Getting back to business in the past few weeks in the UK, there have been plenty of reports of businesses attempting to turn the crisis around by making changes to the products they are offering or their way of working. Revenue streams right down the supply chain have shrunk or disappeared completely for a lot if not most businesses.
So what does it take to survive the current crisis facing a lot of business owners?
A predisposition to adapting quickly to a changing market and not sitting on your laurels waiting for it to be “ok”. But, having said that the continuing uncertainty about how long the current crisis might last, makes long-term business planning more difficult.
Diversification could be a quick-fix solution, but will it work in the long run?
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER….
DOES IT MAKE FINANCIAL SENSE?
For some business owners, this disruption could be the catalyst needed to rethink their whole business plan. But before deciding to bin the current business model, things should be weighed up carefully. So consider the cost of doing nothing, versus the cost of doing something different.
KNOW YOUR CORE STRENGTHS
Want to diversify your business quickly? Then play to your strengths. For example, if your business provides dance, fitness or music classes, could technology like live video classes enable you to continue despite not being able to bring people together under one roof?
ASSESS YOUR ASSETS
Do you have business assets that could be deployed in different ways? For example, a vehicle rental company could consider using its fleet to make home deliveries. The key to consider is whether there is a market for the new service offering.
DO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE RIGHT EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES?
Before deciding to make changes to your business or reaching out for a bank loan, it makes sense to understand whether you have the expertise and resources to make it a success. If you need to bring in additional skills or expertise to support you, how will you do this and can it be achieved cost effectively?
LOOK FOR STEPPINGSTONES
When considering a diversification strategy, business could aim for a less risky strategy. Sometimes it’s possible to open the door to a new market by making a relatively small sideways step. If you run a steel fabrication company for example, you could make a sideways step into making commercial hand sanitiser stations for businesses, whilst a restaurant could reach out horizontally by offering home-delivered dining at home options.
There will of course be some long-term effects for many businesses from shutting up shop for a period of time. And this won’t magically disappear as we head into the next stage of getting back to business. But being prepared to make changes and diversify is a good way to help stay positive and also see where new opportunities may arise.
Try to think of it as a new beginning, an opportunity to reset what may not have been working so well before Lockdown? And if you need help with getting any new ideas or changes to your business out there, don’t forget Visualise Creative have been working all the way through Lockdown helping our current clients diversify and making COVID19 changes to their websites, if you want help from our hardworking team get in touch.
