A member of our ZOOM meeting this week: “I am so over agonizing about COVID 19. I’ve got to get on with my life and start running my business again. I can’t control everything, but I can run my business proactively and stop worrying. It is what it is. Time to move on.”
That’s easy to say but reality can be hard. Moving from widespread quarantine to some semblance of normal is a giant step and a daunting unknown. But as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “We have to start planning, restarting life… This is not a light switch that we can just flick one day, and everything goes back to normal.”
The coronavirus will have some long-term consequences and while it may be tempting to wring our hands and merely tread water, it’s critical to plan for the future. Here are some things you can do.
Start looking for leads and new customers now
Start building a new network of prospective customers. Invest time and effort into generating leads now that will ensure you have a pool of potential customers once things have calmed down.
Get creative
Brainstorm different ways you can deliver your service or product. (Think curbside delivery, online, subscription pricing, coupon deals, and other incentives.) What will increase your visibility and accessibility?
Ensure you will be relevant tomorrow
Don’t assume that once the threat to public health has passed it will be business as usual. Until now your customers may have chosen you over automated services, but this isolation has forced customers to find new ways of doing business, and some will never go back. Be flexible and adapt your services so you remain the best choice.
Layout several scenarios
Members in Raven Roundtables have been challenged to layout good – better – best scenarios and consider alternative solutions to each one. It’s better to put work into preparation now than to be caught unaware and unprepared.
No one knows how this will unfold or how long it will take. Being adaptable and flexible, staying alert, will increase your chance of success.