Strengthening business resilience amidst heightened measures

Photo by Amina Filkins

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented levels of business disruption. In Singapore, many businesses are struggling to cope with the lack of footfall islandwide as the city-state has gone into Phase 2 Heightened Measures to combat the spread of the virus.

There is great uncertainty about when the pandemic will end, and businesses need an agile response plan to strengthen their business resilience

Singapore-based Well Live Florist, an online florist shares four ways businesses can strengthen business resilience to rise against the challenges brought about by COVID-19 and thrive in the face of uncertainty.

1. Use a customer-centric approach to engage with consumers

In times of uncertainty, using a customer-centric approach to keep your consumers engaged is an important part of building business resilience. Plus, when stakes are high, this can help to drive brand loyalty.

One way that businesses can keep their customers engaged is to offer them the option to chat with the company via a helpline managed by an actual employee. The helpline allows them to reply to customer enquiries promptly and adds a personal touch to their messages that cannot be found elsewhere.

2. Adopt a diverse hiring practice

One of the key reasons underpinning Well Live Florist’s business resilience is their diverse hiring practice.

That is why businesses need to adopt a diverse hiring approach, employing people with different backgrounds and cognitive abilities. A diverse team offers businesses a wide spectrum of responses, allowing them to better come up with solutions to combat any challenge.

3. Create buffer systems against unexpected situations

To build business resilience, it is imperative that companies create buffer systems against the unexpected.

This protects them against supply chain disruptions due to any unpredictable COVID-19 related import restrictions, giving them the flexibility to continue offering their products to their consumers despite the supply chain disruption.

4. Provide complimentary delivery

As the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore continues to grow, Singaporeans have been adapting to the measures set in place by the government to keep the virus at bay; working from home is the new normal and everyone is encouraged to stay home.

However, this makes it hard for consumers to go out and about to get their items, which may negatively impact businesses. To adapt to this new normal, businesses should try to offer free shipping for their products.

Not only does this help to protect the well-being of their customers, but it also encourages them to shop more as free shipping is known to positively influence consumer spending. On top of that, businesses do not have to worry about the lack of human traffic in their physical stores disrupting their supply chain.