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Strategic Management: Calculated Cost-cutting and Investing during the Pandemic

by Yolando B. Adams

The government published a study that enumerates how Covid-19 has affected small businesses. It shows a grim reality that led to entrepreneurs trying to cut as much cost as possible. This measure is even more evident during the pandemic.

Frugality can help you up to a certain point. You must also make a few investments. The question is what elements you should cut back, and which one is worth capitalizing on.

Strategic Management

Decision-making is a challenging process. Fret not! We have your back. We will enumerate several cost elements and how they can impact your business.

Brand

You might be thinking that it is not the time to think about branding. But it is more than the company name or logo. It encompasses everything that you stand for. It is what draws customers inside your premises.

You can consider your product or service as your company brand. In the traditional marketing mix, the entrepreneur offers the product. Modern minds redefined this concept into SIVA, where the product becomes a solution.

With this said, you should make your product or service the solution to the everyday Joe’s problem. You do not have to develop an entirely new idea. You only need to create one that makes you stand out.

Let us say that you operate one of the local grocers in your area. You offer the same merchandise as the rest. But excellent customer service is what brings customers back to your store. It will establish you as a pillar in society.

Automation

How do you process employee payouts? Does someone swing by your office to manually work on it? It would help if you tried automating your operation.

We are not talking about the manufacturing of the product or frontline tasks such as handling customer transactions. We mean tasks such as inventory and payroll. Less human intervention can even prevent theft.

You might have doubts about automation because you are thinking about the cost. But allowing technology to handle such tasks will ensure that you will not miss any payments.

Yes, you still have to ask an external auditor to check your supplies. But they do not have to come regularly. You might ask them to visit your business every quarter. This scheduled visit will amount to monetary savings.

Equipment

It is easier to modify your business if you have the proper equipment. It will make the process seamless. The question here is whether you should buy the machinery or rent it.

This concern is not easy to answer. It would help if you considered several factors. One of which is the frequency of use. Will you be using the machine regularly?

To better illustrate our point, let us say that you run a patisserie. You might want to buy a refrigerated showcase. This piece of equipment will allow your customers to see your products while keeping them fresh.

In this situation, you should purchase this equipment. It will become part of your assets. At the end of each year, you can deduct a portion of its cost as an expense and include it as a deduction.

Let us continue with the given an example. This time, you are deliberating whether you should buy a delivery van or not. You are thinking of purchasing one to cater to customers who buy your goods from home.

In this scenario, it is prudent to lease the van. It would help if you considered the fact that your clients can also use GrubHub or Uber Eats. These apps eliminate the need to purchase a van.

You still need the van to deliver to clients who ordered large quantities. But this occurrence might not be frequent. Thus, you will end up with an idle asset.

Marketing

Now that you have reinvented your business’s image let us work on how to get people inside your premises. You can carry out this phase of the operation in two stages.

We can start by increasing your online presence. You must invest in the services of a professional SEO company. They can boost your visibility in search engines.

What is so important about this service? After all, you can get someone to create a website for you. It will be relatively cheaper than employing the help of a professional SEO company.

Yes, you can ask someone to create your company’s website. But this will be utterly useless if there is no traffic getting inside your website. It will just gather online dust.

On the other hand, a professional SEO company can create a professional-looking website that will catch corporate clients. Their blogs will make your company visible when someone googles the product or service that you offer.

You also need the help of your loved ones. Once your professional digital marketing team is done, you can ask your family and friends to spread the word around. Their input is necessary to increase traffic.

Keeping your company afloat during the pandemic is one tough act. But you can ensure its survival. You can also help your business expand.

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