3 Business Mistakes In The Pandemic & How To Avoid Them

It’s December 2020 – and the coronavirus is giving way to some significant business mistakes in the pandemic that could truly take a business down. We at DeWinter Marketing have been observing the great strategies some businesses are deploying to stay afloat. To balance things out, we’re going to provide advice on business mistakes in the pandemic and, more important, how to avoid them.

Business Mistakes In The Pandemic # 1: Raise Your Prices

When business revenue has either been significantly reduced or has evaporated altogether, it’s easy to think that raising prices is a solid coping solution. However, most customers also have faced economic hardship in the pandemic and have less discretionary income. If you raise your prices too much, some percentage of your customer base will move your product or service into the “luxury” category, and decline to buy it at all.

The Antidote:

• DON’T RAISE YOUR PRICES. Instead, “chunk” your offerings into smaller price points. This allows customers to invest in your product or service at the level they can afford, while bringing in much needed revenue for your business.

Business Mistakes In The Pandemic # 2: Present A Weary, Woeful Customer Experience

Let’s face it. Everyone is tired and worn out from this pandemic. While it’s not appropriate for your staff to act like nothing’s wrong, it’s important to get the staff pumped up and presenting a good customer experience for the weary world.

The Antidotes:

• DEPLOY STAFF COACHING ON RESILIENCY & GRIT. Work with your staff to help them get to a place of emotional resiliency & mental toughness. Talk about how they can help keep the company going by clearly outlining what’s needed to keep going. Then take it a step further and help the staff understand how to cultivate & nurture an attitude of service. Sure, there will be grouches who don’t appreciate what you’re doing. But for every “grinch” your staff encounters during the last month of 2020, there will be people who truly appreciate an attitude of service and positive energy.
• CLEARLY SET GOALS ON THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE YOU INTEND TO CREATE. Work with your staff & help them understand how they can help create a great customer experience, and why it’s so important to the business.
• BAN NEGATIVE LANGUAGE. Speak with your staff and help them understand how they tank the customer experience when they say “I can’t wait to go home” or “I can’t wait till my shift is over” to customers. Help them understand that messages of this nature tank the customer experience and will eventually tank their employment if they don’t help keep the company afloat during these tough times.

Business Mistakes In The Pandemic # 3: Don’t Plan & Don’t Make Changes

It’s been so interesting to see what products are in high demand because of the pandemic, and which products have dropped off. If your products or services are being negatively affected, it’s critically important to make plans for how you retool your product or service offerings, and the ways you deliver those products or services to customers. In the summer of 2020, inflatable swimming pools were completely sold out because people were playing in the water in their own back yards. Throughout 2020, eye shadow has been hard to get, while lipstick sales have tanked. Why? When you wear a mask, your eyes are what show, so women have been buying eye shadow & mascara in droves. But who wants to wear lipstick when you wear a cloth mask?

The Antidotes:

• ADD PRODUCT OR SERVICE OFFERINGS THAT ARE IN DEMAND. Take a look at your business offerings, and figure out what you can add to your line of products or services that people need right now. You can always ditch that product or service once the pandemic has abated. Just make sure you’re offering something that people really need or want during the pandemic and/or lockdowns.
• DELIVER YOUR PRODUCTS. Amazon may be taking over the world right now. But local independent businesses can follow suit by marketing needed products or services, and then delivering those products or services to your customer’s homes.
• REDUCE YOUR DELIVERY COSTS WITH ROUTE OPTIMIZATION SOFTWARE.  If you start delivering products to customer’s homes, your operational costs will go up in 2 key areas: 1) Fuel costs, 2) Labor costs for drivers. Take advantage of cost-effective route planning software tools to generate the most efficient routes to keep delivery costs down and allow you to generate meaningful revenue from local home delivery. RouteSavvy.com is a great route planning tool used by businesses in a wide variety of industries.

No question, 2020 has been hard on people, businesses, non-profits, and life as we know it. But avoiding business mistakes in the pandemic is a good start toward making sure your business survives the pandemic of 2020.

Need help marketing in the pandemic? Contact DeWinter Marketing & PR for common sense, affordable marketing & sales strategies.