Business Management
Currently, Texas is under a stay-at-home order closing non-essential businesses and dine-in restaurants which is due to last until April 30. This has impacted businesses in many ways, and although some have made efforts to adapt, others made tough decisions to wait it this out and see what happens.
Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, said he plans to allow businesses to reopen with an executive order that would lift the coronavirus lockdown in a “safe” way. Though I won’t get political, It’s safe to say that this announcement, from the second largest state, is likely to to cause debate. Governor Abbott said details of the executive order would be available next week and it is expected to provide businesses with a list of guidelines on how to safely reopen.
For a lot of businesses, the way the conduct business has changed drastically. Many have implemented work from home solutions, including digital tools to help their businesses adapt. Contactless communication has been implement, like emails and text messages. Online booking and ordering systems are the new norm.
Lets Talk About The New Norms
I don’t want to take away from the devastation we’ve seen, the lives lost, the jobs lost, the fear and pain people have gone through. Some caused directly by the virus and others caused indirectly. It sucks. This isn’t what I want to talk about right now.
I’m switching gears, because what’s happening right now has been incredible to watch. For many, the typical day to day routine has turned upside down. Kids aren’t in schools, parents and adults aren’t at work, families are home. Restaurants are closed, event centers are shut down, movie theaters and theme parks are closed. Instead, families are sitting down at the living room table to eat together, play games together, have conversations beyond “how was your day.”
Cities have clear skies because of less pollution, people are going outdoors and enjoying nature, things are different. It’s been weird.
These new norms may be temporary but some can be permanent if we choose them to be.
Either way, businesses are impacted by this. Marketing has increased drastically as brands are communicating what they do, how they do it, and trying to define the new normal. and try to grow during tough times instead of being crushed by them. Some adapt, some grow, some shut down and wait, some fail and close, but either way; the impact is real.
We have a great opportunity to define our own new norm, at least on a personal scale. In our homes, in how we choose to spend our family time, what we watch, what we listen to, what we eat, and what we choose to spend our time and money on. We can do it locally in our neighborhoods and communities, in what organizations we support, what we talk about, and what events we attend.
I hope everyone takes this opportunity for the true “reset” that is.
How The New Norms Impact Business
Safety First
From a safety perspective, implement a work-from-home policy if you haven’t already. At Spade Design, we are fortunate that our teams are used to working remotely and collaborating virtually using digital tools. As such, we have not seen any disruptions in our ability to collaborate with and support our clients. Your business needs will be unique but Safety and limiting exposure is a necessity.
Continuing to Provide the Highest Level of Client Service
We have a strong and diverse suite of collaboration tools available for our employees to use among each other. We’re taking that a step further ad introducing a platform for our team to collaborate with clients directly. In doing so, we are proving that we are able to partner with clients throughout the entire lifecycle of projects without disruption.
Having the right tech tools in place for your business is essential.
The right tech tools and software will help keep your business on track. Being able to meet with people virtually, face to face, is a game changer. Tools like Monday for work management, Zoom for video conferencing, Calendly for booking appointments, Slack for chatting, Chargify for subscription billing, Twilio for SMS marketing, ActiveCampaign for automated sequences and Zapier for connecting apps; help make things possible.
Investing in “Working Remote” Infrastructure
We continue to invest in our “working remote” infrastructure to ensure that collaboration is top-notch and that our people do not bear any significant financial burden for working remotely. We use a suite of tools that enable communication and support our processes to allow the team to focus on the right things. Additionally, we have instituted new processes to ensure communication levels stay high both internally as well as with our clients. This includes starting (or continuing in many cases) daily standups, weekly status meetings, and monthly executive check-ins to ensure we are delivering on our promise.
Remaining Agile in the Face of Change
As the situation unfolds with each passing day, we will adapt and evolve our processes to what is needed. We remain flexible so that we can adjust to our own and our clients’ new realities. We firmly believe that we are all better together, and being ready to help our clients adapt and successfully handle new challenges is part of our strategy.
These are the new norms
People should be able to interact with your business on their terms. You need to make sure this is possible. Whether that is online virtual meetings, online ordering or delivery service, contactless payments, or even prepping to fill the upcoming demand for the services that everyone has been missing out on (haircuts, pedicures, massages, personal training, etc).
We’re going to work on tips for each industry that we’ve been working with, but if your business is in need of help, please contact us.
I’m offering free consultations with any business owner who is in need of transforming their business. Schedule here for an hour of time at no charge.
