Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the current coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are encouraged to innovate and look for opportunities as they prepare for the “new normal” of doing business after the pandemic.
Synergizing Recovery Initiatives, Knowledge, and Adaptation Practices for MSMEs, or SIKAP, an online Covid-19 recovery hub, said the coronavirus crisis has caused many establishments to improve their typical operations, such as logistics and transactions.
It said apps such as LalaMove are delivery services online so MSMEs’ products can reach their customers.
“This is an opportunity for you to engage with your customers online, through Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram. It is also important that you keep in touch with your customers so they can be updated of your operating hours, the available products you sell, your menu, and the methods that they can pay for their purchase,” SIKAP said.
Firms can also constantly check online the situation and well-being of their employees, it said.
“Engage your business too on FB groups where sellers can post their products and buyers can comment on them,” it added.
They are, likewise, called to identify consumer behavior that changes too as much as how every sector is affected and should change their operations.
“Because there would be limited contact with your customers when your business reopens, you may conduct surveys through e-mails, or by messaging them, so that they can answer and submit comments on how you can serve them better, or to just simply how they got through the quarantine without your services,” it said.
SIKAP said MSMEs can ask their customers such as what products of their business did they miss the most during the quarantine, or their alternative at home when their services were not available.
“Another way to listen to your market is to go on social media and observe the posts of people. You can observe what product they should have according to their needs,” it added.
SIKAP also underscored the need for firms to be innovative and creative at their business so they can easily solve the problems they may be currently facing while looking for “opportunities in problems.”
It cited as an example this time when everybody is at their homes due to quarantine, thus, people have a lot more time on their hands, and they want to be productive.
“What is something that requires a lot of attention at the same time you can reap what you can sow? Gardening. A business opportunity could be to sell a gardening kit, seeds that you can grow in your backyard, plant pots, etc. The key is to be on the lookout, and to think of a creative answer to a problem,” it added.
SIKAP was developed by the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation with the support of the Connecting Business initiative, and in partnership with United Nations Development Program Philippines and United Nations OCHA Philippines.