There are tough times ahead of us, but we need to adapt and overcome whatever life will throw at us. As business owners, we will need to take measures that we might have never thought of and we will need to react quickly to the changes. Keeping our customers satisfied will be one of the most important goals, along with protecting our employees and rewarding them. More than that, we are stronger if we fight together and many companies have already understood this.
In this article, we are going to tackle and give you some ideas on how to change or adapt your business strategy in these times of crisis. Business owners should be eager to find opportunities now more than ever, not just surviving until the pandemic will be over. Here, you will be seeing how companies are helping each other make ends or even make a profit (B2B), while others will keep their clients’ best interests in mind (B2C). Not only that, but we will also guide you on how to treat and help your employees now when they need you the most.
Employees approach
Showing our gratitude to the workers in supermarkets, markets, restaurants are very important and will help boost their morals. However, we need to take it further than this and as business owners, we need to protect and reward our employees for their work and dedication.
One example would be &Pizza’s who is raising hourly pay by $1 and 14 days of “health and safety pay” for their employees. While GrubSouth has recently hired 30 new drivers and added many new restaurants which created more job opportunities. Further, John Lewis has moved staff from its closed department stores to its Waitrose supermarkets to avoid firing many of his employees.
B2B approach
We have also seen companies helping each other which was great to see and which a selfless act during this pandemic. For example, UberEats and DoorDash. These two companies have waived commissions fees for independent restaurants’ partners. Also, the Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is using unmanned vehicles to deliver food and medical supplies to those in need.
B2C approach
Thinking about their clients’ demands, companies had to adapt quickly and to invest in a great delivery system or opposite to that, in marketing and new media. A great example is Everytable, a Los Angeles-based café. They launched a helpline to ensure that everyone in its market has access to healthy meals during this time. Brisbane’s fine-dining restaurant Alchemy is now using its resources to make takeaway and delivery meals, but also for packing up a selection of groceries. In New York City, Junzi makes packaged stacks of ingredients such as vegetables, proteins, and toppings. Further, Earl’s, a popular spot in U.S and Canada now offers grocery delivery and pick up.
A “to-go” model has been approached by many restaurants and coffee-shops. One example is Starbucks. Moreover, a customer’s reward system has been put in place by Dunkin’ who will offer bonus points to those who are ordering delivery. Deliveroo has also come up with the idea of extra packaging and sealing to protect its customers when doing deliveries.
To make your stay at home more enjoyable, Tess Robens, the owner of a small bar in Sydney’s inner west came up with the idea of making cocktails for delivery. Another innovative idea is coming from The Royal Hotel in Leichhardt. The hotel is now selling grocery items, including toilet paper. While in Stanmore, Six Penny restaurant will open as a “general store”. Their selection varies from cakes, cookies, homemade sourdough to bacon, and egg rolls.
Other businesses have decided to invest in their online presence and it working for them. One example would be The Old Brick Store. They started offering daily rundowns on social media of in-stock produce, hosting virtual pizza nights on Fridays, and curating collections of products for a pickup like “virtual happy hour kits.”
As a conclusion, we hope that we sparked your interest and that you are more inspired now to get your business back on the road. We need to be volatile and to understand that no opportunity will come off if we are not willing to take some risks. This crisis is not the best thing that happened to us, but we have to confront it and to make the best out of it.
