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With COVID disrupting many industries and pushing many to adjust to the changing economic climate, entrepreneurship may be on the minds of many who would not have considered it previously, or this may have been the catalyst for them to take the plunge and start a firm. It’s a tremendous feeling and satisfaction to start a business and see it through to success. Having a plan to measure your progress can be quite beneficial in achieving your objectives. The greatest plans are straightforward and have attainable short- and long-term objectives.
Did Covid-19 caught you by surprise?
Many businesses would have planned for usual bumps in the road before COVID, but not for something as significant as COVID and the adjustments that have ensued. If you’re starting a business now with Post-COVID in mind, it’s a good idea to plan for potential changes in revenue streams and access, such as the ability to buy online or service faraway consumers.
Not all business ideas or industries will adapt to complete accessibility via online purchase and service without touch as quickly as others, but these issues should be at the center of your strategy.
For instance, if you’re opening a barbershop or salon, and the nature of your business is the in-person clientele;
How will you limit density in your location while also reaching out to those clients who are unable to come in due to health or mobility issues, while remaining profitable and conveying value for potentially higher prices?
What method do you want to use to contact them?
Would you consider having your whole in-person client base contribute to your remote client base to cover the costs?
Or would your strategy call for a day dedicated solely to remote consumers, during which you make your rounds by providing mobile transportation to those customers?
Get support for your local business
Support for your local small business community can be naturally fostered if done sincerely. How will you account for accessing and reaching out to faraway consumers if you’re beginning a consultancy business? There may be a higher proportion of clients that wish to continue with remote purchase or servicing after COVID. It would be great to account for the technologies that will assist you in serving these clients. You must offer this option to reach out to future consumers who might be interested in remote services, as well as lost clients who you wouldn’t have had access if you had regular foot traffic when you opened.
Apply technology early
Scheduling, online purchasing, and technology applied early on may become critical growth factors for companies just starting, allowing them to navigate the Post-Covid waters. Customers still require in-person services, and servicing them can be an excellent way to expand your customer base – but bear in mind that some customers will choose remote or modified maintenance choices. However, you may be overlooking a sizable customer base that is prepared to pay for your service or product if they know you have a plan in place to efficiently service and support their requirements. If you can plan and execute from a distance as you grow, keeping the option to buy and be serviced online can benefit your company in the long term.
Build A Plan With An 18-Month Goal And A Three-Year Benchmark
Raise the awareness of your brand and product or service offered over the first 18 months. Try to be real in your endeavors. Respect customers’ emails by not sending too many emails for each product or service you offer – once or twice a month on a regular schedule with useful information about your offerings and updates, inform potential customers about how you service remote clients, those with health issues, and your payment process.
To set a trend for actionable items, many companies must change and employ technology and what is working or will work in the future. There is no set-in-stone procedure; instead, use the one that works best for your company, clients, and the ethical manner in which you should conduct business. Prepare to get as many distant or online customers as you would in-person consumers. With so much information available, buyers are savvy and well-informed.
Online customer acquisition should be genuine and demonstrate what sets you apart. Be open and honest in your marketing: Most businesses do not develop tremendously overnight, so expect your efforts to take some time to get traction. When getting your brand or company an online presence, make sure you’re focused by being driven and determined. You can connect almost as well online as you do in person, and you can use the right tools to measure and monitor your interactions. You should also have a genuine passion for helping your consumers.
You can provide information about your sector on open topics and forums online, and you can volunteer your time to help someone who could use it for no charge, as being a business owner should also entail helping individuals in your community with your time and resources. Many businesses are responding to the adjustments to satisfy Post-COVID rules, which you might emulate.
If you’re planning to establish an online business with a simpler setup, such as an e-commerce site, be honest about supply chain shipping timelines. Set expectations for lead times – it’s fine if you lose customers to competitors’ faster shipping times because you’ll be acquiring customers who will be able to support your brand for reasons other than expedited shipping delivery times when you do obtain them.
If done correctly, switching to an online option for products and services can help save your maintenance costs. If you need more information about your strategy or predicted financials, go to a CPA or legal team. Develop a business while dealing with COVID and attempting to transition to a post-COVID economy. Developing an internet consumer base can help you increase your revenue and provide additional finances to make your in-person client experience more memorable. Show concern for your customers, whether online or in person, because the experience can have positive or negative consequences. People are still looking for items and services online before going to actual venues, particularly to see how they handle COVID and service their customers.
For instance, if you have a client with a high-risk family who wants to visit your location, they may search online for how you handle the traffic at your business place and then check for how or what options are available to accommodate them. Making options available and demonstrating care for diverse situations could attract a new customer base willing to show loyalty, based on their positive perception of your methods.
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Your first eighteen months
Concentrate your efforts in the first 18 months to build relationships and attract clients, so you can avoid the failure that many firms face in their first year. Consider your financing and budget, as well as your access to capital, to complement your customer acquisition strategy. It’s a good idea to account for potential challenges in your plan, such as losing half of your revenue or having your in-person clients go away for six to nine months – how you’d stay afloat and expand and eventually recover to pre-catastrophe revenue levels.
Once your business is three years, half of your business should be sustainable online or remote if practicable. Your customers shouldn’t feel that they are being attended to only by technology. Being remote may have made it more difficult to have the human element of in-person interaction, but there is technology to stay in touch that will go a long way toward customer satisfaction – via personal phone calls to check in on customers or personal emails rather than system-generated emails. As your business continues to develop, you may foster a grass-roots approach to customer services.
Take away
Whether acquiring customers online or in person, the shifts in business models are already underway. It would be prudent to investigate those competitors who were in business before the COVID-19 pandemic and who maintained revenue despite the shutdowns and are still open and growing despite the 2020 setbacks. Prepare as much as you can for potential hazards, such as deciding how you will offer your services or products only online to sustain a customer base when you first start. If you are genuine and persistent, your odds of success may outweigh those of your competitors.
