From the very last year, the Corona outbreak has completely transformed our world as it has become a global pandemic.  Corona not only possessed a major public health challenge, but also turned out to be an emerging economic and business threat to the world. It demands no telling that it is certain to have far reaching side effects.

In the above circumstances, business has changed and at the same time we have found new ways to live and work. Businesses have taken significant measures and adopted new changes to keep pace with the current situation and also to survive in the long run .If we want to persist we need to take the following measures into consideration:

Here are the changes in Businesses happening around the world to fight with Covid

The world is going through many changes and so does the business also. Here are some major business changes due to covid:

Rediscovering Business model aligned with present situation

• Business ecosystems consisting of core elements are undergoing a modification to satisfy the current conditions.

• Making changes to both internal processes and business operations of the company will be the starting point for the rediscovery of business. This has included adopting a framework of key elements for both clients and employees.

• Key resources, processes, customer management, customer relations, cost reduction, involving automations and other fundamental elements have been redesigned.

• A new road map has been adopted by companies to understand the consumer behavior and so as the fluctuations in demand.

Rapid application of leaner business model

• The leaner business model is highly intuitive, so many small businesses have started to follow it from pandemic. 

• It  focuses exclusively on increasing leads and sales, generating revenue, while removing all vague and necessary tasks that contribute to waste and do not make any profit. So, right after coping with the initial push of covid, companies have rapidly implemented this model.

• This resulted in faster processing of operations and also contributed to customer satisfaction.

Implementing  Business automation

• Companies are implementing automation and it has become one of the most crucial business strategies and probably the core of every task to perform in business.
• Tools like  Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP), Customer Relationship  Management (CRM) and Distribution Management System (DMS) are being used more than ever to reduce direct interactions as well as to automate tasks for lesser error in operations.
• Virtual meetings, personal interactions and even conferences are being  held online, ensuring the use of remote working tools in such a way that there would be no loss of productivity and also it will be the new normal to work from home. 

Expanding into new markets 

• Companies are trying to enter new markets with  the possibility of making more profits, grasping more territories , and building new footsteps. Therefore, new opportunities will quickly emerge which will certainly create an impact in generating more revenue.

• Exploring new business areas that can be leveraged with current operations. This leads to more possibilities within the existing skills.

• Expanding Research and development ( RND) in order to access  new markets, and deeply analyzing the opportunities for investment. 

• Collaborating with other companies or opening up sister companies is also a tendency taken by other companies in order to enter into new industry.

Investing more on employees for better performance

• The success of any organization is determined by its employees, which is why successful companies invest in efficient employees to ensure its continued success.
• Nowadays employees want a working environment where they tend to feel that they are enjoying what they are doing rather than just following orders. So, ensuring a proper environment is a must to bring out the most from the employees.
• Solving their problems by mapping flexible working arrangements and fixing them accordingly.
• Allotting time to them to consider their health.
• Because covid also has a major mental impact on our health, the mental wellbeing of its employees has to become the priority of companies.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation for business process

• AI and automation will combinedly rule the technology. Many business decisions such as data analysis, customer engagement and automated business processes, are now controlled based on the support of AI.

• Machine-learning will certainly make a significant contribution to the business. For example Production industry is entering into a whole new dimension in order to prepare for any kind of catastrophe.  With big data analysis and AI we can now predict which product to sell at a particular time of the year, find gaps between demand and supply, offer upsell and cross sell, predict sell growth are some of many things that are now widely used by the companies.  

• With more accurate insights from customers, a better product understanding can be defined. By using AI, we’ll be able to identify patterns, quality and security measures of what is needed and personalize the targeting of digital ads.

Cost Reduction to minimize the effect due to recession

• Companies have moved towards cost-cutting measures for a variety of tasks, especially those with lower priority.
• Companies are hiring specialist staff in multiple skills and hiring less skilled people at a reduced rate.
• Companies are paying less attention to hierarchical systems and fewer people will be in high-ranking positions, which will result in reductions in costs.

Focusing on Innovation to survive in the long run

• The market is now more competitive than ever, so there is no other way to survive than to focus on innovation.
• Companies will be more focused on creating new products and putting more emphasis on research to make up for the damage caused by the Covid recession.
• New ideas are very useful for businesses. It not only helps to improve business processes but also improves the strategies for marketing and product improvement. As a result, company efficiency will increase and so will the profit.
• So, continuously updating existing products and inventing new ones to stay competitive in the market as well as satisfying users is a must to stay in the long run.

Stop hiring until the situation improves

• Outbreaks of coronavirus have caused many companies to cut staff salaries, and even forced them to  shut down many companies.
• In such a situation, in order to minimize the loss and at the same time to recover the previous loss they have stopped the recruitment for a short time.
• It will be important for companies to only hire workers when the need is pressing, otherwise they will employ part time workers and even freelancers to meet their demands.

Wrapping up :

The corona virus has become a huge obstacle in our lives and businesses. In fact, it has led us to an uncertainty that is almost impossible to predict. In order to keep the business afloat in such a situation, the companies have no choice but to resort to new methods. Faced with various obstacles, the companies have taken many different approaches by refining their businesses through various means which has been discussed in the article. So, knowing how businesses have changed in response to COVID is a must if you want to survive in the long run!