The Aftermath. Now What?

Post-pandemic planning: a recovery roadmap to get back to business

As governments loosen the rope on companies and slowly open up the economy, small businesses have started to round up the “troops” and gear up for business again. As we know, it isn’t going to be as simple as switching on the “Open” sign after a long weekend! The post-pandemic operation will not be a case of “business as usual” for many entrepreneurs, not unless your business were immune to the pandemic and wasn’t remotely affected.

It’s Not A Start-up. It’s a battlefield

I heard and read some expert opinions comparing the back-to-business scenario to launching a start-up. They’re advising businesses to start from scratch again. But I don’t see common grounds in this comparison. Starting a new business is a story of a settler who stepped into an empty field and built a city from the ground up. Contrary, resuming business is a story of a GA (General of The Army) who stepped into an area after a battle to face outcomes like losses and gains. Think about it for a minute, your business, an existing entity that bustles with activities, clients, transactions, goods moving in and out, established networks, and growth opportunities. Your polestar (hub) was swiftly interrupted by a sudden assault! You’ve spent the past weeks defending the grounds, and by the end of the battle, your business has encountered threats, losses, gains, and opportunities.

Time To Put On Your GA hat!

So now what? The battle has ended, yet the war is not over. Your business will resume and ought to re-establish itself. What have you done to prepare for the aftermath? It’s time to assume the role of a GA and define a roadmap to recovery. And what would the commander do once the battle has ended? I often envision the roadmap – for post-pandemic planning – to be similar to the role of senior military officers appraising the impact of the fight, defining strategies, and establishing new accords.

Assess

The first step in post-pandemic planning is assessing the impact of the crisis on your business. Uncovering your financial losses during this period is one, but the other elements you want to identify are procedures and processes that were abandoned and consequently became obsolete. Are these worth maintaining, fixing, or replacing?

How about the workforce and human resources? As a business owner, you might’ve established temporary means to replace lost labor. Such new measures could be automated and streamlined more efficiently, therefore, outweighing the previous reliance and need for some skills. On the other hand, you may have realized your business needs a set of new skills and talents to move forward and re-establish itself.

Many entrepreneurs and business owners took an active role in connecting with existing and new networks during the pandemic. Let’s give Zoom a round of applause for its contribution.  It is time to collect and evaluate the relevance of connections by identifying opportunities, new alliances, and partnerships.

Strategize

Now once you have finalized assessing the effects, it’s time to move forward with post-pandemic planning and strategizing. The newly engineered plan aims to resolve losses, employ opportunities and gains, and hinder potential adverse outcomes of the aftermath!

| Revenue |

The first thing to start working on is recouping the loss of revenue.  And it can be done by reviewing your pre-pandemic forecast, compare it with actual sales and revenue results, and define gaps. Next, re-formulate the marketing budget, re-define sales tactics, and design new campaigns to recoup dollars forgone during the lockdown. Your budget is the cornerstone of your new business plan and sales strategy. So make sure that it is the first thing to handle and define.

| Demand |

If you predict an influx of demand from customers post-pandemic, then start establishing realistic measures to meet the demand. It’s now time to reach out to customers with a set of rules and procedures your business will implement once it’s operational. Furthermore, leverage online booking apps to take appointments. As well, secure the required resources and supplies to maximize revenue recovery. Also, define and communicate health and safety measures the business will implement upon resuming operations.

| Procedures |

During the pandemic, businesses began exploring alternative ways of operating to avoid a complete shutdown. Many have discovered new methods and processes to streamline operations which can be deemed as innovative solutions. On the other hand, some companies may have recognized that doing it the old way can no longer bolster growth, and it is the perfect time to abandon crumbling practices.  The post-pandemic strategy should outline the roll-out of new operative functions or the phase-out of existing processes.

The accord

The end of a crisis marks the beginning of a new deal, an accord! At least that’s what armies hope to achieve at the end of a battle. And that’s what the revamped strategy promises to deliver to a business, its clients, staff, and partners. Such agreements may reflect your commitment to improving productivity and customer service, innovation, or higher skills.

This is the time a business should connect with clients and inform them about any changes and improvements. It’s also the time to source out new skills and talents needed to move forward or to innovate. A business should be in a position to form new alliances and partnerships with vendors and suppliers who can support the delivery of the revamped plans. And finally, this is when an entrepreneur can utilize new relationships established during the pandemic.

Summary

This global battle, the pandemic, has fortified the importance of innovation and adaptability for businesses to survive.  Entrepreneurs and small businesses lead the troops to triumph by manifesting creativity, resilience, and social consciousness. During the midst of the crisis, they remained connected, relevant, and inspirational. And for these reasons, entrepreneurship will continue to be an artery that fuels society with purpose and progress. And the roadmap to recovery is the clean-up operation of a victorious battle.