How To Drive Business Success In and Beyond Covid

I am optimistic about getting my business out of Covid, I hope you are too.

With an academic background as a Physicist, I learned about two phenomena called ''entropy and equilibrium''. Entropy basically is the rate of disorderliness while equilibrium is a state where opposing systems are in a balance. Guess what, the universe is said to always be in a continuous increase in disorderliness but it also always drives itself towards a state of equilibrium. “Everything will not always be bad nor will it always be good”.

To draw that thought into business with relation to the major events of 2020. I want to say that the Pandemic, as dreadful as it came, was the start of a new dawn and if well maximized will define a new landscape of growth for you and your business.

You may ask - How can a "pandemic" which came without a manual be advantageous or benefit you and your business? Allow me to take you on a quick journey in sharing these three vital points:

• The pandemic levelled the playing field
• It momentarily brought a refined meaning to the word "valuable"
• It opened new ways of connecting with customers

The pandemic levelled the playing field

The pandemic literally sent everyone (both small and large businesses) back to the drawing board. Everyone moves each day with some level of uncertainty and can only make decisions with as much information as available to everyone. What used to be understood as customer behaviour towards many products and services has had to press! the reset button.

It momentarily brought a refined meaning to the word "valuable"

The pandemic took us all back to the primitive mode of survival, even though everyone experienced this at different levels, we all became primarily focused on the “essentials”. 

It opened new ways of connecting with customers

The world became a global village and for most people they were able to draw back to their core roots of connection with loved ones.

?In a nutshell, what you have as an outcome from this pandemic is a more awakened mind and conscious people.

What can be done? Here are a few tips:

1. First, understand that it is a phase, and phases do pass! This will allow you and your business to see things from a gentler perspective and approach it as such. Remember a healthy mind can only produce a healthy result.

2. Fall in love with the process of rebuilding the value that your business offers. I am not asking you to throw away all that you have invested into the business, but accept the “start over” or restructuring as the case may be. Take the artistic side of the business owner and enjoy creating a masterpiece out of old material.

3. Find and make valuable offers, services/products that meet immediate customer needs. I mean is this: have another essential product as a “low hanging fruit”. These are parts of your service(s) that are needed by a large number of customers. These services could be affordable or free (the free could come with a clause if you desire). 

What this does for your business is, it keeps you relevant and gives you the leverage of earning the goodwill of your customers or clients. Also, this will draw more attention to your business/products/services. In turn, you acquire more customers faster with fewer resources for adverts, as people naturally share favorable or essential information with close/immediate contacts. Let me quickly remind you that “word of mouth” still drives more sales conversions than any other form of marketing.

4. Collaborate Explore partnership with businesses that complement yours, to lower the cost for you and deliver more value to your customers.

5. Make “data” your friend I am not asking you to draw hundreds of rows on your excel sheet, no, instead listen more to your customers. Allow your customers to speak to you about the “pain points” they experience, and the “gains” they acquire from your product(s), their goals, their limitations, etc. This is very critical because you do not want to find out, you have been walking blindly and alone after all the investments of resources in business.

As earlier stated, this pandemic came without a manual and as such navigation in business for even the best businessmen and women in the world has only been an experience and a new territory which is often scary and needs new strategies. To this effect, returning to the very essence of why your business existed in the first place which I presume is to primarily provide value for a price, then a major goal will be to find what is truly valuable in today’s world to your customers.

6. Create Contents and be Virtually Present Be as socially present as possible, invest in creating relevant and enjoyable content. The thought is that for you to be in business then it means you have a good level of expertise on the subject matter (that is the perception customers want to believe, so make the most of it, be on their screens offering value). Find a way to engage your audience with visual contents (graphics, photographs, video, audios, etc.). It’s called content marketing which rests on social media and is very vital for today’s business. 

Why is this point relevant?

Data shows that 90.4% of Millennials (born 1977 – 1995), 77.5% of Generation X (born 1965 – 1976), and 48.2% of Baby Boomers (1946 -1964) are active social media users (Emarketer, 2019). By 2020 this number increased by 9% and people are spending an average of 2 hours 24 minutes online daily - be sure to grab a piece of this relatively free attention span.

The world is a global village now, you could attract an audience and customers beyond the shores of your present location/country (which is why you are currently here with me on this article/page).

7. Be empathetic but follow the market It is no longer business as usual, ensure you and your business stays agile with constant innovation. This does not imply that you follow every trend but pick up on the critical and essential ones by understanding “who moved my cheese” a book I recommend by Spencer Johnson. Mix information gotten from the data you gather with the direction of the market you are playing in; this will always keep you relevant and ahead.

I hope that you enjoy the process or at the very least survive the process and not panic or worse fade off through it. Be reminded that it is moments like this that new industry giants are defined, built and birth. You absolutely can be one! Do not be afraid of the big brands, they are fighting just like everyone else. Understand that everyone counts in this rebirth, but note that not all income is value, so protect your peace at all costs. I hope to hear stories of your winnings, I love you and your growth process is absolutely beautiful. Greetings and love from Nigeria (the largest country in Africa and arguably the heartbeat! of the continent).

I am Enoch and I answer the "where is the money question" in businesses I am part of. Do share with me in the comments what point(s) stood out for you.