Business owners try to stay on top of the latest industry trends. This enables them to gain more industry knowledge, enjoy a competitive advantage, and find better ways to cater to consumers. With this newfound knowledge, you can check which strategies you can use depending on our business needs. But thanks to the current crisis, managing and expanding SMEs become a lot more difficult. The pandemic brought unique challenges that left SME owners struggling to maintain a thriving business.
You are still considered lucky if you managed to keep the business afloat despite the pandemic. According to news, the pandemic caused 97,966 permanent business closures. To help you thrive and actually boost business success despite the Covid-19 crisis, here are a few ways you can address the following business challenges.
Hiring the Right Talent Online
The pandemic caused many people to lose their lives while most businesses had to shut their operations and start working remotely. There may be a great number of talented individuals currently looking for jobs these days. But if you have never hired someone online before, you will find that hiring the right talent can be tricky.
There is no easy way to hire the right remote worker. Resumes can easily be manipulated while others will do anything just to get a good-paying job that allows them to work remotely. Some people are not comfortable with video interviews that can affect their applications even if they are remarkably talented.
Without the right talent, your business can suffer. Hiring the wrong people can cost you time, money, and effort. This is why you should be with crafting your online recruitment process.
For one, you can use recruiting tools and services to aid in your recruitment process. You can find one that allows you to make interview scheduling a breeze, can verify and check the background of your candidates and even use a personality exam for job applicants. This enables you to check the skills, authenticity, and personality of your candidates and see if they match your requirements.
Businesses these days make use of different tools and services to make online recruitment a better experience. Now, you don’t need to play the guessing game and simply hope you get to make the right pick. You can reduce your hiring costs and find employees that can seamlessly fit well in your company culture.
Marketing to the Right Consumers Online
Before, brick and mortar businesses can easily reach out to local consumers with the help of an effective offline marketing strategy. But since the pandemic, many people chose to stay indoors, only go out to run important errands, and be more active online. This lessened the effectiveness of offline marketing and made online marketing a must-have for every business.
Most SME owners already have their businesses listed on online business directories and, have their own website and social media pages. But not all are putting extra effort to attract online consumers. Now, it only makes sense to start boosting your brand’s online presence to gain more customers.
Research, data analytics, and the right strategies are needed to attract the right consumers, entice them to visit your website, gain their trust, and increase your revenue. Without a solid online marketing strategy, your target audiences won’t even know about your business. You will have a hard time impressing potential customers and enticing old clients to make repeat purchases.
Thankfully, you can always outsource online marketing services. This allows you to focus on your growing your brand while they take care of your online marketing. Many SEO companies provide numerous services that you can to help improve your online reputation, impress potential and old clients, and boost your online conversion rate.
You can even integrate your online and offline marketing strategies. If you already resume the operations of your brick and mortar brand, you can get local customers online and persuade them to visit your physical location. This increases foot traffic and boosts your chances of selling more products and services.
Funding the Costs of Health and Safety Regulations
SME businesses face an additional cost brought about by the pandemic. Since health and safety are the new priority, all business owners need to make sure health and safety measures are implemented. This is to remain compliant and give consumers peace of mind that the business cares for the well-being of their customers.
Now, businesses must provide their employees with the right protective gear and even invest in staff testing to ensure no active employee has the virus. Physical locations need to have improved sanitation regimens and the necessary equipment to protect and prevent the spread of the virus. Many businesses even have to reconfigure their operations to ensure proper social distancing in and out of their locations.
These costs can easily pile up and add to your operational expenses. Some businesses chose to increase their service charge to cover for the additional protective gear and disinfectant. Others opted to apply for a business loan while those who are qualified can apply for a COVID-19 business grant.
The pandemic indeed brought many difficulties to SME owners, including hiring the right remote employees, financing additional costs, and targeting the right consumer groups online. Luckily, there are ways to address all these. With a bit of creativity, resourcefulness, and willingness to adapt to technology, your business can thrive during the pandemic.
