The Covid-19 health crisis has not only surprised every entrepreneur, impacting their business and revenue – but also their outlook for the future. The fact is, a lot of entrepreneurs did not see this pandemic happening, therefore hitting businesses-alike financially and its members mentally.
In business it’s normal to face setbacks in the journey, remember, this pandemic has affected people from physically going outside, which is unheard of till recently. So if your business is relying solely on your customers being in contact with your shop to purchase, it might be time to learn from this experience and make a change.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, this is actually a great time for entrepreneurs to use this as an opportunity to be better and grow their business. Here are lessons you can take to prepare for the next chapter of your entrepreneurial journey post-covid:
Re-evaluate your products/services’ focus back to customer centrality
As great as it was to sell your customers on product features and why it’s better than the competition, the customers of today are much smarter. We are in an age of selling where customers are tired of being sold to, as entrepreneurs we have to learn to communicate our product on how it benefits the customer and build trust during the process.
This is also a chance for you to re-evaluate if your marketing efforts are getting that message across to them, and not just focused on selling like most businesses are doing. Remember that we are in the business of communicating with people, not the business of products.
Future-proof your business and innovate in times of change
The best way to future-proof any business is to truly understand your customer, their behavior, and your business sector for e.g. a lot of people now shop online for new clothing, rather than physically be at the shop. How can your business survive in a digital age? Can it even compete?
Part of what made Apple successful as a company, including the success of their product launches, is their ability to continually innovate and adapt their business to what customers will look forward to in the future. Apple’s business decisions are always made one step ahead of the competition. What’s your next move?
There will always be a new challenge, learn to prepare for it (Murphy’s Law)
On average, most new businesses close down after just 5 years – the main reason for this is its foundations not being prepared for the continuous challenges the business will face. I can only imagine that percentage increasing during the covid-19 pandemic.
The best way to deal with challenges is to prepare for it and to always keep Murphy’s law top of mind. What is Murphy’s law? “It’s the concept that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong”. So start brainstorming current and possible future challenges your business might face, and start preparing on how your business will bounce back from it.
Conclusion
Times of crisis are really an opportunity, an opportunity to do better – not just for your business, but more importantly, your customers. I hope this will help you and your entrepreneurial journey thrive post-covid and beyond. (CTA)