COVID-19 has had a significant impact on many small enterprises. It's unclear how long the pandemic will persist, but when it does, you'll want to be ready for the long-awaited economic turnaround. Here are some steps you can take right now to prepare for the post-COVID era and relaunch your business.
Review Customer Lists
Customer lists are extremely valuable to many businesses. They allow for recurring business, but only if they are up to date. Check that your lists contain the business-critical information you require for each of your clients, such as the customer's name, address, phone number, and email address, and that the information is correct. Also, delete duplicate records, which could result in repeated marketing efforts on your side and hamper your capacity to successfully support your clients.
This could also be an excellent moment to check in with your customers. Inquire about their future requirements and see if you can assist them in any way.
Make Contact With Suppliers
You'll need suppliers who are ready as you commence operations. Check with your present vendors to see if they are available in the coming weeks and months. Some of them may not reopen at the same time as you. Others may be unable to provide you with the items or services you seek on schedule. Keep in touch and up to date while simultaneously preparing for supply chain disruptions. Contact new vendors if your regular suppliers are unavailable.
Employee Communication
During this tough and unpredictable time, make regular employee communications a priority. Keep staff up to date on corporate news. Notify them of your plans to reopen or ramp up operations when the time approaches, and when you expect to do so.
Determine effective methods of communicating with employees who work from home. You can maintain in touch with your team via email and phone, and videoconferencing can provide valuable face-to-face contact as well as the possibility for group discussion and Q&A. Regular contact can allow those who are compelled to stay at home but cannot work from home stay in touch and up to date on any advancements and plans to reopen.
Reopening Your Business
As you prepare to reopen your building, compile a list of services that need to be done by third parties, who may be barred from accessing the site while property is shut down. Schedule services that must be performed as soon as it is safe to do so.
Identify Opportunities for Business Protection
As you prepare to restart your business, look for new or improved controls that can assist mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in the coming weeks. For example, if you want to reopen to the public, what safeguards would you need to protect employees and customers? And, if you intend to change or extend portions of your business operations, such as a restaurant's increased demand for a delivery option, evaluate the risks connected with those expanded activities, such as established fleet safety measures to keep your personnel safer on the road.
Make a thorough inventory
Now is an excellent time to go over your company's assets and ensure that they are fully covered. This critical step will assist guarantee that your business property insurance is up to date in the event that your property is damaged as a result of a covered loss, like as fire, theft, or vandalism.
Your inventory should include all property on which your firm depends to function, such as land, buildings, equipment, furnishings, fixtures, signage, and speciality goods unique to your operation. Provide a description, estimated worth, serial number, and purchase date for each item. While you're about it, evaluate your present inventory and how changes in the supply chain may affect future inventories.
These difficult times are putting small and large enterprises all across the world to the test. You can help your business stay viable and resilient by preparing for when operations resume.
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