Entrepreneurs fear many things, but the biggest problem seems to be the crisis. How to protect yourself against a crisis in order to minimize the risk of a company collapse and go straight?
Companies perceive the crisis as something negative. This, of course, is understandable, but it cannot be denied that every enterprise must take into account the possibility of its coming. Crisis situation is a natural part of the development process, therefore it is impossible to run a business without major or minor breakdowns in the company. Believing that the company is immune to this phenomenon is, to say the least, irresponsible. Especially today, when the market is experiencing a collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A crisis doesn't just happen in times of a pandemic
Many companies - in addition to having to dispel possible fears and customer objections - this additionally has to cope with the difficult situation related to epidemiological constraints. Crisis protection should be part of the development plan of all companies. It does not matter their size or industry. Theoretically, even in the era of a pandemic, the e-commerce market is doing well, but in a few years the situation may completely reverse. The better prepared a company is to face the risk of a crisis, the greater the chances that it will deal with it quickly and not lose too much.
Do you think the crisis is the end of the company?
This lesson can have unexpected benefits!
How to protect yourself against a crisis? What could its sources be?
Any company can go through a major or minor crisis. Problems can be found in various places. Some of them are the result of poor organization of the company's structures, while others are the result of a lack of customers and problems with financial liquidity. What are the most common sources of the crisis?
Bad process management in the company and lack of optimization
The work of an enterprise can be compared to a computer. A series of individual processes are part of every action, and if one of them fails on any level, it can cause an avalanche of problems. The processes in the company may relate to various areas of operation - online marketing, orders, maintaining appropriate stock levels. When one mode fails, it negatively affects the others.
If the entrepreneur understands that his company is a set of processes, he will be able to work on their optimization at the same time, which will translate into the company's efficiency. In this way, you can easily avoid generating large company costs or running completely ineffective activities. It is essential to be in control of employees and skillfully team conflict resolutionthanks to which the employees not only know what their duties are, but are also able to cooperate effectively.
Problem with prioritizing
The lack of prioritization of tasks and an attempt to take several actions at the same time is usually a problem for companies that are just starting their operations. The problems begin at the stage of setting goals and go back to the difficulties with their consistent implementation. How to protect yourself against a crisis in this area? No project will start to earn for itself if it is not completed, and trying to work on a dozen of them at the same time only delays the moment of their implementation.
How to deal with it? The key to success is a good development strategy and market analysis. This is the most effective way to stay focused on the most important goals, thus making good decisions and creating better projects. When choosing goals, focus on one idea out of many, analyze the profitability and possible profit, and based on this data, decide what should be prioritized.
Promotion of services or products through one sales channel
This is a trap many entrepreneurs fall into, and which can lead to a serious crisis in the company. Promoting just one of them is simply risky, because what will the company do if blocked for some reason? We will cite here an example of a squeeze page and changes to the policy of their promotion by Google. Tons of companies have lost a large portion of their traffic, which has significantly diminished their income.
How to protect yourself against this type of crisis?
The best way is to diversify, i.e. reduce the risk that the only sales channel will be blocked and stop generating profits. True, you can't be everywhere, but marketing communication channels offer many opportunities today, so it is worth selling with several of them, instead of limiting yourself to one.
How to protect yourself against a crisis that is slowly consuming the company?
Every company is exposed to a crisis situation and sooner or later it will happen. The effects of poor management during a crisis can be really painful: loss of image or customer confidence can very quickly lead to problems with the company's financial liquidity.
The key to a quick solution trouble enterprises are adequately prepared for the coming crisis, taking preventive measures and reacting in time. Emergency ordinances it is a difficult art that in many cases is best left to specialists. Thanks to them you will be able to protect yourself against negative effects of the crisis, and to implement appropriate procedures to help avoid it in the future.
In many cases, the mere awareness of possible threats is not enough, and the crisis breaks out suddenly and unexpectedly. Actions taken without hesitation and in a panic may worsen the situation and lead the company into even more trouble. Almost a quarter of companies in Poland do not have any strategy developed in the event of a crisis. They don't invest in training their employees who have no idea what steps they should take. This does not have to be the case, because you can prepare for the coming crisis - it is worth thinking about it before it happens.