Covid changed everyone’s lives in dramatic
ways on many levels – but small and big businesses alike were radically
impacted, from events, restaurants and retail being shut down to sending
everyone home to work remote.
It’s no surprise that the tech sector
thrived during this time, from remote work solutions to online ordering,
telemedicine, virtual events and more. Good or bad, a LOT of these changes are
here to stay.
1. Cyber security protection to avoid or at
least mitigate losses. Warren
Buffet is famous for his two rules of investing and making money: Rule #1:
Don’t lose the money. Rule #2: Never forget Rule #1.
While nobody likes to spend money on cyber security, the simple fact of the
matter is that if you don’t, or if you underinvest in adequate protections, you
WILL lose money in your business, either from it being taken from your bank
account or from the vast number of costs associated with a breach that most
people grossly underestimate.
Without a doubt, cybercriminals went gangbusters during the lockdowns when millions
of people were forced to work remote using unsecure home WiFi, laptops and cell
phones. The Trend Micro Annual Cybersecurity Report saw a whopping 16 million
threats related to Covid-19 in 2020 alone. Business Wire recently reported that
81% of global organizations experienced an increase in cyberthreats and 79%
experienced downtime due to a cyber security risk. These threats are
continually getting more aggressive, frequent and damaging, so you must have a
plan in place to ensure you’re not robbed blind and taken out.
2. Using tech to get more efficient with
fewer employees. Since
2010, the US unemployment rate has been on a steady decline, from nearly 10% to
under 3% right at the start of 2020. Covid shutdowns temporarily covered up this
shortage with thousands being laid off, but now that life is back to “normal”
(whatever this new normal is), the labor shortage has crippled many businesses that
are now trying to reopen but can’t operate at full capacity, not only due to an
inability to find and keep good people, but also because of the cost of hiring
with salary demands increasing.
This is forcing many organizations to implement automated systems, as well as
artificial intelligence to replace workers, like grocery store checkout lines
being limited to only two or three open, driving customers to use self-checkout,
or companies switching to AI-driven chatbots, text messages and phone systems
to handle the initial customer requests, lowering the need for paid employees.
Another area many businesses are focusing on is to get more productivity from
every employee using tech and automation. Many sales departments are using
dialers, CRM and marketing automation systems to get a single rep to be far
more productive, generating more sales by removing or reducing manual labor
tasks and “paperwork” that fills hours of any sales rep’s day.
And finally, another growing area of focus is to ensure the productivity of
employees. This has become a hot topic since the shutdowns sent so many people
home to work, and many people now ONLY want remote work. Problem is, many
employees lack the personal discipline and productive environment to work
distraction-free, making them far less productive than if they came into an
office.
To combat this, some businesses are utilizing productivity-monitoring software
like ActivTrak or Teramind to know just how much time employees are away from
their computer or surfing social media and other non-work-related sites. Doing
this allows the employer to know if any employee is truly “overworked” or
barely putting in an eight-hour day. Click here
to schedule a quick call to discuss this software for your business.
3. Online ordering and fulfilment. At an event in our industry, Marcus
Lemonis, the star of the hit TV show The Profit and CEO of the
billion-dollar brands Camping World and Good Sam, shared how Camping World
frantically transitioned his retail stores to online ordering, shipping and
drive-by pickup to enable his customers to keep buying when the stores were
physically shut down. An investment that not only paid off in the short term,
but also expanded the company’s ability to generate sales and fuel customer
spend and loyalty.
Many restaurants started or enhanced online ordering during the lockdowns, some
becoming pickup-only establishments with no indoor seating, decreasing the need
for more employees while continuing to generate sales. They also started (and
many have kept) ordering using a QR code, eliminating paper menus and
facilitating ordering and payment. Some have gotten into the business of
preassembled cook-from-home boxes, like Middlebury Pizzeria, which sells mini
pizza kits you make and bake at home, opening a new revenue stream they didn’t
have pre-pandemic.
A good question to ask is how can you add some type of digital or online
ordering and fulfilment to your organization? Maybe it’s time to go paperless
and collect all payments with credit cards or other digital pay systems,
eliminating paper invoices and many of your collection problems once and for
all. Many medical companies are now storing clients’ credit cards and bank
information for this reason. Of course, this opens up another door for cyber
security problems and compliance issues, but the payoff can be huge.
Asalways, you can schedule a
quick 30-minute call to discuss your ideas for going digital for
payments and order fulfilment.