Opportunities are knocking at your door. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a major downturn for most business operations, lessening the customer base and placing an economical strain on many organizations.
What is also a fact is that with a downturn comes the chance for businesses to get creative and explore different strategies that can increase development and profit.
Today, we will look at five opportunities that we can take advantage of during this time. If you have reached that brick wall and are now uncertain about how you can take advantage of this pandemic, continue reading.
1. For business owners, now is the time to question and improve everything.
Take this time to re-evaluate your business goals, and to come up with strategies to maximize profits and increase customer satisfaction.
It is important that as a business owner, you focus on who it is that your business is catering to. Take an in-depth analysis of your customer base, and research the customer experience to identify what your company needs to improve on to better assist them and improve your product/service.
Slow down
Now is not the time to rush into any decisions. We all understand how easy it can be to panic during a crisis, but chances are, we are more likely to make mistakes from feeling as though we have been backed into a corner.
In slowing down both yourself and your team will have enough time to think about how productivity can be increased while giving you more control, clarity, and efficiency across the board.
Focus on what’s important to your business
It is easier than we realize to lose focus on what’s important when we refuse to slow down. Take the time to identify and re-establish the core values, visions, and missions of your company as they are vital to the survival of any business.
It is also important that you get all the members of your team on the same page. When considering team collaboration and transparency amongst members of staff ensure there is clarity, dialogue, and inspiration.
As a leader, you must be able to inspire your team. In doing so, you can take the time to get your team on board with any plans or ideas you may have.
Clarity, as the word suggests, means giving your employees a clear narrative on your business plans or even if you have established a ten-year plan. The importance of this is to ensure that your main objective is communicated clearly.
Dialogue is a two-way street. By this we mean, allow your employees to ask questions, express concerns and give feedback.
2. Create a business that caters to the unique opportunities presented by the outbreak of COVID-19
This crisis has opened our eyes to the importance of convenience. The pandemic has completely altered our business view, as companies now have to invade the home rather than having customers come to them.
Companies now have to utilize digital platforms more to promote their brands and services as face-to-face customer service, and sales are restricted.
Businesses now have to be created to serve the challenges that are brought about by COVID-19.
Your target audience plays a huge role in what challenges your business will be centered around. Therefore, you must ensure that you have identified your target population, as this will allow you to establish a complete Customer Profile.
You must evaluate the current situation, come up with an effective business plan that includes finding a way where you can create a business that caters to a target group’s convenience.
For instance, a delivery service removes the tedious process of waiting in line to get a product while also eliminating the COVID-19 factor by preventing a customer from having to interact with so many people.
Take advantage of online learning
Online education stands as a root of business knowledge. It allows current business owners as well as persons that are just starting their business to acquire key skills to create a successful business, meet any current business goals, reduce costs and improve strategies where necessary.
With online learning, entrepreneurs can enroll in some of the best paid and free courses offered by institutions.
These institutions not only provide courses to help you understand core business processes and concepts but also provide you with insights on effective online management tools that can assist you with daily tasks, organizing weekly schedules, and distributing daily, or weekly tasks to employees.
The benefits associated with online education to small business owners are multitudinous. It provides you with the right information and tools that can help you to research and identify more profitable opportunities. It can also empower you to strategize multiple streams of income that can be used to grow your small business.
Networking is crucial for all businesses. Online learning allows companies to interact with people from anywhere in the world. These learning platforms will allow you to do just that and engage with fellow business owners – which is an extremely rare opportunity.
It can also be a gold mine utilized effectively and efficiently. As a business owner, you can learn new ideas, experiences, and even collaborate with other creatives to work alongside business projects.
All new business owners seek to acquire new skills to grow their businesses and stay relevant in the market. Online studies cater to what small businesses require to gain necessary skills at a lower cost. You are also able to take advantage of business courses for entrepreneurs while saving more.
3. Take advantage of social media
Utilize all the resources available to you, especially those that give access to key target populations.
Social media is a perfect gateway for companies to interact with their consumer base as well as to reach prospective consumers. With the current pandemic restrictions and implications, it has become a major tool in the business-to-consumer (B2C) interaction.
The pandemic has taught us not to neglect any avenues to which a consumer can be reached. As it is the perfect approach to garner customers to boost your brand’s reach. This too will allow you to create unique relationships between yourself and your customer base if done right.
But that’s not it. Not only do these social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram provide brand awareness. They also increase inbound traffic, allow for better customer satisfaction, improved brand loyalty, and are extremely cost-effective.
Research is key
Never underestimate the power of research! Now that companies are exploring more digital avenues to advertise their business, as an entrepreneur considering to start your own business you need market research that is pivotal in creating a business plan.
Taking advantage of social media is one thing, but when marketing your business online, it is important to consider social media platform-specific approaches. Never assume that “one size fits all”.
On each social media platform, there are specific communities that will include key members of your target audience. It is therefore important as a business owner you have established a strategy on how effectively each type of audience.
4. Working from home
Many people have lost their jobs due to the covid situation or simply working from home. This gives you the freedom to focus more on yourself or your business.
You are no longer tied down to a strict and rigorous schedule. Your time is much more flexible which can be spent on creating and shaping your business.
As a business owner, you are now able to save more while still reaching higher profits. Not only will you be able to maximize profits, but it allows for increased productivity, communication, and your corporate objectives are reached more effectively.
It also allows you to effectively model remote work behaviors. Although executives model excellent work behavior and cultural norms throughout various institutions/organizations, one area that is often neglected for supervisors and managers is the ability to work remotely.
Companies or organizations often give remote work to employees, but they need supervisors and managers to continue working within the office for accessibility and role-modeling purposes.
5. Freelancing
With the devastating economical impact of COVID-19, organizations are reluctant to commit to paying employees full time. This is the perfect chance for persons that have lost their jobs during the pandemic or even if you are seeking a second source of income.
If you want to establish more financial freedom in your life now is the time. Here, we have provided you with a few benefits of working as a freelancer.
As a freelancer, you not only have the advantage of working for yourself, you also have the opportunity to freely choose what projects on work and which clients you wish to work with.
Freelancing provides extensive flexibility of location. By this we mean, you have the freedom to work at any time, from anywhere in the world as long as the job is done properly and on time.
This allows you to be more flexible, independent and it allows you to earn more.
Final Comments:
Grab the opportunities that COVID-19 presents with two hands. The major issues that have been caused by COVID-19 can be seen as a blessing in disguise.
Get creative! Find different avenues to acquire income. Through these five windows of opportunity business owners and prospectives should be able to smash through their brick wall.