Very few people knew what the Coronavirus was in January. Some believed it was a virus the Chinese got due to eating bats and others though that it was a manmade virus created by the Americans to hurt the Chinese. What no one knew was the effect it would have on the world.
As of today, the virus has infected almost 2 million people and killed almost 127,000 people worldwide. In Africa, 52 countries have been affected, with almost 17,000 infected and 873 deaths.
Most countries are under total or partial lockdown with curfews implemented. People have been advised to work from home and quarantine themselves.
This has caused many businesses to temporarily close, and has created and increased the unemployment rate in Africa. The pandemic has affected the economic greatly which will in turn affect people’s purchasing power and determine priorities. For example, will someone buy food or a new pair of shoes?
So how can SMEs adjust themselves to survive the Covid-19?
- Online, online, online is the answer. For the last few years, we have been told ‘if your business is not online, it does not exist’. This is the best way to describe the current situation. If people cannot go out anymore, how will they reach you? How will you make revenue let alone profit?
Your online presence, will make your customers remember you and your offering while increasing your visibility with potential customers. Sharing relevant material to educate people on the pandemic while advertising your goods or services is a good way to make people feel your care.
- A way to continue being relevant for those offering talks/ trainings is to do them online. Zoom, Skype, TeamViewer and Google Hangouts offer different plans for video conferencing and webinars. You may decide to charge or look for sponsors who would also like to reach people.
- Downscaling on staff by sending them on annual leaves is another way to make sure you will have your full working force once things are back to “normal”. Unfortunately sacrifices will have to be made especially when it comes to management. Pay cuts and retrenchments may have to be made in order to keep the business alive.
- If you have loans, renegotiate contracts and debt terms.Approach your debtors to review outstanding debts agreement terms, ask your landlords for more time to pay rent, request large companies and government agencies to pay outstanding contracts or advance payment to finish the contracts.
- To be honest at this moment, people will put food, safety and security over many other luxuries, if you realize that your goods or services are some of the things people will be passing over, why not redefine your business. Companies like Bidco, Nice and lovely and Amara have now come up with hand sanitizers to meet the increasing demand. A few days ago, I bought disposable gloves- which now belongs to the now closed Nakumatt supermarket chains. This means that they have had to resell their old stock as the demand rose. Rivatex textiles are now making facemasks.
These times will be difficult, but what is important is what you did to keep your business afloat during Covid 19, and how you will be remembered by your customers once the ordeal is over.