The road home from COVID-19 won’t be a straight line

Just when we thought we could begin to see normality on the horizon, COVID-19 cases have spiked and caused yet another disruption. New restrictions are once again impacting Victorian businesses. If you weathered the last round without having to make any major changes to your business, you got lucky. But, now is the time to batten down the hatches, innovate, and put your business in the best place to survive the next wave. 

There are a lot of things you can do to make improvements to your business during this time, and we are here to help you. Circumstances can change overnight, but there is one thing that you can control — you can make sure your business adaptable and future-proofed. 

Utilise technology to help you move forward 

More than anything in recent months, technology has informed our responses to this crisis, and given us the tools to persevere – from working and collaborating with our teams remotely, to selling our products and services online. The learning curve has been steep, and many businesses are navigating new technologies, in real time. The need to further develop business systems, processes, and infrastructure will be an ongoing project. And now, there is an opportunity for us to build more tech-enabled businesses – driven by data and using cloud-based services such as GSuite, and automating operations. 

Just as businesses have embraced technology, so have consumers. You don’t have to feel stuck if you run a business which primarily relies on face to face delivery. With some creative thinking and innovation, you can offer your services remotely via video conferencing. Over the last few months, we have seen successful instances of this, from the implementation of telehealth, to schools offering remote learning. Digitising your business can place you at an immediate advantage. You can reach new markets and provide your services in alternative ways, and technology can help you to achieve this. These changes can be as simple as using popular video conferencing tools, to adding appointment booking capabilities to your website. 

Our team at GippsTech can help you to implement new technology and systems in your business. Find out more here. 

Trade online with the help of your own eCommerce store 

If you are a retail business, you may not have felt the need for a website or a strong online presence in the past. However, online retail has gained significant market share in 2020, as consumer habits have changed drastically. Even those who previously disliked shopping online are now learning to embrace it, so your business must do the same in order to survive.

Putting your business in a position where it is accessible and available to buyers from the safety of their own homes will be an immediate advantage not just now, but in the future. Whole platforms such as Ebay, Amazon and Etsy can look appealing as low-cost solutions, we recommend putting your time and money into your own professional website. Having an online presence gives you control over how customers experience your brand and your products, and it allows you to build a stronger digital presence for your business, instead of just giving large aggregators additional products for their platforms.

Our team at GippsTech can build you an eCommerce website, or help to update your existing website. Find out more here. 

Innovate, innovate, innovate

COVID-19 has been a wake up call for many businesses who have focused on daily operational needs at the expense of forward planning and strategic innovation. Businesses who can transform and evolve have the ability to improve their customer reach, adapt to changing environments, and can source new opportunities or branches of products and services. 

Recent data has shown that in just 8 weeks, adoption of digital tools and systems has grown exponentially, putting us 5 years ahead of most industry predictions. We’re witnessing unprecedented innovation across a number of industries. Doctors now offer telehealth services, brick and mortar businesses have opened ecommerce stores, and schools have adopted online learning systems. Organisations are making significant internal changes as well, offering remote working to their employees, and leaning into technology and cloud-based services they may have previously disregarded. These changes already have businesses reconsidering their current models, and you can see why. 

Follow the link to read the full article: https://gipps.tech/blog/the-road-home-from-covid-19-wont-be-a-straight-line