A guest post by Myrah Abrar.Â
A corporate crisis is always a cause for disruption in business. They force businesses to change their operating style, business strategy, and marketing strategy.
There are various kinds of a corporate crisis, including natural, economic, and industrial, etc. Each brings its own set of challenges, but they all have one thing in common – they affect businesses negatively. Here is how:
- Lack of productivity
- Higher rates of termination
- Postponed commitments
- Lack of capital
- Cancellation of events
As per PwC’s Global Crisis Survey held in 2019, almost 7 in 10 leaders have faced one corporate crisis in a period of 5 years.
This stat indicates that it is highly likely for your business to face a corporate crisis during its life. The same report also comprises of how post-crisis a lot of companies emerged stronger than before. However, only the companies who manage the crisis appropriately emerge victoriously.
Tips for times of corporate crisis
A few proactive steps can make you prepared for an unanticipated corporate crisis. If you haven’t planned ahead of times and are facing a crisis, the following steps can help you maintain and grow your business:
1. Marketing
In general, crises affect your marketing strategies. You may have to change your message and tone depending on the type of crisis. For instance, you cannot continue your regularly scheduled ads and digital content when a devastating storm hits the country or wildfires rage across the countryside. What you can do is to shift your marketing medium as certain crises provide you with newer opportunities to market your products.
You can research similar crises and look into how your competitors have dealt with them in the past. For example, after a data breach crisis, companies can opt for marketing that encourages customers not to have to give their card details in stores. Moreover, during the coronavirus crisis, a lot of businesses started marketing digitally instead of other mediums and encouraged the customers to shop online.
This way, you can change the focus of your marketing while facing a crisis of any sort. An improved marketing strategy during times of crisis can help you maintain your business while facing other troubles.
2. Sales
It’s not a surprise that sales are the first in the line of fire when a crisis hits your business. Depending on the type of crisis you are facing, you can implement several different strategies to maintain and recover your sales. If the crisis is economical and people are holding themselves back to purchase your product, you can add value to their purchase at minimum costs.
It’s an excellent idea to make your product appealing for the people. Give them a reason for buying your product irrespective of the economic crisis.
People are likely to learn about how your product is beneficial for them. So work on your sales skills, and convince the audience about the advantages of your products. Answer the questions that people might have in their minds and highlight the benefits and value addition that they can get based on their purchase.
An apt example is that of professional cleaning services during the Coronavirus. Initially, residential and niche cleaning businesses such as carpet cleaning Kent suffered devastatingly. This is because people were reluctant to hire their services for fear of contagion.
After the initial panic, these companies altered their marketing campaigns to show clients how essential professional cleaning services were to a clean and healthy household, thus regaining their clients and increasing sales.
3. Blogging
Another aspect that you can look into while going through a crisis is via strengthening your online presence. Blogging provides an easy and accessible way to reach out to people, get better ranking on search engines, and to establish a connection with the audience.
Depending on the type of crisis you are facing, you can reach out to people and help them cope with the ongoing situation via blogs. In recent times of Coronavirus, several organisations have helped via writing articles on Coronavirus and its impacts.
4. Customer Service
The customer service you give to your customers is highly likely to determine the rate of growth and prosperity of your business. A lot of businesses tend to overlook the power of customer services. They ignore the fact that good customer service can help you expand your business in the long term.
Even during a crisis, it is important to build a relationship of trust and loyalty with your customers and attend to their queries. Try to provide your best support to the clients and be socially responsible as an organisation during tough times. Multiple brands have been actively working in times of natural disasters to help maintain a good brand image.
For instance, during the latest Coronavirus crisis, several brands have stepped up to help the world in any way they can by providing PPE and masks, etc. Your support towards the clients can help you expand and grow your business even in a tough time. Keeping in mind what the world is going through, showing empathy and customer support is a remarkable attribute.
5. Retaining Employees
While going through any type of crisis, it gets difficult for the business to retain its employees, mainly due to financial difficulties. During a crisis, your employees are concerned about their incomes, family support, and job security, which should be taken care of by the organisation they are associated with.
It is essential for an organisation to provide a safety net to its employees during a difficult time and assure them by showing support. There should be absolute transparency in your plans for your employees during a crisis. The steps you are taking to overcome the challenges during a crisis should be conveyed to your employees.
Try to show support to your employees during tough times. In the recent healthcare crisis, companies have offered special incentives in terms of health insurance, food allowances, etc. This showed support to the employees of a company.
6. Database
Paying attention to your databases and inventory management system is important. You must keep all your records up-to-date as it is important to have access to your systems and information during a crisis. You cannot risk losing your data, which is why companies should pay attention to data saving systems and security of severs.
A typical crisis that is often expected by companies is data breach and cyber crimes. A company should be ready for such threats and proactively work to thwart it. Having a secure system should be your top priority, and having backups is extremely important as well, so in case of an emergency.
Takeaway
No organisation can be fully prepared for a crisis; however, it is important to take proactive steps in order to avoid uncertainty. If you actively follow the above-mentioned steps and work wisely during a crisis, there are more chances to come out of the crisis even better than before.
About the author
Myrah Abrar is a computer science graduate with a passion for web development and digital marketing. She writes blog articles for Carpet Cleaning Kent .
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