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How To Survive, Revive and Thrive During A Crisis
I’m a big believer that out of adversity comes resilience. Like many others my Covid-19 journey has been a rocky one, having lost loved ones and experienced the effects of the virus personally, on the positive side I am grateful to be given the chance to set up the ‘Stronger Together Community’ which has so far helped over 400 businesses through LinkedIn group participation, Webinars and special focus sessions.
Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, once said “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” In that case, at a time of crisis, it’s probably a good move as a business owner to surround yourself with business experts who have experience in different areas and positive influences.
Advice for Business Owners During a Crisis
The sense of community and positivity associated with Stronger Together has been phenomenal. I have been supported by some amazing experts and the reaction to this initiative has made it clear that, as business owners, we agree that there is a need to set ourselves apart from our competition by doing what’s best for our clients. Because many normal business conditions are suspended, we need to up our game when it comes to innovation and creativity. Handily, a crisis can play to our strengths in these areas: when we are under pressure, we can be more innovative.
The key focus for us all, as business owners experiencing an ongoing crisis, is to add value by offering a solution that solves a problem that our clients currently have.
We need to do this efficiently so that we can help our client in a way that works in their new normal; and we must do it successfully from our own new normal.
Top 10 Tips to Survive, Revive and Thrive During A Crisis
With that in mind, here are my ten top tips to not just surviving, but reviving and thriving, during a crisis:
1. Go back to your roots, be true to yourself, be authentic
There is a huge amount of fear and tail chasing still going on, despite us having completed over 70 days in lockdown. It’s important for you to know that creativity is stopped by these negative emotional states. So, go back to what you know and were good at before the crisis and know that those skills are still present.
2. Understand the market
This is a big ask at the moment, as things are continually changing. However, as business owners, we need to use the data we have available and try to understand our market, and our customers’ market, as best we can. Things are likely to be tricky for a while and gaining a good understanding of things will help us plan through this.
3. Really understand who your ideal client is and what their pain/gain is
I can’t stress this point enough. For those of you in the B2C sector, your client is the consumer; for those operating in the B2B market, it’s an organisation that you are servicing. However, there are humans within that organisation and you need to tune in to the pain are they experiencing. If they are going to be able to relate to you, this understanding is critical to creating emotional attraction and engagement. Find out more in my blog on Ideal Clients.
4. Create an ideal client avatar
An avatar is the kind of imaginary friend we all need in our lives. You should develop this persona well enough that you have them in your mind every single time you write something, connect with someone, post content and so on. This knowledge and insight will help you to cut through all the noise on social. Name them and imagine you are talking to them. Here’s a step by step guide to creating your own.
5. If you have a service, productise it – think about your product staircase
It is so much easier to talk about and market a product than a service. Package your service up and be clear about what you’re offering. Start by introducing new clients to the lower rungs of the staircase, perhaps with a free offer or lead magnet, and then move them up. It is much easier to speak to and upsell to existing clients than to find new ones.
6. Revisit your business model – adapt it
We have an ability as business owners to adapt quickly and it is at times like this that this skill comes into its own. Check over how and why you do what you do and tweak it if necessary. We need to accept that many changes we make now may need to be long term or even forever so it’s a good time to carry out this exercise.
7. Make the most of what you have
I’m talking about anything and everything from the potential goldmine that is your data, to connections, existing and past clients and your own experience. By all means take a fresh look at your business but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater: use what you can to inform future planning and decisions. Think about a CRM if you don’t have one, CapsuleCRM enables you to manage your data, keep on top of your pipeline and give great consistent service to your clients.
8. Review your processes and systems
This one is my own personal favourite: automate what you can, it’s liberating. Easy examples are things like CapsuleCRM, Xero and Mailchimp, but generally, having good processes means things can keep going if you’re overstretched.
9. Aim to increase revenue and decrease costs
You’re aiming for an overall increase in net profit. We always need to survive in business but now it’s time to revive and thrive. Do this by giving your sales approach the best start by sending proper targeted messages to those who are interested in the value you can offer. Decrease your costs by creating consistency in your business and saving time, again a good CRM will help enormously with this.
10. Be authentic, be visible, be consistent, add value
This is probably my most important tip of all. By doing this, you can survive the crisis, revive and even begin to thrive. Authenticity is a key element of trust and people buy from people they know, like and trust so make sure it is present in everything you do and say.
So there you have it – everything you need to know to get through this and thrive on the other side. If you’re on LinkedIn and would like to join the Stronger Together community for business owners who would like to collaborate, share ideas and help other like minded business owners – please join this business ecosystem by clicking here.
You might be interested in our next Webinar – I’ve brought a unique team of experts in the Stronger Together Panel for another webinar packed with advice and guidance for business owners. We will be discussing how we transition from ‘survival to revival’. It simply isn’t sustainable to continue in survival mode, to keep things on hold or to tread water in our businesses. We need to move forward. Register here. This is the second Webinar this panel has been part of, you can check out the first here.
How I can support you
My goal is to help you, as a business owner, to survive, revive and thrive by getting the most value out of your three most valuable assets:
- Your contacts/data
- Your processes and systems
- Yourself
When you make the most of your contacts/data you are in the best place possible to increase your revenue. When you have efficient, repeatable processes in your business, you reduce the cost of sales. Both of these give the business owner more head space to focus on growing their business.
The overall result is an increase in net profit.
I’m always happy to have a chat – you can contact me at julia.blake@blakeconsultants.co.uk and sign up to receive my Growth Hacks Bulletin too 🙂
I have been working with CapsuleCRM for over 9 years and helped many clients increase revenue, reduce costs, make the most of their contacts, manage their pipeline and deliver great customer service.
I do this by designing and installing Capsule to meet the client’s needs, offering a bespoke CRM to suit their business requirements. Capsule really is a great solution for coaches, consultants and business owners and when it is integrated with Mailchimp and Xero you have really solid foundations in place to grow your business.
To find out more or arrange a time to discuss how I can help you, please contact me.
I look forward to getting to know you and sharing in your business journey.