6 Ways for Small Businesses to Survive the Coronavirus Outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak (also known as Covid-19) has a serious impact on various aspects of life, including business activities. The impact may not be very significant for enterprises, but is quite threatening for small businesses. Small business owners should adopt the right strategies to avoid drastic decline in turnover as well as to maintain opportunities during the pandemic. Here are several ways every small business owner can implement to survive the Covid-19 crisis.

1. Implement an Effective Work-From-Home Policy

In order to prevent the Covid-19 spread, governments in countries with reported cases of the deadly virus have urged their citizens to practice social distancing. To make this effective, employers have been encouraged to implement the work-from-home policy.

Some business owners may worry that working remotely from home can reduce employee productivity, but there are actually ways to make this policy effective. Here is how you can help your staff stay productive when working from home:

• Use a time tracking system to calculate employee work hours
• Use a screen monitor app to monitor employee performance
• Ask employees to submit daily reports
• Use an effective communication channel such as EQUIP live chat dashboard
• Conduct weekly meetings to deliver updates and make plans

It is true that not all businesses can implement the work-from-home policy. If yours is one of them, here are a few things you can do to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the workplace:

• Provide masks and hand sanitizers for employees
• Create efficient employee shift schedules
• Reduce operational hours so employees can avoid crowded public transport
• Ask employees to maintain cleanliness
• Reduce outside activities, including meetings with clients

2. Manage Invoices from Anywhere

Managing invoices can be very time-consuming, especially if done manually. It is impossible to send and receive invoices manually in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak. The best way to manage invoices is to use an e-Invoicing system.

An e-Invoicing system allows you to create and send invoices automatically. You can easily track and find customers’ or company’s unpaid invoices. You don’t even need to search them manually, because the system notifies you before an invoice becomes past due.

3. Leverage a Web-Based ERP System

A web-based ERP system will greatly help you and everyone when working from home. This system enables all departments in your organization, from finance, procurement, and sales, to inventory and HR departments, to collaborate with each other.

Cloud ERP software allows you and everyone with an access right to share information in real time. Managers from each department can assign tasks to their team members who later can give updates on any progress they make, and you can monitor the whole from anywhere.

You can limit access to your ERP software. For example, you can set the configuration feature to be accessed only by the developer team, or financial statements to be accessible only for the company’s stakeholders. Thus, your company’s data security is well-maintained.

4. Perform Financial Transactions Online

You don’t have to go to the bank to check your account balance or print bank statements, since going to the bank can put your life at risk these days. But with a web-based accounting program, you perform these processes from anywhere.

A web-based accounting app allows you to perform bank reconciliations in just a few minutes. You can also withdraw financial data that you want in real time. There is no need to worry about how you should keep track of your business cash flow.

5. Follow Up with Your Leads & Customers

In this virtual era, communicating with leads is no longer a hassle. You don’t need to meet them in person to do a presentation or ask them to sign a contract. These activities can be done online. There are so many apps that you can use to conduct online meetings, such as Skype and Zoom.

To efficiently manage meeting schedules with customers, you need a proper system to help you with customer follow ups. A CRM system is a very helpful tool to make sure that no leads or customers will be skipped or forgotten and meetings can be hastened. Not only does a CRM system allow you to set reminders to follow up with leads and customers, but it also enables you to create and send quotations automatically.

6. Optimize Social Media Presence & Email Marketing

The Covid-19 outbreak should not be an obstacle for small businesses to increase sales. You can still create promotions by utilizing paid and unpaid digital marketing.

Make sure your social media ads on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are targeting the right audience. Create interesting content that makes other people want to share, such as tips and tricks.

Remember to optimize your email marketing content as well. Send newsletters such as blog articles to your customers regularly, to increase retention. You can also send promotional emails to your prospects or those who have come to your website or clicked on your ads. Analyze your digital marketing efforts to find out which ones work the best and which ones need improvement.