Wuhan was the apocalyptic scene of a contagious virus that “emerged” to spread rapidly around the world. It polluted entire populations, traveled long distances, and eventually caught up with a shaky global economy, crashing the world’s stock markets, playing at the exchange rate, and destroying the customary cycle of buying and selling of items for most industries.
We have been bombarded with prevention measures and basic care so as not to become infected, but it seems that no one is contemplating this same care for business entities and avoiding the contagion of a global recession.
Dear reader, if you have a pharmaceutical company or sell disinfection items, this article is not for you. If, on the contrary, you have seen your sales decrease considerably since this phenomenon began, I invite you to continue reading to delve into different points that will help you stabilize your sales and keep your economy as stable as possible:
1. Control fear
Before lowering the curtain of your company, fear for your life and believe everything that comes to you in chains on WhatsApp, calm your mind and, with a cool head, focus on the next point.
2. Assess the situation and decide
Start with the assets you have, observe the liquidity of your company, what resources it can optimally exploit and most importantly, go to your computer and start consulting the data and analytics that will provide you with real information about what your target is looking for. After this make decisions on which brand or product to focus your efforts.
3. Digital Transformation
If you don’t have an internet sales site or a web page, start today, don’t waste a second. Due to the forced stay at home by almost the entire workforce, online orders and purchases have exploded. Think about this: you have a new behavior in the market and customers eager for innovation, do not miss the opportunity.
See this measure as a medium and long-term effort, that is, it is not just a momentary solution but an alternative channel that is here to stay and be developed.
4. Segment and loyalty
With the aforementioned analytics data, segment digitally, open channels of communication with your customer, improve their experience and above all, build loyalty.
Currently 95% of companies whose technological approach (platforms and tools) is directly related to the customer, have not been affected in their sales by this crisis, since they give their customers exactly what they are looking for. The problem is that only 2% of the industries (1) are in that stage of maturity.
5. Invest
Do a previous analysis of your liquidity to know how much money you have. Many companies make the mistake of cutting expenses in areas such as human talent, operations and worse, in digital strategy efforts when it should be the opposite, since this is the key to get ahead.
Use your money wisely to develop an e-commerce (if you don’t have one), improve your payment options, give yourself the time to finally fix the issue of home delivery, optimize your platforms, get licenses that allow you to improve your metrics and generate insights, seek expert advice if you require it. Think about developing your SEO positioning, train yourself and get certified in the tools that Google has (most of them are free). Accumulating knowledge and applying it will allow you to make the digital transformation of your company more agile, lasting and profitable.
The most important thing for you to continue selling and not be affected or affected by the world situation, is adaptability. Consumption habits changed, as well as the channels and the type of product or service offered. The prevailing question is how long will this measure last? Is it an endurance race? The answer I can offer you is that, if you learn to digitize your company, the question becomes irrelevant.
(1) According to what Google quotes in the article “offer valuable moments”.
