Around the world, many small businesses have been hit extremely hard by the impact of the coronavirus. It is no lie that so many businesses are sorely affected by the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic, but even as we as an enterprise trying to figure out a way to come out of this crisis, we are eager to help our community of entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs navigate a way out of this coronavirus pandemic, together with us.<\/p>\n
However, with partial lockdown measures currently in place for nonessential businesses, entrepreneurs might find it challenging to maintain business continuity in the upcoming months. Therefore, it is important that SMEs make a move to survive the pandemic and also improve their business. There are five things the SMEs can do to secure the survival of their business.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Turn opportunity into profit:<\/b>\u00a0Being able to adapt to the situation during an economic crisis is an important aspect that SMEs must-have. Instead of viewing the present situation as a short-term crisis that you should try to leave behind as soon as possible and return to your comfort zone, you should ask how to use the current situation to keep serving your customers without going out of business.<\/p>\n
Identify new business opportunities generated by this crisis. One way to identify new opportunities is to creatively address people\u2019s fears, uncertainties and lack of trust. Develop new products that can be offered to your customers. At the same time, you\u2019re making a profit, serving product value to your customers, thriving in a pandemic.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0Revamp your branding materials:<\/b>\u00a0This pandemic provides a good opportunity for businesses to do some revamping; ask questions about how to improve efficiency.<\/p>\n
This is the period to reflect on the image you want your brand to have and how you want your brand to be perceived. Some branding elements to update could be website redesign, brand logo, message fonts, colours, design layouts, tagline, colour palette, and all the marketing and promotional materials will aid in giving your business an appeal in a very attractive way.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0Tap into grants and relief funds:<\/b>\u00a0Several governments have launched or materially expanded the scope of SME loan guarantee schemes in response to the crisis. Governments and financial institutions are taking action to support SMEs, with big corporations promising to help entrepreneurs and their staff stay afloat during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
The federal government of Nigeria (through the CBN) recently announced a\u00a0relief fund\u00a0<\/a>plan for SMEs.<\/p>\n