Crisis as a Business Accelerator

Crisis is a business accelerator. It often forces us to do the things that we have pushed to the bottom of our lists, or do things we have never thought about doing, such as temporarily shutting down our offices, working remotely, and reevaluating payroll. In other words, crises push us into massive change that we never signed up for. 

Crises, at any level, are disruptive, and no one knows that better than the American people right now. The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading rapidly, with new updates flying in every minute. As the situation evolves, many business owners are unsure of what steps to take to mitigate risk, protect employees and support customers. During these times of intense disruption, two things are important: 

1. Navigating the immediate risks posed by the crisis intelligently, to emerge with minimal damage.
2. Preparing for a post-crisis world that might look distinctly different from the world we live in today.

A few actionable items to consider are:

• Speak to your suppliers, investors, partners and local officials. Communicate with these contacts regularly to learn how you can begin to implement safeguards that will help you stay above the red while officials work to contain COVID-19. 
• Reach out to your vendors to confirm supply continuity. Some of your vendors could be small businesses that may be facing their own hardships–and are potentially offering deferred payment terms. As we are in this together, consider doing the same for your customers if you happen to be a business-to-business shop.
• Provide reassurance. Everyone’s life is being disrupted. Leverage your online and social media presence to spread a message of optimism, about getting through this as a community. Also, share how your place of business is mitigating risk, maintaining a clean environment, and helping the community. 
• Communicate transparently with your customers. Everyone is facing this together, so be transparent about what your business is going through. Customers can empathize with brands facing a crisis, as long as you communicate with them properly. 
• Shift your sales strategy to online. As Chinese companies’ storefronts shuttered their doors and workers stayed in place, savvy business owners shifted their sales strategy to avoid heavy losses. If you’re closing your store, find ways to keep your employees earning a paycheck by selling on social media, putting your email list to good use or using a video tool to reach new leads.
• Give employees flexibility. As the country slowly moves toward normality, you will need to be flexible with your employees. Some employees may have been forced to become teachers and others could be caring for a loved one. Be as understanding as possible and have a contingency plan in case you suddenly become short-staffed. 
• Plan for the long term. Though some economies are beginning to recover, COVID-19 will impact us for some time. As reported in SmallBizTrends, 27% of businesses expect the virus to have a moderate to high impact on their revenue–while another 30% expect a moderate to high impact on their supply chain. Crisis coaching could be beneficial in planning for the long term, as decisions may need to be made about the continuation of the business and how that will look.

Floro Business Strategies is determined to cope and grow with you through COVID-19, sourcing new opportunities and providing strong, effective business strategy planning with our crisis coaching services. Crisis coaching could give your business a sounding board, a fresh perspective, as well as innovative ideas to action change. 

If you’d like to discuss your current situation and options, please contact us directly via phone or email. We’d love to have a conversation.