Coronavirus: What Software & Tech Companies Can Do

While there is much anxiety and uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic and what it may trigger, tech businesses (especially software) are amongst the most resilient and adaptable to change. Here, I review some practical ways that software and tech companies can survive the storm and be ready sooner for better times ahead.

1.      Don’t Wait and See

Technology, healthcare and online businesses (and supermarkets of course) are expected to buck the downward trend, according the Sydney Morning Herald today. However, that won’t be by waiting and seeing; it will be by responding positively to change.

If you just wait, the negative impact of COVID-19 and the mooted recession will be even greater. If you only take action when the government says it’s safe, you could have missed major opportunities to transform your business. More than any other, the tech sector is agile and quick to adapt. If you wait until the storm has passed to act, you'll have two lag periods, the pandemic plus the lag between action and results. That's a long time in technology units.

In difficult times like these, being fearful or hunkering down aren’t the ways of the wise according to Warren Buffet: ‘Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful’ he says.

In technology, you might only have a few months’ jump on your competitors. You don’t want them to catch up or penetrate new markets while you’re in neutral. If you keep focused on activities that matter and keep alert to new opportunities, you could hit the ground running when life and markets are back to normal.

Be selective about what you do, be decisive and be ready. Your competitors could have greater overheads, lower liquidity, less agility or less freedom to take action. You could be in a far better position to do so. This is the time to focus on your strengths, not your fears.    

2.      Take Time To Take Stock  

If you’re feeling the chill wind of a potential downturn, it’s a good time to take stock – of your staff, your systems, your clients and what your company does better than any other.     

If more staff are working remotely, you may have fewer unscheduled meetings and interruptions, so you might have more time to focus without distractions. If you don’t, take steps to secure some quiet thinking time, even if it’s only thirty minutes a day at dawn in the garden.

Think about who in your team is better placed to do more (or maybe less) right now, how your systems could be more efficient or cost-effective, which systems or overheads you could do without, what activities are delivering the most results, and how you could do things differently.

This is the time for open, possibility thinking not closed thoughts of doom. It isn’t easy, but it’s essential and it works. Neuro-Linguistic Programming has been changing minds and lives for decades.

3.      Leverage Useful Technology

Remote working isn’t just becoming popular, it’s now mandatory for survival in some industries. If you haven’t already done so, take a look at these tools and tips that make working from anywhere easier, more productive and more reliable than ever.

·      Luminary shows how to run successful workshops remotely

·      John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing shows how to ramp up your video, video conferencing, webinars and live streaming 

·      Clockify runs through tools for time-tracking, communication, video-conferencing, file- sharing and collaboration, project management, development and design. 

Your people may be working from home with children and dogs inside and mowers and kookaburras outside. They’ll be distracted, irritated and maybe nervous about how they’ll cope and be cool, calm and professional. Your technology support could really make a difference to their wellbeing and productivity - and to your success.

4.      Be Genuinely Helpful 

Some of your clients may already be affected, if they’re in travel or hospitality, for instance. They’ll be anxious and will be hunkering down for the worst. This isn’t the time to stop communicating; it will only make them feel worse.

Take the time to reach out. Tell them you’re concerned and ask if you can help. Or be pro-active and offer them special payment terms or access to novel, low- or no-cost services that could really help them. Not only might you be among those who are paid, you might be remembered and rewarded when the good times return. What goes around comes around.

If even Australian banks, those alleged perpetrators of fraud and deception on hapless and even deceased customers, can offer to help so can you. A reduced income flow is better than finding the tap has been turned off. It’s flattening the downturn, a bit like flattening the upturn in COVID-19 infections.

There may even be ways your technology could help clients, ways unique in these times of social distancing, isolation and pessimism. Could your solution be delivered in a cheaper, more effective, or novel way that could help them? (See more on this in 7 below).

Other areas may be less affected, such as healthcare, retail (well, supermarkets and e-tailers anyway) and government. These would be the verticals to focus on, but not as a predator, but in ways that could help them during times of immense change. Being overworked is stressful too. 

Whatever else you do, keep your brand in front of clients and prospects, in a helpful and genuine way, not being self-serving or trying to make a quick buck out of adversity.

5.      Focus Your Spend On Results 

In terms of gaining new clients and retaining or helping existing ones, you have many options. For instance, there are eight different marketing channels just to generate leads. If you used them all, you’d never be able to afford the initiatives you’ll need to keep your business growing now and preparing to thrive later.

Focus on those strategies that consistently deliver concrete results, such as good quality leads that turn into clients who are profitable to serve and who refer you to others just like them.

If you have in-house marketing people, focus them on these strategies; if you have external providers, focus them on these strategies too, and choose the agencies who know your sector, your markets and how your targets think. It will save you lots of money and time in execution.

6.      Upskill Your People

Many software and technology bosses say their sales guys are brilliant in person where they achieve high conversion rates. That’s great, but what if they can’t get face to face for a few weeks or months?

This is the ideal time to upskill the team to be great on the phone too. There’s a big upside for them when this period is over: they’ll be able to progress and close deals faster from anywhere. They could earn more as a result, too. Put it to them that way and they may be more likely to take you up.

Some of the skills they’ll have to perfect include using phone scripts, being focused and shutting out distractions, scheduling calling time and sticking to it, focusing on one objective per call, always setting the time for the next contact while on the phone, speaking slowly and clearly, listening (not just to answers but inaudible signals like pauses) and taking practical steps, like having a backup demo or web conference strategy, in case of an unstable internet signal. 

7.      Look For New Opportunities  

Today, the government has made sweeping changes that affect us all, like bans on travel and large gatherings and closing pubs, clubs, churches and cinemas and businesses regarded as non-essential. If the pundits are right, recession is ahead and that will affect even more of your clients and prospects.

This is the perfect time to think about how an existing or new product could meet new needs in markets you may never have served. The world has changed and your thinking and focus need to change too.

Could your product or service be delivered in new ways, to different physical locations, in novel formats or to totally different market niches? Could you split up a product or service to make it more accessible or affordable? How could you make it easier, more efficient or less costly for your prospects and clients to conduct business or stay in business? Could you offer an existing service for half price for six months to get it into more hands and really make a difference?

Get working on these ideas now and you could be well ahead of the curve when life gets back to normal. It will, even if it seems hard to envisage now.

If you take the opportunity to pause, think, plan and act during this period, you could keep your business in better shape for longer and get a higher payoff when it's all over. If you wait and wonder, it could be too late. 

Whatever you do, look after yourself too; keep safe, keep healthy and keep an open mind. It’s surprising how energizing positive thinking can be.