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Preparing for business re-opening and the post-covid world

April, 2020

While some of us will still be in shock over the impact of covid-19 on our businesses, many will have moved on to anger, and others might have accepted it. Andrew Metcalf, director of Maxim advises people to consider what they might do next. 

Those business leaders who have accepted the situation will inevitably be looking at how best to turn things around, seek out the next opportunity, dust themselves off and recover. That’s what business leaders do best, we problem solve, we put plans into action and we do what we can to navigate a way forward.

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting at a Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce live webinar alongside Luke Quilter and Danny Windsor from Sleeping Giant Media. My focus was on crisis communications and how to get it right during the current situation. Luke and Danny’s presentation was on their adaptation of the Kubler-Ross grief cycle to create their Pandemic Cycle to help focus the mind on how we move through to recovery and the New World.

The future

The webinar got me thinking: what will businesses, including my own Maxim, and our clients, look like? Nobody really knows, but that doesn’t mean we should sit back and wait to find out. I know it’s a cliché but it also a truism: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

While it might be a case of how can you keep two steps ahead of your rivals, it is also about identifying who you could collaborate with in the knowledge that collectively you can offer a greater mix of skills, service, attitude and trust – and inevitably cost competitiveness.

It's also about identifying the certainties and taking it from there. For example, it’s unlikely we’ll revert to relying on face-to-face meetings: Teams and Zoom videoconferencing will inevitably remain part of our day-to-day work.

We all know disruption will continue in the short-term and there’ll be less business being done but the economy will bounce back as supply chains are put back together. It is clear, given the scale of the impact covid-19 has had on our economy, that the recovery will not happen overnight. There will inevitably be winners and losers – and the challenge facing us all is how do you give yourself the best chance to be a winner? Refreshing your marketing and communications for a post-covid landscape is an essential part of the solution.

Actions for today

While you’re working from home, take time to step back and look at what the new normal might be and how you can be best placed for the upturn when it comes.

When you’ve got the bare bones of an idea about what your business will look like, the next thing to do is consider how best to promote it. How are you going to communicate what you do with your past, present and future customers, plus stakeholders and employees?

If in doubt, get in touch. The first conversation is free and no-strings attached. We’re happy to offer advice to set you on your own public relations path, because we want to do what we can to help the business community hit the ground running when we emerge on the other side.

And don’t worry, if the conversation is commercially sensitive then we’ll obviously sign any Non-Disclosure Agreement you might have, so please don’t hesitate to call us on 01892 513033.

We are here to help.

Andrew Metcalf - Director

Andrew Metcalf

Maxim / Managing Director

posted in: advice, marketing, public relations,

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