The world may seem topsy turvy and the future may seem uncertain, but it is in these times of the unknown that it is important for everyone to work on creating certainty around them.
While the world always has a way of righting itself, the challenge then becomes how you can stay ahead and how you can get your family through the roadblocks that may be affecting your business.
There are a variety of strategies that we can employ to ensure that we are able to provide in a time where things are quickly changing.
As business owners, we take on an immense amount of risk, and while it may seem that it is getting riskier by the minute, it is important to keep a variety of strategies in mind to help create certainty in these uncertain times.
This article was inspired by Office Hours Episode #33. If you wish to listen to the video, you can view it here.
Stay on Mission:
Small businesses make up a huge percentage of the workforce and many consumers rely on these businesses when it comes to their day to day. In fact, small businesses help to drive the economy and the public perception of current events.
Therefore, while things may be changing, it is always important to remember that you still need to keep doing your part and that you should always stay on mission.
Whether your mission is to help other small businesses or work towards a charitable cause, it is important to make sure that these missions remain the number one priority during these times.
Even if your company is starting to work remotely, or if you are changing your product line, focusing on your mission will be a force of stability for the customers that you have.
When you lose focus, it becomes easy for your customers to also lose focus and flee.
Be an Anchor:
During these times, your tribe will be looking for someone to give them guidance. Small businesses can quickly become the anchor of their community and can provide a safe haven for those who are seeking comfort.
By offering your tribe the assurance that you will still be there during these hard times, it will help them keep the faith in your product.
Send out an e-mail or hold an office-hour call that doesn’t ignore the problems at hand, but instead, explains the problems and how your business is working through them to make sure that you are at your customer’s side the entire way through.
Once you drop the ball, you are then going to lose the attention and the pull that you have from your audience.
Love Thy Neighbour:
It is important to remember that your business’ mission can often blend in with your personal mission to help the people around you through a crisis.
Your leadership does not just extend to your customers, but also to your friends and family.
If you live in a smaller community make sure to:
- Phone your neighbours and make sure that they are okay.
- Offer to help move boxes.
- Ofter to help grab groceries if they can’t do so themselves.
- Bring over a cup of flour or an extra roll of paper towels if they need it.
Own Your Platform:
In order to help future proof your business for long term growth and longevity, it is always important to own your platform.
By being dependent and self-hosting, you eliminate the risk of halting your growth due to outside sources.
For example, Amazon has banned a large category of sellers from selling on their platforms. These businesses are now no longer able to grow as they are dependent on a third-party service.
With products like Groundhogg, you are able to ensure that you own your platform and eliminate the risk of being held back by third-party services.
For more information on the benefits of self-hosting, you can read our article: What’s the difference Between Self Hosting & SaaS for your CRM?
Productization:
In times of crisis, solutions soar and service-based businesses tend to suffer.
Productization can be an effective way to make the selling process as easy as possible for your customers during these times.
In order to combat the challenge of selling during times of crisis, you need to make the sales process as friction-less as possible.
Instead of doing the typical sale agency process:
The customer comes to you → you look at the problem → give the customer a quote
You can instead offer the customer a variety of options.
If you give the customer three different price points to choose from, each offering a different value of service, they are more likely to say yes to one of the three options, opposed to just the one quote.
Hard Skills:
When we get into these ups and downs in the economy, it helps to emphasize the value of having a variety of hard skills.
While jobs in the small business and digital marketing agencies require tons of skills, in times of uncertainty, it’s nice to feel like you have something in your back pocket.
Hard skills don’t require the internet and can often help to subconsciously provide a level of assurance.
Som hard skills include:
- Carpentry
- Plumbing
- Gardening
- Electic Work
- Home Renovations
Provide Needed Services:
When a crisis hits we see certain niches that start to suffer. In today’s pandemic restaurants are being forced to shut down to foot traffic, which can cause a massive pain point in their business.
At this time, it is helpful to provide services that are needed. In this case, these companies can be hooked up to Uber Eats or can create an online platform.
However, in other cases, businesses can ask themselves “What are people looking for?”
Many people who are stuck at home are turning to:
- How-to courses
- Self-education
- Hard skill training etc.
How can your business help answer these demands?
Be the Church:
Since the early days, people who are looking for certainty want to find tribes that make them feel comfortable. This is often why churches can grow so well in times of crisis.
However, it doesn’t just have to be churches that offer this stability. You can also form your own tribe in your community.
During these times offer a place for your tribe to congregate and provide during these times of uncertainty.
Providing them with regularity can help ease the worry within your tribe.
You can offer a verity of services to your group, such as:
- A Facebook group
- Office hours
- Regular blog content
- Online forums
- Live videos
Given our global situation, following the above guidelines might just make your life a bit easier.
To get started with Groundhogg today, make sure to check out our Official Quickstart Course.
If you have an ideas on how to find certainty in uncertain times, comment below. We would love to hear from you!
