Business Lessons from Pandemic
There is no doubt in saying that the world is going through its toughest times. Analyzing the whole situation from an economic point of view, it is safe to conclude that the theory of ‘survival of the fittest’ proposed by Charles Darwin remains true. As they say, the best way to face a problem is to learn something from it, apply it, and move on. We all are aware of the famous proverb ‘Learn, Improvise, Adapt’. In this article, I am going to focus on the first aspect: Learning. For this, I am categorizing the businesses based on their size and influence. Further categorization will be done on whether they are being directly or indirectly influenced by the pandemic. Every conclusion is made on my observations after closely and casually analyzing data, news, and interviews of some of the companies or start-ups that I admired and followed.
1. Small Businesses and Start-ups (Preparation for the worse)
This sector is one of the most highly affected sectors especially if the business is dependent on another company to supply the raw material. Usually, small businesses lack funding and employees. To cope up with small budgets and resistance due to their initial days, these companies lack farsightedness and don’t have funds or plans to manage a huge crisis like a pandemic. Lack of proper management leads to loss. As it is evident from the current scenario, big companies with great reputations are facing loss and decrease in their share value but we can’t confidently say that they are affected because of their capability to handle loss and their effectiveness of handling the crisis. Indian start-ups already raised $3 billion funding till the start of 2020.
Considering the situation, preparing for the worst by having some reserved funds and having some farsightedness while launching a business can be the best lesson because pandemics like this show up unexpectedly.
2. Private Companies and Decent Start-ups
The companies falling under this category already have a good reputation among investors and clients. They have a huge amount of money at stake as the normal crowd is aware of their name and the ones who trade in stocks are motivated to invest in these companies. Usually, these firms are successful in having some relation with people of all backgrounds. The most common outcome of the pandemic will be a decrease in their sales followed by saturation in development and production due to less demand resulting in a decrease in stock value. It’s not wrong to say that this sector can fall to the verge of collapse with the slightest error and even if they rise, chances are that the market won’t be greeting them with a warm welcome.
During the tough times, consistency, maintaining relations, and advancement are the best lessons one company belonging to this sector can learn.
· By consistency, I mean continuous work. Businesses can’t afford to be temporarily shut down because of lockdown. They must provide the required outcomes and reach their targets by practicing methods of ‘Work from Home’ and ‘Online Conference Meetings’.
· Relation with consumers and competitors is the key to their survival during this period. It is necessary to show what measures businesses are taking to fight the pandemic and make people aware of the functional status of the company. This can be achieved through social media, online publicity stunts, media publicity.
· Since the competitors are equally affected by the pandemic, this is the time for the businesses to increase the time their employees devote to Research and Development as this can yield great results. Advancement can also be done in making the company a better place for consumers and employees. These lessons can give businesses an upper hand over their competitors in the long run.
3. Billion Dollar Companies and Businesses
With great power comes great responsibility. This cliché phrase suits best the situation of this sector. While these companies already have experience of what an economic crisis looks like and have survived some of them, it’s important to use their experience wisely and keep their work up to the mark. Companies like NVIDIA, IBM are also doing their part in fighting the pandemic. This sector has the responsibility to guide others and set an example. People expect wisdom from leaders. They are expected to live up to the expectations.
The only lesson for them lies in learning how important promises are. It is evident that students from top universities are losing offer letters and internships due to this crisis. This surely does not do justice to the hard work and dedication put in by students for scoring the offer letter.
4. Businesses sectors directly affected by the pandemic
Technology, travel and tourism, aviation, hospitality are some expected names in this list. You may not be surprised to see the Agricultural and Sanitation sector unincluded in this list. India’s Technology sector depends on materials from China, hence it’s the most affected by the pandemic. Tourism and aviation bear losses due to canceled flights and lockdown in many countries. Well, all this is expected to happen, but it gives us a major business lesson to have a plan B. Many famous Electronic retailers such as Gaffar Market in Delhi are facing loss due to lack of plan B. While setting up a business, usually one fails to analyze a threat at this level, but they should have a plan B ready for every situation.
5. Business sectors not affected/indirectly by pandemic
This list will comprise mostly of Agricultural and Sanitization. Food and health have become priorities for individuals during tough situations. This leads to an increase in demand and a decrease in availability due to panic buying. As a result, farmers and food producers of the country are forced to sell their products either for free or for a lesser amount and bear loss. The sellers further exploit the consumers by increasing the price of food items. This situation teaches a major lesson of wisdom and cooperation which is more of a life principle. Enough wisdom for finding a solution rather than profit is expected from retailers and cooperation in buying goods is expected from consumers as scarcity increases value, the value increases greed and greed increases the price. This cycle is usually seen in both businessmen and consumers.
In concluding lines, I would like to emphasize the fact that during hard times, trust is the most important and most scarce thing and as human beings, we ought to realize this.
References
Figure 1: “Data Hub: Coronavirus and Marketing [Updated]. Marketing Charts, https://www.marketingcharts.com/featured-112414
Figure 2: Mahima Kapoor, Azman Usmani, “Startup Street: State Of India’s Startups Amid Covid-Hit Economy”. Bloomberg Quint, https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/startup-street-state-of-indias-startups-amid-covid-hit-economy Last Updated on May 24, 2020
