When the Coronavirus struck in March, none of us thought we could maintain a long-term quarantine. How can I stay home for more than a week, without a concert, shopping day or dinner out?? I know I thought it would be impossible! And here we are more than 12 weeks later and now it’s time to start creating a new normal. How do we get back to work? How do we get our business back in a state of profitability? Everything has changed. Where we eat, how we digest media, what a typical day looks like. Not just in our business, but as consumers. With that, we need to readdress our business model and how we will operate business “as usual” as we develop what our "new normal" is going to be.
What does that look like for your business? There are so many questions. What expenses can we cut to make up for losses? How much of our staff can we afford to maintain? Will WFH become a new norm and will that effect my daily sales? How will required safety measures effect our everyday business and bottom line? What do I need to do and how much will it cost to get my store ready to open?
There are so many elements to consider and change when bringing back employees. Federal, state and local regulatory bodies all have various laws and declarations they are imposing on employers. Employers must develop and implement policies dealing with social distancing, personal protective equipment, temperature checks, COVID-19 testing, sanitation and the list goes on. What is legal, what is required, what is necessary, what do I do to protect my staff and customers? Then add the question of who can continue to work from home and who really needs to be in the office? Managing the shifts in your workforce can be daunting and not quick to bounce back from. If you haven’t begun planning, the time is now.
Consider a multi-pronged approach:
Build with freelancers, contingent workers, contractors – gig work is the wave of the future
Small boutique marketing agencies that can be an extension of your staff to help rebuild awareness of your business
Temp staff to help where you have holes in store staff or until you understand what you need
Historically we learned the importance of adaptive business changes from the Great Depression, with Keynesian Economics and the reality where wages and profits could both grow simultaneously and World War II when women were sourced to step in and fill the shoes of the men now off fighting the war. These changes affected the workforce forever.
Taking those lessons learned from history we need to adjust and be more adaptive in our thinking to be successful. Previously you may have relied on foot traffic to your store, now you need to consider driving consumers to your store via digital avenues. You may find that you must spend money before you can make money. You may need to build that advertising budget back up to rebuild a buzz about your business.
Understand this will take time. What does that timeline look like to you? Can we Build back better than before?
If you want to thrive (remember we survive today to thrive tomorrow) you can’t stay idle for long. You don’t want to be left behind and end up playing catch up as the economy builds back up.
COVID-19 will forever change us – the way we operate, the way consumers shop, live, and play. We can’t go back to our old playbooks. Everything needs to evolve to whatever our “new normal” looks like and can handle.
One of our suggestions is to hire a boutique marketing agency to step in and help regain traction for your business. Here is how they can help:
Flexibility - less roadblocks with a boutique agency and a willingness to try new and different programs.
Knowledge - They provide expertise and guidance needed to develop and implement effective marketing campaigns.
Personalization - A small boutique firm feels like another part of your team. They give personalized attention to your business, as if it was their own. Usually you work with the agency owners, the same ones you trusted when you signed the agreement.
Savings - Less overhead means cost savings for you.
Speed - Small boutique firms are known for their quick turnaround and lack of red tape.
This is a new world for all of us which is a reason why it is even more important now than ever before to engage with a qualified, quality agency to help you build your business back better than ever. Let Making Waves Marketing help you make waves not ripples.
댓글