A Business’ Guide To Staying Afloat During Difficult Economic Times

These days, there is little optimism to be found in expectations about the economy. This is true both in the UK and throughout much of the world.

The recent coronavirus pandemic has devastated economies around the globe. Even when the current restrictions eventually start to lift, economic circumstances are likely to remain unstable for some time to come.

However, business owners need to navigate through these times to make it to more prosperous times in the future.

While this might entail taking some more drastic measures than would usually be necessary, there are meaningful things you can do to stay lean and remain afloat.

Let’s look at some specific steps that you can take to stay afloat as a business during difficult economic times.

1. Consider Doing Business Online To Weather The Storm

How can your business adapt when small brick and mortar businesses are being forced to close around the world? Doing business online may be more beneficial as this will give you a much wider pool of potential employees and immediately grant access to a larger international customer base.

Going online to weather the storm and ensure business continuity is an added benefit that goes far beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

ECommerce markets enjoyed an expansive gain of market share during the Covid-19 outbreak and given all the talk about the impending second wave, going online may be one of the best options for doing business under Covid-19 and long into the future.

2. Invest In Efficiency Tools

Tools like accounting software in the UK are great for any business. These kinds of tools are great for saving time in completing your business processes, like keeping track of your cash flow, payroll, and tax obligations.

At the same time, accounting software that is up to date will also help you to have a real-time look at your financial data. This will allow you to make better business decisions and keep your business on track.

3. Stop Competing On Price For Now

While it can be tempting to secure a larger share of your market by dramatically competing on prices, economic downturns are not the time to be playing this game.

As a small business, focus on delivering a consistently high-quality product instead of selling your goods at prices that try to match those of much larger enterprises.

4. Cut Down On Waste

If you have some bad spending habits when it comes to business expenses, then now is certainly the time to cut back. Avoiding waste wherever possible is necessary to have the capacity to stay on track during hard economic times.

It might be time to put off major purchases that are not strictly necessary at the moment until your financial future looks a little brighter.

At the same time, do not cut back so much that you are no longer in a position to bounce back when the economy recovers. Find the right balance. This will mean something slightly different depending on the industry you are in.

5. Maintain Current Customers

While any small business owner needs to always be thinking about expanding their customer base, economic downturns are the time to focus on retaining your existing customers and clients.

Make sure that you stay in close contact with your clients to ensure that they are satisfied with your service.

The more clients you can keep on your books on an on-going basis, even when they are reducing their orders, the more resilient your business will be.

6. Stay On Point With Marketing

One of the biggest temptations when it comes to cost-cutting during an economic downturn is to slash the marketing budget. However, this is usually a fatal mistake.

Marketing is more critical than ever during a recession or a depression, so be sure to keep investing in this area of your business.

At the same time, it is more important than ever to make sure that your marketing investment is being well-spent. Consider re-evaluating your strategy to optimise it.

7. Stay On Course

By following these tips and continuing to stay up to date with economic developments, you will be able to stay flexible and resilient as a business through any uncertain economic times.

Remember that there are always upswings and downswings. If you follow these tips, you will be able to see it through to more prosperous days.