How are smaller businesses staying afloat during the pandemic?

At the beginning of the pandemic, we witnessed major shifts in big stock markets happening. For instance. While the US and Asian stock markets managed to recover quickly, the FTSE is still struggling with major pitfalls that are directly related to the ongoing pandemic.

Back in 2020, the FTSE’s performance rate dropped by around 14.3% and this is its worst performance since the financial crisis from 2008.

In response to negative trends across all stock markets, most central banks, including those in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States increased their interest rates.

In theory, increased interest rates should encourage recovery of the global economy, but more market volatility is expected in the months to come due to possible new lockdowns and restrictions.

2021 was an extremely hard year for all job seekers as well. In all major industries, unemployment rates have skyrocketed. After governments ordered companies to shut down their offices, many turned to video conferencing as a way of keeping in touch with their employees.

At the same time, many people lost their jobs. According to a report by International Labour Organization, the Covid-19 pandemic could potentially increase unemployment by over 25 million.

Essentially, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy in many different ways, and bigger and smaller companies were forced to get creative to stay afloat.

Strategies Companies Embraced to Survive During the Pandemic

Engaging in creative, innovative thinking is essential for companies of all kinds during these rough times. The coronavirus pandemic was even more challenging for smaller businesses and businesses that recently opened their doors.

One survey conducted by National Small Business Association suggests that over 77% of owners of smaller businesses are extremely worried about the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Almost half of the surveyed small-business owners also believe a major recession is inevitable. While governments tried their best to tackle the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their countries’ economies, many business owners decided to take the matter into their own hands.

To stay afloat, business owners shut down their offices as suggested by the World Health Organization. To stay in touch with their employees, they created new business plans that involve communicating online as much as possible.

Embracing online communication options, companies managed to keep their workforce and continue working. Essentially, they focused on promoting their services and products online via their social media platforms and their websites.

In order to keep their loyal and new clients engaged, they embraced more innovative and creative business models. Companies and businesses struggling to stay afloat understood the importance of getting creative and working on boosting their online presence.

In other words, they enriched their websites and started posting more engaging content on their social media platforms. Some companies also employed bloggers who work from home.

Many small business owners also relied on their community to stay afloat. Others embraced a new business approach that involved offering loyalty incentives to their customers, such as gift cards and special vouchers.

In order to connect to their customers on a more personal level, both smaller and bigger companies enriched their customer care services. Instead of sending automatic email responses and generic social media content, they started sending manual “Thank You” notes and handwritten letters.

Similarly, they started responding to comments on social media platforms to keep their customers by making them feel more appreciated. With most governments providing financial help to smaller businesses, many benefited from special rescue and loan programs.