How businesses are pandemic proofing their operations?

The changes brought on by the coronavirus are going to affect how we do business for the rest of our lives. Businesses now have to start thinking about pandemic proofing their business models in order to avoid becoming yet another victim of this ongoing recession. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the economy has taken a massive hit, one that may take years to recover. In less than a year, millions of Canadians have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. In June of 2020, Canada’s unemployment rate reached a record high of 13.7%; that’s over 5 million people. Families and businesses have been forced to adapt to the constantly changing landscape of a pandemic economy. A sustainable business now means one with a healthy product margin that can withstand the social restrictions and behavioural shifts of consumers. But not all businesses are falling victim to the pandemic. Some are actually thriving.

How to Pandemic Proof Your Business

What does it mean to pandemic proof your business? What does it look like? For most companies, it means creating a profitable and sustainable business model, especially if their goal is to maximize revenues and minimize costs. Below are some of the ways organizations are updating their businesses to become pandemic proof.

Adapt to an Online Business Model

The key to running a successful pandemic proof business in a pandemic is picking a model that supports e-commerce and socially distanced behaviour. Some of the business sectors that are doing the best are distribution, transport/logistics, retail, and construction. One of the industries looking to bounce back in a big way going into 2021 is the retail industry. While the reduction in foot-traffic and the disruption of supply chains caused the industry to take a hit at first, more and more businesses are learning to transition into a contactless business. In fact, during June and July of 2020, Canadian retail sales actually exceeded values from 2019. Construction is one of the few industries that was almost unaffected by the pandemic. More than 18% of construction businesses said that COVID-19 either had no impact or a positive impact. A strong construction industry spells good things for contracting businesses that use the same general protocols. If folks are in and around their house more, the demand for home repair may actually increase. Delivery companies like UPS are seeing a higher and higher percentage of their deliveries become direct-to-customer shipments. This is because people are almost exclusively ordering their products online. UPS alone saw their business-to-customer deliveries rise from 50% of their orders to 70%. The reason why these businesses, in particular, are succeeding is that they offer e-commerce support and have been able to preserve their existing business model. If you are a business owner or venture capitalist, these are the kinds of businesses you are looking to buy or sell. If a business can operate without a brick and mortar location, and can preserve profit margins after health protocols are in place, then they will have the best chance of success.

Update Your Marketing Tactics

If the way you conduct business is changing, so should the way you market it. Now that everyone is inside all the time, the value of digital marketing has increased dramatically. SEO and CRO are the key marketing buzzwords that are driving every online advertising campaign. Search Engine Optimization and Conversion Rate Optimization, respectively, allow websites to increase their traffic whilst improving the quality of user interactions. If you are looking to buy or sell a business that is pandemic proof, you should evaluate the current marketing strategy being used and how it can be improved.

Know When to Sell

Pandemic proofing a business can require a top-to-bottom company overhaul. These changes can be expensive and outside of a business’s available resources. At this point, a potential business owner may be looking to buy a business that isn’t pandemic proofed if it has the potential to be run sustainably. If you are a business owner, it can be difficult to let go of your business, especially if you founded the organization. But in order to save your business, you may have to sell it. For many business owners this may be a scary and overwhelming experience. Fortunately, there are business brokers that can help with that.

Where to Find Pandemic Proofed Businesses

If you are looking to buy or sell a certified pandemic proof business, you are in luck. With A R Business Brokers, you can review an extensive list of all the pandemic proof businesses currently available. If you have any questions about buying or selling a business during the pandemic, you should contact A R Business Brokers today.