The ongoing health crisis made many small business owners rethink their plans and strategy. Others chose to face the current pandemic head-on. Some had to stop their operations. According to Yelp, 41% of businesses listed already closed permanently. It may seem like the end for some businesses, but there is still hope.
Your business can still sail through these uncharted waters and bounce back higher during and after the COVID-19 crisis. But the question is how? If there is one thing for sure, you will want to avoid making the following decision.
Reducing your marketing efforts
There is one rule in marketing that small business owners should never break during this crisis. That is to never stop marketing your brand. Don’t even think about reducing your marketing efforts if you don’t plan on giving up on your business.
Now is a critical time to continuously advertise your brand. With continuous marketing, you can gain quality leads and regain full operation once the pandemic is over. Doing this will put you a few steps ahead of your competition. You can even use this time to enter a new market and target a new audience.
If you are not sure how to boost your marketing, you can always hire the pros to do it. For instance, if you are a new owner of a franchise, settle for a competent franchise marketing company. This way, you can take advantage of their innovative solutions perfect for franchise owners like you.
Taking communication with stakeholders for granted
Successful business owners know that the key to business success is to always prioritize good communication among all stakeholders. But then, many small business owners would prioritize some people like their customers and forget to communicate effectively with employees, investors, or even their suppliers. This leads to poor business efficiency, increased costs, and even high customer and employee turnover.
If you want to maintain business continuity, communicate with your stakeholders frequently. Take into account their pain points, their needs, and their expectations. Don’t wait for them to encounter problems and be the first one to reach out.
Failure to leverage available aids
Those who closed their companies are torn between reopening their business or not. The same goes for several brand owners who are still in the business. A recent survey says 77% are very worried about the fallout.
The good news is, there are now many loan packages made available for businesses affected by the outbreak. These include Small Business Administration Loans, loan programs offered by some private sectors and even renegotiating terms with your lenders. If you decide to give up as early as now without considering the available reliefs, you could be missing a great opportunity in the future. Your business, employees, and customers will suffer. Your competitors who chose to do otherwise can experience great success in the future while you are left building your business from scratch.
Small business owners are currently facing a huge dilemma all thanks to the ongoing pandemic. If you want to fight this head-on, then you don’t want to make the costly mistake of stopping or even reducing your marketing efforts. Take advantage of the available aids and don’t forget to maintain constant communication with your stakeholders.
