The sudden outbreak of covid-19 has halted every action and activity of businesses, mainly medium and small-scale industries. However, large businesses are trying to cope with the drastic changes by putting themselves to fight against it with their financial, human, technological, and physical resources. However, the medium and small businesses are struggling, then the productivity is declining, and their growth graph is also sloping downward. Fortunately, technology and data specialization are proving to be the friends during the pandemic.
Here is a scenario presented how all medium and small-scale industries have responded to the pandemic and how efficient utilization of the available data and technology can transform the crisis of covid-19 into opportunity.
COVID-19 Was a Bolt from the Blue for Small Businesses-
Small scale businesses have already limited resources, whether human, physical, financial, or technological. The random and sudden appearance of covid-19 put a break to the normal functioning of businesses and organizations. The service in studies has revealed that 63% of the medium and small-scale industries were not too prepared to face any contingency and uncertainty. As a result, they had to cut short their workforce and human resources.
On a positive note, data and technology have played a crucial role in keeping these small and established businesses to function from remote locations. Studies and business analytics have revealed that 57% of the workforce is entirely operating from remote localities currently, and 64% of them are expected to continue even after the pandemic. Contemporary tools such as Zoom and google meet helped small-scale businesses to remain on the main track and operate efficiently. At the same time, medium and enormous firms used platforms such as MS teams, air meet, etc., with virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR).
Leveraging Data to Weather the Crisis and Come Out Stronger-
Data management is one of the essential elements and assets of an organization and business. With a robust database and information accumulation, the companies can analyze, evaluate, compare, and develop the most suitable and efficient solutions to the underlying problems and cope with the emerging uncertainties with effectiveness.
The covid-19 crisis brought an unimaginable scenario for businesses, tiny scale, and medium enterprises. However, these businesses can now analyze their data and information to repair themselves to deal with the current and contemporary crisis with a more robust face.
Liquidity
Small and medium enterprises need to stay alive and stable even if they incur fixed costs in the mainstream market. They need to have a balanced cash flow statement to meet the current requirements and pay only to the essential and prioritized stakeholders. Previous data and gathered information from the past can help these enterprises calculate liquidity ratio and compare it with the present and accordingly take the measures to move in profitability, survival, and growth. Such actions affect businesses positively.
Market environment scanning
Businesses do not exist in isolation; they have to constantly interact with the business environment to update themselves, compete, compare, and establish. Here the past data support and accumulated information from the business environment are helping the businesses during the period of crisis to find out the sources to invest with a probability of getting a better return and figuring out the competitiveness. In addition, such data analysis can help you determine the best business strategies and tools to identify the most-trendy product, customer behaviour, market requirements, and develop new business ideas.
Internal operation analysis
Moreover, the database supports the business during the crisis by providing a better prospect for an efficient and ineffective workforce to eliminate surplus human resources. Additionally, it gives an overview of the functional techniques, yields better results, and enhances productivity even in tough times.
Adapting to Focus on Long-Term Growth, During and Post-Pandemic
The pandemic has impacted all the businesses in general, but the companies directly dealing with people are severely affected. For example, retail stores, real estates, local shops, remotely located businesses, and physically operating enterprises are no longer in contact with people, and the future probabilities are also bleak. Now the company has to use their data with the help of virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR) to harness and channelize the resources in the direction of transforming their businesses and enterprises towards online via e-commerce websites.
Targeting the customers
Businesses can use the previous data and market research to precisely understand customer behaviour to target them with the more appropriate strategies and plans. For example, what products do customers like and are attracted to?
Digitalizing the businesses
The Enterprises can use the growth prospects in the market, make the future estimations of the coming trends, understand the customer pattern and requirement based on previous data and transform their physical business into e-commerce websites. Though it is not as easy to Shift entirely to the digital world, they can utilize VR and AR to prepare themselves to give their digital presence after the pandemic.
High technological introduction
The business can develop and design user-friendly, easy-to-operate, and feasible technological devices and operations to come back stronger after the pandemic. Nowadays, the help segment uses robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to interact with the human beings and flourish their operations even in the time of crisis.
The advantages of technological transformation
Digitalization and the virtual presence of businesses need pretty good investment in the stage of commencement. Moving ahead, it becomes very economical, and cost per unit declines as the physical maintenance, housekeeping staff, and fixed cost of premises vanish forever as they get economies of scale. Moreover, the remotely located businesses get a huge platform to showcase their products and services to the targeted audience within the domestic market and globally.
What to do now?
Businesses need to develop their e-commerce websites, become active on social media platforms, and advertise and market their products and services through digital marketing and content creation. For that, use the database, information, and cookies of the people/ audience to understand their requirements better and launch the digital presence.
Come out stronger
At present, businesses are finding it tough and unstable to keep pace with the dynamic business environment, rapidly growing competition, and the adverse consequences of covid-19. However, they can prepare themselves to adopt the technology and use their database to develop plans, strategies, and action footprints to face the current crisis and become much rooted and stable to conquer the adverse and unfavourable situations and emerging contingencies.
Data is one of the most vital tools for organizations, businesses, and merchants, whether small or well known. However, companies need to buckle themselves right now and develop short-term and long-term goals, road maps, and action plans to deal with the current situation and the coming future. Businesses need to be data-driven, efficient in leadership, effective in implementation, and dynamic to adapt to the changes in the business environment to survive, grow, flourish, and gain the top position.
Final words
Although the pandemic has halted the normal functioning of the businesses, that doesn’t mean companies have failed. On the contrary, tough times make everyone even more robust and bolder to face and encounter the coming situations more tactfully and with practical planning. Similarly, the crisis of covid-19 reminded that businesses during a crisis need to be firm, whether small scale or larger ones, that how crucial data they hold and how they can channelize all their powers in resources in the right direction to boom after the situation improves.