Is your business one of the many that went into hibernation during the pandemic? Perhaps you put yourself or your employees on furlough, or maybe you continued trading with a different offer.
Although the crisis is by no means over, the business world is opening up again now. But will you still fit into your familiar place, or will you need to reinvent yourself? If you’re going to thrive, there are a number of things you can do to make sure your business is fighting fit for the post-pandemic world. These are a few of them.
Plan Your Business Strategy
Having a well-planned business strategy is always vital to the health of your business, but isn’t it pointless to develop a strategy in such uncertain times as these? In fact, it’s even more important now than ever.
A strategy shouldn’t be set in stone. Instead, it’s a commitment to yourself and your partners of intent to aim for a particular goal. However, the route you use to reach this goal is likely to depend on what you encounter, while the goal itself may change if the circumstances demand it.
The best approach is to develop an ideal strategy, with clearly defined flexibility built in if events force you to diverge from your planned course. And remember that these events won’t necessarily be obstacles or drawbacks. Your strategy should be flexible enough to respond to any unexpected opportunity that may turn up.
Get Out and Network
Business networking is always important, especially if you’re a B-to-B company, but it’s doubly so now. If you haven’t ventured out much into the business landscape since the start of the lockdown, networking is the best way to tap into what’s going on now and how that might be different from what you’re used to
Fortunately, there’s more networking available than ever, and much of it is online, so you don’t even have to stir out of your office, saving both time and money. You have a full choice between loose meet-and-mingle groups, closed groups you join and commit to, and all shades between.
Build Your Customer Base
It’s important to remember, though, that business networking isn’t primarily about getting work right away from the people in the room, whether that room is physical or virtual. It’s about building relationships, which will hopefully bear fruit in the future. It’s an effective strategy, but a long-term one, so how do you build your customer base now?
The best way is to get on the phone and talk to your prospects, but there are two problems with that. You may well feel uncomfortable cold-calling, and in any case you don’t have time for that many calls. And that’s where the Resource Centre can help you. Give us a call to find out more.