The Other Side of COVID-19
How Businesses Can Come Out Ahead
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present many unknowns to all of us and has altered the way that we’ll work and operate within a society for the foreseeable future. The first half of 2020 has taught us how to work from home, have video chats with family and become ad hoc chefs and barbers. But with infection numbers slowing due to social distancing, businesses are reopening as states loosen restrictions, there’s reason to believe that we may have a view of the other side. While being flexible toward new ways of doing business, how will you adjust your company to stay relevant in the new normal?
Businesses are grappling with many new concerns and fears: how do you balance restrictions that are being imposed while maintaining the safety and wellbeing of employees and customers?
As policymakers continue to roll out relief measures to support small businesses, it’s helpful to look back at what happened to small businesses during the last major economic downturn, 2007 to 2009’s Great Recession. The COVID-19 recession will likely differ in severity and duration from the Great Recession, but it may nonetheless offer clues as to how small businesses experience economic contractions compared to larger businesses.
Now that mitigation standards have been installed, balancing short- and long-term recovery practices and policies are critical to ensuring the chance for successful growth for small businesses. It’s also incumbent on these businesses to accept that methods of communication has been modified: we’re operating at a distance, yet a tone of coming together is a holistic, binding tie.
As businesses slowly begin to restart operations, leadership should use this as an opportunity to find a moment of Zen to rediscover what makes their company unique, and how they can stay relevant in a post-COVID-19 environment.
Start with the root questions that every business should define and believe in, especially in today’s world:
- What is your promise?
- What makes your business different and special?
- What do you stand for?
- Finally, what is the distinct voice of your brand?
The statement provides the platform for all brand communications because it should reflect your value proposition, unique qualities; in other words, those things that make you different and special–in today’s new normal.
Ready to take the next step? Let’s have a virtual coffee chat to find your unique angle.