How Businesses Should Prepare for the After-Effects of the Pandemic

Saphyte Team

2 min read

Updated: May 18th, 2022

The global economy is bound to recover after the pandemic. What should businesses do to take advantage of the growth in a post-pandemic world?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected big companies and SMEs alike. It has created unprecedented levels of uncertainty, and businesses are left to grapple with understanding the new ways of interacting with consumers.

A shift in strategy is needed— businesses ought to find ways how to keep not only customers engaged but also their employees. 

With the complexities the crisis has created, what should businesses consider as part of their growth strategies to keep them not only afloat, but moving forward?

What you should know:

To brace for the market changes post-pandemic, understanding your customers’ needs is key to making an effective business strategy.

Smooth online experiences can make or break a business, during and, especially, after the pandemic.

Speed also gives companies an edge over competitors. And this can only be achieved through investments in technology.

It’s not enough for companies to sympathize with customers during crucial periods of their lives. Companies must demonstrate a higher level of customer understanding through business practices that provide impact to individuals and communities.

How Can Businesses Prepare for a Post-Pandemic Market?

Below are four important ways businesses can brace and adjust for a post-pandemic market:

Understanding the customer’s evolving needs and wants

Creating smoother online experiences for consumers

Investing in speed through technology

Creating value through business empathy

Understanding customers’ evolving needs

This concept is fairly simple. Customers’ needs are bound to change and evolve throughout time. What they need now may not be what they will need in the future, and vice versa.

Understanding customers’ needs is key to making your business strategy work. Without properly determining what customers are going to buy from you (or your competitors), it’s going to be difficult for you to navigate the market. 

To identify customers’ needs, a customer feedback loop is needed (i.e. allowing your customers to give you feedback at every important point of engagement).

You can also do the following techniques to identify customer needs and preferences:

Gather data about your customers (through interviews or surveys)

Mapping the customer journey (where they buy, how they check out the products, etc)

Understand the customer buying process (how the needs arise, what they think about when the needs arise, etc.)

Analyze your competition (what does your competition do to serve the same customer? What makes your competition unique?)

Creating smoother online experiences

Digital customer service interactions are expected to increase by 40% in 2021 (Forrester). That means, with the fear of virus transmissions, customers are going to rely on the internet to get their products and services, compared to going in-store.

The online experience will then dictate whether or not the customer will buy from a business again. Bad websites, slow apps, or online services with issues would discourage customers from using these marketing channels again (and might even result in customer churn).

Creating smooth online experiences is then critical to keeping customers engaged.

Investing in speed through technology

According to a McKinsey survey, investing in speed pays off. Companies that make faster strategic decisions and deploy resources faster were found to outperform others when it comes to profitability, resilience, and growth.

Making fast data-driven decisions is essential to get an edge over the competition. Improving internal and external communication, as well as providing platforms for smoother collaboration will need technologies such as CRMs to get companies quickly running. Automation will also distinguish companies from competitors.

Creating value through business empathy

Being able to assume the position of your customers isn’t just being sympathetic with them. It’s all about providing value to customers by demonstrating that you know what they need at that particular point and you’re willing to go the extra mile to cater to that need.

Empathy in organizations not only creates satisfied customers but also makes happier employees. Connecting with communities, addressing customer questions or complaints quickly, hiring people from a variety of backgrounds, or allowing employees to work from home (WFH) permanently are some of the practices in business that demonstrate empathy.

Invest in technology

Get a better understanding of your customers. Provide quicker feedback. And allow for smoother employee collaboration. All in one technology. Get started here.