Planning for “THE AFTER” in your business…

Did your systems work?

Now is the time to plan for what comes next and determine just how prepared (or unprepared) you were for disruption like COVID-19. For many businesses, technology was the biggest hurdle, at least in the beginning.  Could your technology support a Work From Home platform?  Did you have the right IT systems to protect critical data in a dispersed environment?  Were all staff trained to use this technology and also feel confident in learning new platforms like video conferencing?  Remote work has been on a steady rise in many industries and one of the biggest shakeouts of this situation will undoubtedly be the dramatic growth of this trend.  Even for those industries that are built on one to one service, we’ve learned that we have to be able to manage critical functions like administration, billing, communication, and management remotely.  So, how did you do?

Great companies pivot; some companies “turtle”.   Communication is key.

During uncertain times, your clients just want to know that you’re there.  There isn’t necessarily anything that you can do right now but you can and should communicate clearly and calmly.  Companies should have “crisis management” marketing plans in place to address these unexpected situations.  Even if it’s just a message or an update on your website, you’ve set a proactive tone.  Emails with helpful, not alarming, information go a long way in staying in front of clients.  Even if clients aren’t reading your emails or social media posts right now, they know you’re there, poised to serve and support them.  If you failed to communicate with your clients during this time, crisis marketing should be at the top of your audit to review.

Take a look at what you did well and where you need to improve.  Hopefully, we won’t see a situation of this magnitude again but disruption will be the norm moving forward, not the exception.  Be prepared.