Various UK entrepreneurs have spoken out about the subject of business growth amid COVID-19. Here’s what they have to say.
Due to the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, business growth is something that not very many companies have benefited from this year. From mass redundancies to the loss of significant clients, businesses up and down the nation have suffered, with a high proportion still in a fragile state of recovery.
To shed some light on this matter, the team at Alexander & Co have reached out to entrepreneurs who have provided their top tips on how to grow and maintain your business – even amid the global pandemic:
Focus more heavily on marketing
Professionals have highlighted how it’s imperative for your business not to hold back on its marketing efforts, even during a challenging time like this.
Jon Welsman, owner of Nature’s Health Box, said: “While most brands will drop their marketing spend during a time of crisis, this can actually be the best time to focus on marketing,”
“Google Adwords were paused for a number of brands, meaning it was cheaper to bid for terms (around 85% cheaper), while you can also reach out to a whole new audience that are looking for answers you might be able to provide. Then once you come out the other side, you have a whole new customer base.”
He further advises: “Think about which tasks will bring in the greatest ROI and are the most important towards the business operating successfully.”
Nurture your customer and client base
For businesses, it seems that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a real indicator as to why customer and client care is so important.
Sanjay Aggarwal, founder of Spice Kitchen UK, commented: “My advice to any business out there is that if you genuinely approach customer service from the heart, people will sense it.”
In describing how his business caters effectively for its customers, Mr Aggarwal added:
“A huge part of what we do is centred around the personal touch, and our customers tell us that they love us for it. We take the time to reply to every email personally and will go that extra mile to ensure every customer feels valued, because they are.”
Similarly, James Whittall, Founder and MD of Influx Digital, spoke about how the pandemic has enabled his agency to diversify his client base.
“We have grown our client portfolio and increased revenue in the past few months because we’ve been in the perfect position to relieve pressure from businesses as they’ve experienced new challenges and priorities,” he said.
“It’s given us a fantastic opportunity to expand our team and digital support package offering. This means we can offer even more services to our clients, taking the pressure off them if they’re being pulled in multiple directions in a pandemic era, and so they can spend time focusing on what they do best.”
Organisation is key
Amid the pandemic, it seems that ensuring your business follows a solid organisational structure is essential.
On this, Jon Welsman speaks from a marketing perspective and advises: “Prioritise your time on the tasks that will yield the greatest results. If you’re gaining some great exposure and sales from Instagram ads then keep pushing, but if you’re making a post a day and it’s falling on death ears, then it could be a poor use of your time.”
Sarah Dixon, founder of Creative Digital Human, provides a further fresh take on this matter and instructs: “Keep your costs as low as you can, and if possible maintain some reserves – this can be a huge help psychologically as well as in practical terms.”
“When we feel safe and calm, we are much better able to think imaginatively and be open to others, which is key particularly when there is a lot of uncertainty, challenge and change happening”, she added.
Seek out professional help
Entrepreneurs have also highlighted how it’s so important for businesses to make the most of the vast amount of support available to them.
Sarah Dixon urges people to actively look out for grants available at local and national Government and support agencies.
“Some of them are not well advertised, and could give you enough time to reorganise around the year’s changes”, she says.
And it’s not just the Government that businesses should be relying on – professional support from experts in your field is needed as well.
Speaking about how Spice Kitchen utilised this assistance, Sanjay Aggarwal said: “Since lockdown, we’ve pulled in support from a variety of sources to help with our online strategy to increase visibility with domestic sales,”
“For example, an Amazon consultant helped us build our Amazon shop, and we’ve been talking to lots of social media experts to help us with our advertising and social media strategy.”
In summary, it seems that businesses need to adopt a flexible, resourceful, and empathetic approach if its desire is to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic – let alone survive. And whether you are an entrepreneur or not, there is no denying that every business professional needs to be proactive in order to deal with times of crises.
