10 Tactics That Will Make Your Business Shutdown Proof

In the wake of the greatest health crisis of the 21st Century, no business is immune from its economic impact. Maintaining a successful brand means more than preserving company profits. Staying in business means providing for employees and meeting customer needs during an uncertain time.

 That said, businesses that make the necessary adjustments now may not only survive this crisis - they are taking steps to make their business shutdown-proof. Here are ten tactics to help you do the same.

Tactic 1 - Review your company's financials.

Scouring bank statements, profit/loss reports, and cashflow statements is not the most fun task in the world. However, the vast majority of businesses are paying too much for too little.

By combing through expense reports, you can easily spot software or professional service subscriptions that add little to no value to your brand. 

Many business operating costs have a high volume of equal quality competitors. For expenses like credit card processing, web hosting, payroll services, and wireless plans, it is entirely appropriate to collect quotes from competitors to see who offers acceptable services at a more affordable rate.

Other expenses are more complex, such as your marketing budget. Many decision-makers lean upon marketing agencies that copy/paste their services from one client to another.

Marketing professionals should customize an investment plan unique to each brand. They must demonstrate what each click, web visit, and online engagement means in terms of dollars and cents. Ad or marketing campaigns on autopilot are likely failing to generate meaningful ROI. It may be time to make a switch.

Tactic 2 - Make your products/services accessible to a quarantined audience.

Brands are thinking seriously about serving at-home audiences better. The current COVID-19 pandemic makes it impossible for business to continue as usual.

"Today, consumers don't want to wait over a month to get orders on Amazon, nor do they want to go to a brick-and-mortar store, especially with lines out the door." - ShipBob

For some, this means upgrading eCommerce and digital tools. Many industries are healthy despite the pandemic, and this is due in large part to the accessibility of products and services online.

Other brands are altering their deliverables to provide more relevant goods and services. Giving customers what they need demonstrates your company's commitment to improving their quality of life.

Taking steps to make your products and services more accessible will not only keep your customers interested, but it will also help you retain steady cashflows, regardless of quarantines or lockdowns.

Tactic 3 - Pay off debt or refinance.

If your business has suffered from the spread of COVID-19, you may not be swimming in cash. That said, between cutting costs and government assistance, your business may be in a place to address some of your debt.

Paying off low account balances further lowers your operating costs and saves you money in interest. For revolving accounts, a small or $0 balance means that you can negotiate a credit line increase with your lender should you need to utilize those funds at another time.

Many lenders are also offering business refinance options. If you are paying too much to borrow from your current lenders, you can explore other options that allow you to refinance your debt at a lower interest and/or monthly payment.

Tactic 4 - Re-invest in your owned media (website, social 
media, etc.).

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was easier to embrace a more outbound sales and marketing approach. Paid advertising and sales calls did not have to compete with widespread safety concerns.

But while people remain under quarantine, they are increasing their online activity. Search engines (like Google) manage billions of queries in a day. Businesses that have already reallocated resources to improve inbound methods are gaining traction with prospects.

Inbound strategies involve improving a brand's owned media channels. Owned media includes your company website, social media presence, email lists, phone lists, and more. 

Search-engine optimized content allows your customers to more easily find you when they need you. Quality content promoted over your social channels attracts new prospects and can address their pain points.

Businesses that create compelling blogs, eguides, and videos can increase their online presence, enjoy higher web traffic, and endear members of their audience in ways that outbound methods can't.

While there remains some cost to maintain (such as web hosting, CMS, etc.), investing in owned media is far less expensive than is paid media. And while prospects remain concerned about the current pandemic, traditional marketing is more likely to fall on deaf ears.

Tactic 5 - Engage potential customers online to learn more about them.

Increasingly more businesses are not just upgrading their owned media; they are looking for ways to engage prospects more organically.

In some cases, businesses are inviting their customers to post reviews or provide user feedback. Other times, marketing specialists are merely answering questions on public forums within their industry through a social selling strategy.

Many other marketing tactics like creating branded hashtags, social media contests, and more create valuable user-generated content that ultimately translates into more robust sales now and in the future. 

Most importantly, engaging members of your audience gives you an in-depth insight into pain points, needs, and desires. This information will help your brand improve its deliverable and brand messaging.

Tactic 6 - Try influencer marketing to promote your business

If there is one category of marketers achieving incredible success during COVID-19 quarantine, it is the social media influencer.

Influencers curate online communities around niche lifestyles and partner with brands they trust to improve the lives of those they engage online. While some influencers are celebrities, most are not. 

Social media channels like Instagram and TikTok have become vibrant environments where brands and influencers partner to increase brand awareness and sales. Consumers, in particular, view influencers as more authentic than traditional brand messaging. 

Tactic 7 - Recycle, repurpose, and reuse.

Even before the rise of a worldwide pandemic, organizations have been looking for ways to reduce waste and repurpose resources.

More than a tactic, recycling, repurposing, and reusing requires a change in mindset. There may be plenty of materials that you can reuse to save money and reduce waste.

Among the most common materials that companies are repurposing include excess inventory, defective parts, and returned items. Some brands are even offering to buy back used products from customers.

These recycled materials can be repurposed and reused in several ways, including the reduction of raw materials during manufacturing or new product development.

Tactic 8 - Train yourself and your staff in new skills.

If your workforce has more downtime, you can focus on training. Mass tragedy has a way of disrupting every industry, and the organizations that learn how to adapt and add value to customers will thrive.

Depending on your industry, you might want to challenge your work teams to improve their soft skills, such as communication and leadership. Or, you can increase their technical knowledge and hard skills to gain an advantage over the competition.

Some training can be internal by having your employed subject matter experts provide workshops and cross-training. 

Vocational certifications like those offered at IBM and IASSC (lean six sigma training) will also increase the value of your workforce. Even leading universities are offering a decent selection of free courses.

Tactic 9 - Embrace productivity software.

The main benefit of productivity software is that it helps your business do more with less. Transitioning departments onto team platforms like Trello, Slack, and Asana can reduce work backlog and improve collaboration.

In some cases, the strategic use of productivity software can decrease contractor costs or allow you to let go of unproductive employees. In addition to cost savings, adding the right software solutions to your business will make you more competitive in your industry.

Tactic 10 - Iterate product and process.

Though the current COVID-19 crisis is anything but ordinary, there will always be some new crisis that impairs "business as usual." Making your business more agile will help you keep up with market disruptions.

Investing the resources to improve and adapt your company deliverables will not just help you weather the current storm; it will empower you to anticipate customer trends.

All the great brands have one thing in common - they never stop improving. Embracing a process of ongoing improvement ensures that at all times, you're giving your market exactly what it wants and needs.

Making Your Business Shutdown-Proof: In Conclusion

Failing to accept the economic changes now underway will undoubtedly lead to unnecessary business closures. But that doesn't have to be the fate of your business. Using the tactics described above, you can weather the COVID-19 storm and beyond.