The ongoing coronavirus crisis has brought the whole world to its knees, as no one is exempt from this. This has affected individuals, businesses, and economies alike.
A lot of businesses have closed indefinitely, some are implementing business continuity plans, while others are functioning by asking employees to work from home.
The extent to which businesses are affected might be different, but everyone is facing the brunt of this ongoing Covid-19 crisis. This is clearly visible from the drop in share market performance of all major industries.
In such a scenario, it is prudent for companies to asses the impact on their businesses and find ways to deal with the situation. In this post, we will help you do exactly that.
So, read on to find key business areas that are affected by the Covid-19 crisis and how you can respond.
Impact of Covid-19 on 4 Business Areas and the Possible Solutions
Here are details on how these four business areas are affected and what you can do to manage the situation.
Operations
The first and most visible impact of COVID-19 on businesses is the disruption of day-to-day operations. Due to the mandatory lockdowns and social distancing measures imposed by many countries, businesses have shut down their offices.
Other types of business have been booming during the lockdown. For example, Diamond Pest control’s Glen Stanford reports that his London pest control team has been receiving high call volumes. This is mainly because rodent numbers have increased so much in other business premises which are shut down.
Most businesses have asked their employees to work from home. However, not all types of work can be done from home. This means that for some types of businesses, work has come to a complete standstill.
Solution
One possible solution that a lot of businesses have already implemented is to execute Business Continuity Plans. This requires the top management to brainstorm ways they can keep their business functioning to whatever extent possible.
Of course, not all business activities can continue during this time, but that does not mean that they can’t use this time to do something productive.
For example, consider an apparel manufacturing company that requires people to come to work you can’t really produce clothes from home. For such a company, all manufacturing activities might be stopped for some time, resulting in huge financial losses.
However, you can utilize this time by asking your designers to create new designs that you can produce after the lockdown ends.
This is simply an example of doing what you can, given that most areas of your business are halted.
Workforce
Businesses are responsible for the health and well-being of their employees. This is especially important for businesses that are still running, thereby, exposing their employees to the risk.
Another major challenge that businesses might face is convincing employees to come to work when there’s an ongoing pandemic.
Solution
One way to solve this problem is to have a comprehensive employee welfare plan to deal maintain a productive and healthy workforce. You need to assure your employees that you will take care of them and will provide medical assistance if needed.
Another thing that you need to do is provide the necessary resources like masks, sanitizers, and gloves to those who are still working.
Supply Chain
For manufacturing companies, a big concern right now is managing the current and future disruptions to their supply chains.
This could be because the suppliers operate from an affected area or they have shut down their operations or anything else.
Even if your company is not operating currently, you need to think about supply chain issues that you might face when you resume your operations.
Solution
For those who are currently operating, you need to inform and educate all of your suppliers on best practices to follow to avoid the spread of the virus. You can’t afford to work with suppliers that are at high risk because they’re not taking the necessary measures to protect their employees.
For companies that have currently halted their operations, you need to evaluate your current supply chain and identify areas of potential risk. If you have suppliers from highly-affected areas, you might want to find alternatives and negotiate contracts before you resume operations.
Marketing
This is the one area that is comparatively less affected by the ongoing crisis. It is also the aspect where you can do a lot to improve your brand awareness and reputation.
The main impact on marketing has been in the form of budget cuts as businesses are dealing with major financial challenges and cash pressures due to business disruptions.
Some might even go as far as laying off some people as marketing is considered as an add-on business function, but not a core one.
However, this mindset is wrong and should be changed.
Solution
Marketing heads of companies need to build a case for marketing during this time. As most people are confined to their homes, they have started using social media and other online platforms more than usual.
This represents a big opportunity to invest in digital marketing, especially social media marketing.
You can use marketing tactics and strategies for digital marketing in the time of coronavirus. These include cause-based marketing, awareness campaigns, the use of social media challenges, and more.
Ready to Move Forward?
The Covid-19 pandemic has tested our resilience and strength both as individuals and businesses. It has adversely impacted businesses and the people working for them.
However, it is a temporary crisis and it will pass. What you need to focus on is managing this crisis and responding in the right manner.
Hopefully, this post will help you do that and tackle the problems that you’re facing head-on.
