Most business owners and managers are returning to office this year with heavy burden of fatigue and despondency of doing business in a market that shows no sign of returning to pre-Covid-19 buoyancy.
The soaring Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has added salt to an already open wound.
It has heightened restrictions of travel and social gathering across the world, dampening the hopes of good tidings this year.
Most business owners and managers are returning to office this year with heavy burden of fatigue and despondency of doing business in a market that shows no sign of returning to pre-Covid-19 buoyancy.
The soaring Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has added salt to an already open wound. It has heightened restrictions of travel and social gathering across the world, dampening the hopes of good tidings this year.
Over the Christmas and New Year weeks, thousands of flights were cancelled globally hurting not only the hospitality industry but the whole world economy.
The bad news is that most of what is happening now is unpredictable and there is very little you can do about it. The good news is there is much you can do to your business to survive the ‘dark stormy night’ until dawn comes.
With little resilience, creativity and the right mental attitude you can try to improve your situation and keep your business thriving.
Nearly all business problems stem from low sales. With good sales revenue one can weather any storm, expand the market, hire talent and survive in a harsh environment until things return to normal.
Therefore, your top priority should be to increase sales - incentives, special offers, exploring new markets and restructuring your sales team may help.
Invest more in marketing and customer service. Marketing in this case is not just promoting and pushing what you have in stock through incentives and offers but researching to establish what your customers need and how they need it.
Take advantage of your customer base and ensure you don’t lose them unnecessarily. Since you have earned their trust, find out what else they need and figure out how you can supply them. This is easier than getting new customers.
Look for weaknesses and gaps in your competitors and try to leverage on them by targeting their customers who are dissatisfied. It is easier to win from your competitor a customer who has been neglected or is dissatisfied by proving that you are a better alternative.
Check your systems and your sales strategies and establish what can be improved. Evaluate your sales team to establish their preparedness and ability to market and sell effectively in a changing market place. If need be make changes, train them or hire new ones who are up to the task.
A small but targeted investment in sales and marketing team can produce very huge returns and propel your business to growth.
Finally, evaluate your market generally and specifically. Currently we are in the era of new technologies and new innovations are sweeping across nearly all industries causing massive disruptions. You could easily be operating in an industry or sector that is on its twilight days due to disruption.
Thus establishing whether there is sufficient and stable market for your products is a matter of life and death. If you realise your market has shifted and whatever you are selling is slowly becoming obsolete, you must make quick decision to change with times or perish.
Mr Kiunga, author of ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship: Strategies to Succeed in a Competitive Market’
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