There is no doubt that COVID-19 has changed our business landscape. Many companies that fail to evolve will not exist after the crisis. Instead of worrying and cowering in a shell, awaiting a slow death, examine the new business landscape and its opportunities.
You can listen to many experts on how they managed to grow during a crisis and most of you will be skeptical. Yes, there are business that have exploitative business practices during this crisis to make as much money as possible.
There are also businesses have increased costs but failed to communicate and empathise with their customers and leaves a bad impression after the sales transaction.
In the world of digital media, little experiences customers have with you will accumulate. Good or bad, a small fraction of the customers do talk about it, framing your online perception, which can form a reality on how people perceive your brand.
In times of crisis, bad emotions amplify, and you will get a lot more complains than praises. As positive news is rare, positive acts often leave behind a positive impression for a longer time. It is truly during this time of crisis where brand purpose shines.
You may think; my business is not doing well, how can I help others when I can’t help myself? Helping others and doing well are quite separate, but when you look at the model of Social Business or Social Enterprise, you can quickly realize that many businesses can do well by doing good.
Current Conditions.
Instead of looking at all the doom and gloom, you can observe that some businesses are doing well. Tech and logistics are good examples of much needed essential services. Traditional businesses going online are also experiencing problems with the same issues — tech and logistics. Restaurants and physical businesses require tech and logistics to deliver their products and services to customers.
Your business in its core is about solving a problem. A restaurant creates food for hungry customers. If you do not have logistics in place, having tech is useless as the people who need your service still cannot access it. With logistics but no online presence is also useless as no one knows about you and can order online.
Digital transformation is not easy. The Singapore government recognizes this and Enterprise Singapore has a series of grants for this purpose. There are various grants available and companies who can solve current problems can access these grants to grow.
I would like to point out that Visibility Design can help in Business Strategy Design and Strategic Brand and Marketing Development. As these services help core capabilities, up to 90% of this can be funded by Enterprise Singapore.
There are also a number of financing support available for companies who may encounter cashflow issues and require bridging loans. This is the time where business get cheaper loans. MAS has launched the MAS SGD Facility for ESG Loans in partnership with Enterprise Singapore. Local companies can take this opportunity to pivot their businesses to take advantage of the low interest backed loans.
If you want to transform your business, remember, you do not need to do it alone. There are many others that can help you in your journey, and you can easily schedule some time to talk to some of them to find the right one to help you.
This is a good time for digital transformation and looks at how you can also include inclusive and sustainable practices in your business to future proof it. The cause of many future problems will be due to unsustainable human activities and it is important to take the time now to think further and pivot to a more sustainable transformation.
The normal we know about is gone, how are you going to respond to the new normal?
Comentarios