3 Quick Tips To Stabilize Your Small Business During the Pandemic.

Posted July 31, 2020

In Customer Service, eCommerce, Fulfillment, Supply Chain

Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic has completely disrupted our way of doing business, but it has also taught us many lessons in resilience. It has taught us to be accepting of change if we want to stay in business.

Many eCommerce businesses found themselves unable to fulfill orders due to supply chain disruptions. Some eCommerce businesses had to completely shut down as they found themselves without any products to sell because of global lock downs and disruptions in international manufacturing and logistics. Procurement as a Service can help boosts product sales.

Here are 3 Quick Tips To Stabilize Your Small Business During the Pandemic.

1. Keep Customers in the Loop.

Let customers know how you have been affected and what challenges you have faced. Tell them how you are trying to overcome these challenges or how you are working on overcoming these challenges. Share details of the changes you have made in your day-to-day operations.

This will show your customers that you are resilient and have a plan and are closely following it to get through this pandemic. This will instill confidence in your customers mind and make them believe in you and you retain a loyal customer.

2. Offer New Products to Replace Unavailable Products

As a result of manufacturing disruptions, you may be unable to offer your regular products. You must research, source and provide your customers with new products. That is the only way to ensure that you are still selling and bringing in revenue. Without revenue coming in, you will not be able to operate at all. So, having some products to sell is a must and it will help keep your business afloat long enough until you can start selling your regular products again.

This is also where a sourcing and procurement partner like Elite OPS can help.

3. Go Full Online ASAP!

Whatever offline interactions you may have been doing before the pandemic like local outreach or networking must be moved online. Online meetings and product discussions with vendors can all be done online via online meeting tools like Zoom and GoToMeeting. Facebook Live sales were all the rage before the pandemic but are now deemed essential for eCommerce businesses to sell their products online.

If you also operate out of a brick and mortar location, you must switch to online ordering and curbside pickup. According to USA Today, sales for curbside pickup increased by 87% compared to last year. Big box stores are using curbside pickups to drive sales and they are working better than expected.

Bottom Line

We need to be receptive to changes and quick to adapt during these challenging times in order to keep our businesses afloat and our customers happy. Looking to new partners and outsourcing order fulfillment and procurement can help in the short as well as long run.

Click here to Read about the Steps We Are Taking to ensure Business Continuity for Our Customers and Our Team.

Elite OPS has been a leader in Shipping and Logistics for over 25 years. Contact Us to find out how we can help you Save Time and Money on Procurement as a Service, eCommerce Order Fulfillment, and Kitting and Assembly.