Business Strategies During A Recession

We have several events canceled this week. Schools are closed for 4 weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak. Travel bans are imposed by some countries here in the Middle East. Major events in Dubai have been postponed to later this year. Global markets are already experiencing a slowdown. Business leaders are alarmed and some factories and businesses, especially in the hospitality industries, have already let go of some of their employees. Panicking will not help but taking actionable steps to survive this downturn is the way to go. There are speculations that if this situation will not get better, the global market will face a recession.
Like many business owners out there, I have been thinking and researching ways to get through this tough time and these are some business strategies during a recession which I found online:

1. Protect your cash flow and watch every penny (dirham) that is spent
   • According to Balance Small Business, cash flow needs to keep flowing through as it is the lifeblood of your business. Keep following pending payments that are not received and ask clients to place a down payment upon booking your services. You can also ask your suppliers if they can give you extended credit terms.
2. Cut your expenses except for marketing
   • Next business strategy is to review your expenses and see where you can cut the budget. Cut back on some lunch outs. Reduce electricity consumption. Freeze hiring and advise your team that company perks will be temporarily suspended. If you need to implement pay cuts as a last resort, take a pay cut first.
     The biggest mistake businesses make is reducing their marketing efforts. You can reduce your marketing budget but it doesn’t mean that you cannot put your brand out there. Remember, out of sight, out of mind. And you don’t want to be out of the mind of your customers. With social media, you can advertise freely. But don’t also make the mistake of producing low-quality content because you will do more damage to your business. If you need help in creating content for your social media, let us know and we can help you
3. Reach out to your current and happy clients
   • Your existing and happy client database is one of your assets. Reach out to them with loyalty rewards. They are your number one source of referrals and reviews.
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4. Explore other opportunities (seek other revenue alleys)
   • Out of adversities come opportunities. You just have to plan your business strategies and implement them. Sometimes, when everything goes well, we do not go out of our comfort zones and try something new. According to Forbes, look over your customer mix. For example, more than 80% of our business comes from weddings and events. But we have existing customers that avail of our social media content production services and we also have individual clients who get us for family photoshoots and portraits. We can look at this segment and capitalize on it during this period when most events are canceled
5. Encourage each other
   • During this time of downturn, everybody’s morale is down. You are anxious if your business will survive. Your employees are scared to lose their jobs. But during this time of uncertainty, it is not wrong to pray and encourage each other. Build your employees’ morale up by planning some training for them. This is a time when you can review your current skillsets and learn new ones. Include your employees in brainstorming sessions. Most employees will be willing to take different duties to help you get through this tough time. And these are the indispensable team members you would not want to lose.

If you are also facing the same situation and wondering what steps to take, I hope these business strategies will be helpful to you and your business. Remember, keep calm and strategize!