As Companies Brace for a Second COVID Wave – Here’s How to Respond

The strain of COVID-19 on businesses, not to mention our human lives, will be felt for many months and perhaps years to come. Supply chains are still declining. The travel industry is still struggling to get off the ground. Offices and storefronts don’t know whether to stay open or close. More staff than ever before is working from home; many of those workers are trying to balance efficiency with caring for loved ones and possibly supplementing their child’s virtual school. And of course, many industries have had to shrink their operations or pivot to other means of staying sustainable, and many, many folks are out of work altogether. But, even as the attitude and timelines to getting back to normal change every day, how do you create value when demand is stagnant, margins are thin, and the future is more uncertain than ever?

• Refine Digital Tactics

If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that we’re more dependent than ever on modern technology than ever before. Even if you’re not situated to make substantial investments in new digital tools, you should continually evaluate the digital approaches and technologies you already use. Now is the perfect time to do so in training for “the next normal.” James, a marketing expert at Popshap, recommends that corporations take this time to optimize what’s working and explore new self-service solutions and ideas.

• Stability Planning

This type of planning needs a flexible framework and management system to soften evolving business impact risks. It provides an organizational structure to recognize probabilistic impacts to an organization, develop a measured tactic to protect employees and operations, and cut risk and exposure while achieving a state of business elasticity. Self-service and contactless solutions are two perfect examples of this.

• Build on Customer Service

Even if you’re not selling goods or closing deals at the same pre-covid rate, you have plenty of chances to create important interactions with your customers. For starters, you should keep open lines of communication and plainly articulate how your business is answering and adjusting to the challenges posed by the coronavirus. Let customers know what you’re doing to keep employees safe and what you’re doing in a different way now that things are, well, different. Fantastic customer service has always separated the best businesses from the rest... Especially during COVID!

• Uplift Your Employees

Numerous companies have been forced to lay off workers, limit hours, or make other tough personnel decisions in order to endure. Perhaps you have, too. You should be making every effort to safeguard the individuals who have stuck with you during the disaster know you appreciate them—and there are amply of ways to do it. One of the main ways is ensuring a safe working space. In 2020, industries have learned that value creation involves more than fulfilling a market need. It's a product of commercial actions that affect staff, customers, and all other stakeholders. The more value in those areas that you build today, the easier it will be to continue building it tomorrow.