Businesses deal with challenges every day. However, the pandemic has been one major crisis that has affected companies worldwide, regardless of their sizes. In most countries, governments implemented lockdowns as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, institutions, companies, and places of worship were closed to keep people safe.

This had a significant impact on several businesses, but managers had to figure out a way forward. Therefore, some companies shut down completely while others looked for measures that could help them survive the crises.

How to keep your business thriving despite the pandemic

Time has passed by, and it has been a couple of years since the pandemic hit. Sadly, the virus is still affecting businesses today in various ways. Therefore, even though lockdowns have been lifted in many countries, many entrepreneurs might still struggle to keep their enterprises afloat.

If you’re a manager or an executive in your company, you may be looking for ways to ensure your business survives the pandemic. For this reason, this article provides some measures that could help your firm thrive despite the crisis. These are:

1. Take advantage of digitisation

Most firms that are doing well, despite the pandemic, have taken great advantage of digitisation. This is why you’ll find businesses operating online and their employees working from home. Hence, it would help if you considered this strategy.

Today, customers have changed their preferences. Most may prefer online shopping or consultations to enhance their safety and that of their loved ones. Therefore, if your company has no website, it’s high time you considered having one. To ensure maximum client engagement on your site, make sure it’s customer-friendly and easily accessible even to people living with disabilities.

It would also be good to consider remote working. Most employees may be worried about their safety, especially if your country is still on lockdown. But with remote working, your team can still operate. Therefore, consider utilising digital tools, like communication, time management, video conferencing, and storage programs. These can help you run your business and effectively manage your remote workforce.

2. Ensure maximum cybersecurity

Going digital has its merits and demerits. A huge risk faced by online-based businesses is cyberattacks. These have increased since the pandemic because most firms are using the internet and digital tools to operate. Therefore, hackers are looking for ways to alter, destroy, and steal data. In addition, they could also disable and damage hardware or company programs.

Thus, you’ve got to protect your data, as well as your customers’ and employees’ information. Other than these, you also have to ensure your hardware, programs, and networks are safe from any cyberattacks. Therefore, consider having an information technology (IT) expert on your team to ensure safety.

Alternatively, you could outsource your IT department to a reliable support firm near you. For instance, if you’re in Victoria, Australia, you can consider IT support by Securelogic or other reputable companies around you.

With the help of such experts, you can avoid huge risks that could significantly affect your business. Usually, the results of a cyberattack can be pretty catastrophic. It could cause reduced productivity if your programs or networks aren’t working, which, in turn, affects your profitability. Also, if your systems are down, customers could shift to your competitors, which affects your revenue. In addition, if your clients know that their confidential data was compromised, they could lose faith in you. As a result, this could significantly damage the brand image you may have worked so hard to build.

As seen, IT experts can be quite instrumental in ensuring your business thrives during the pandemic, despite the increase in cyberattacks. To understand how such professionals could help you, check out the below video or conduct further research on the internet for more information.

3. Be honest with your clients

It’ll also help if you’re honest with your clients. The truth is that every person has been affected by the pandemic in one way or the other. So, your customers could understand you if you’re going through a difficult time.

However, it’ll help if you’re transparent with them. Therefore, ensure you tell your clients what challenges you’re going through and what you’re doing to adjust. If there are products you’ve stopped offering or services you’ve halted, make sure you communicate why you made such decisions. Also, ensure you offer them timelines when these commodities may be available.

Doing this can be quite beneficial for your business. For one, you’ll reduce client dissatisfaction and increase their confidence in your company. Additionally, they could also stick with you, allowing you to maintain high customer loyalty during and after the pandemic.

4. Manage your current capital wisely

To survive the pandemic, you also have to wisely manage the capital you have for your business. Therefore, calculate how much you have and estimate the amount you’d need in the next few months. After that, evaluate if the money is enough to run your daily processes in the next three or six months.

Also, consider your current workforce. Is the money you have enough to sustain all your employees or do you have to let some go? If this is the case, you’ve got to choose wisely. Consider keeping those whose output is much higher because they could be more productive and could help your business survive the pandemic.

5. Be transparent with those you’re in contract with

If you’ve signed contracts with suppliers, landlords, or vendors, be transparent with them, too. If you find it difficult to pay them, make sure you communicate this. Also, give them an estimate of when their money will be available.

Most of them could understand you because they might also have been affected by the pandemic in various ways. Doing this can be beneficial for your business. You’ll prevent misunderstandings and even lawsuits with such parties.

Closing thoughts

The pandemic has affected businesses worldwide. Some entrepreneurs have to completely shut down their companies, while others have devised strategies to help them survive the present crisis. If you’re looking for such means, this article provides some measures you could take.

As advised above, take advantage of digitisation but ensure maximum cybersecurity. Also, be honest with your clients, manage the capital you currently have wisely, and, lastly, be transparent with the parties you’re in contract with.