Is your bottom line at risk in the new normal business environment?

As the various UK regions begin to relax lockdown restrictions how innovative have you been in resuming business in the “new normal”?

For some the cost of restarting will be very much a one off investment with a small additional running cost to ensure the safety of staff and customers, for many others there is the potential for ongoing significant additional expense and reduced capacity that will impact the bottom line.

How are you planning to address this?

Increasing prices is one option but in a competitive market place that may not be feasible.

Invest in marketing to exploit different customer profiles?

Introduce special offers or loyalty incentives to create new and repeat business?

Capitalise on your positive reputation enhancing the level of quality, reliability and delivering exceptional customer service?

Extended hours?

Reduce cost, eg eliminate waste and non-productive activities?

Explore how you can utilise your assets differently to capitalise on potential new business avenues?

Whatever you choose to do you need to consider some fundamental business criteria.

Do a cost breakdown analysis to evaluate if the investment will deliver a positive financial return.

Ensure the skills are in place to deliver promptly or identify the time and cost of any training required.

Carry out a risk analysis and revisit this frequently.

No matter how you choose to progress ensure regular, honest and informative communication.