinds of questions from the very beginning. Business owners are now seeking to figure out how to efficiently run their business at the lowest costs, verse the spare no expense mentality.
The fact of the matter is business is forever changing and as business owners, it is not only important to learn how to adapt, but you also have to know how to apply what you have learned moving forward. Thus, Covid19 has changed the way people will do business and there’s no turning back any time soon. Of course, things won’t stay this way forever simply because business is forever evolving, but you can be sure that business will never go back to the pre-covid days. This is where we are now, so small business owners must get used to it and always remember to consider these 3 things moving forward in their business.