Nature has gifted humans with the best potential for adaptation and resilience. The human race has seen all sorts of extreme challenges in history but continues to flourish astoundingly. From devastating plagues to unstoppable pandemics like the Spanish Flu, we have recovered from all.
COVID-19 is no exception too. Yes, it has drastically disrupted our lives, and the global economy has suffered huge losses. It has bankrupted numerous businesses, and many went on the verge of getting bankrupt. It has ruled out many companies and challenged many for their survival.
However, the human survival instinct has played its role yet again. The world is fighting hard to get back to normal. In most developed countries, we indeed have reached the post-pandemic phase. According to IMF, the global economy shrunk by 4.4% in 2020 when COVID was on its high rise. However, it has also predicted a growth in global GDP of 5.2% in 2021.
The world has lost around a whopping $4 trillion because of the COVID pandemic. Now, in 2021, we see that businesses are striving hard to recover from that loss and sustain their operations. You would certainly be looking forward to such sustainability for your business. If you are struggling to bolster your business post-pandemic, follow the strategies mentioned in this article to derive that sustainability.
1. Make friends with data analytics and big data
The blend of data analytics and big data mainly deals with analyzing raw data to derive data-driven insights and subsequent conclusions. The wake of the pandemic has increased online business interactions a lot. Now, data analytics and big data have become inevitable tools to ensure business sustainability in this age. Therefore, we have also seen an unprecedented hike in business executives’ inclination toward the analytics degree online to equip them with the necessary skills.
Exhausting lockdowns in the wake of the pandemic have significantly increased online traffic. It has provided new avenues for businesses to target customers online. Therefore, e-commerce and online retail have expanded at an unprecedented rate. According to BBC, global online retail revenue was a staggering $3.9 trillion in 2020. It is a massive increase as compared to earlier years.
However, interacting with the customers online requires handling the extensive data sets accumulated throughout the online customer journey. Data analytics and big data transcribe those heavy data sets into meaningful insights. Which then mainly helps the marketers to design better marketing strategies.
2. Rightsizing the talent requirement
Upsizing refers to hiring new employees to meet unique business needs. In comparison, downsizing means reducing the size of your workforce to improve profitability. Among all this, rightsizing is the most intelligent approach toward maintaining the right workforce requirements. It refers to critically analyzing the business requirements and developing the right workforce.
This pandemic has caused devastating disruptions in the business environment. The traditional operational philosophy of most businesses must adopt new tools to achieve sustainability in this new world. Therefore, you must understand the changing talent requirement complementary to external needs.
Now we see a sudden surge in Fintech, digital marketing, social media marketing, automated supply chain and logistics management, and many more modern applications. All of which influence the workforce need; thus, you either need to hire new talent or develop the existing ones. You must provide ample training to your workforce and upskill their talent. You might already have great marketers, accountants, and consultants. But you would certainly need to train them for the changing business landscape.
3. Be more personalized in your business offering
Whether you operate in the service sector or a goods industry, you need to cater to customers based on their precise needs and taste. The increase in the online traffic due to COVID lockdowns has increased customer touchpoints. Therefore, businesses have started to design an increasingly personalized customer approach. A big reason for this customization drive is more sources of data accumulation in online customer interaction. As discussed above, data analytics and big data also help create this personalized customer approach.
According to a survey, 90% of modern-day customers are readily willing to share their behavioral data to get a more personalized shopping experience. The key to success is using this data to understand your customer and devise your business strategy accordingly. Leading brands like Coca-Cola, Netflix, Fabletics, Amazon, USAA, Sephora, and Wells Fargo have already been practicing it. Therefore, they are among some businesses that have sustained themselves post-pandemic.
Personalization doesn’t necessarily refer to personalized marketing. It can either be the preferred payment transaction medium or logistics choice of your customer. In short, it is just a comprehensive customer-centric approach where your every move is a result of detailed customer research. You can deploy questionnaires, online surveys, or maybe even have some focus groups and in-depth interviews of potential customers. It will provide valuable insights into your target customer base.
Final Thought
The times are indeed tough, business situation is challenging, and only the resilient will survive. However, viable strategies can undoubtedly prove to be the cornerstone of your resistance against this adverse time. While the pandemic has wiped out so many traditional business avenues, it has also opened some new ones. The vast online audience is the most prominent of those. Moreover, the pace of the world to transform into the age of digitization has quadrupled. It has also provided new options for businesses to expand and make more profit. So, you must gauge your business in consideration of all these channels and devise the right strategy.