Analysis by London based global fintech Paysend into the critical issues facing small businesses in a post coronavirus environment point to a new world in which they will need to operate, and new techniques that they will need to implement.
The report compiled by Paysend notes that just in UK:
• 1 in 4 businesses were forced to close temporarily
• 9.6 million employees were furloughed, with potential job losses as furlough ends
• Unemployment rose by 730,000 in latest employment data release
• Self employment will be the only option for up to a further 1 million working age people
• There has been a seismic change in underlying business dynamics
CMO of Paysend Alberto Macciani commented, “Our report identifies that five key changes have occurred during the pandemic, and all small businesses will need to adapt for them to be sustainable in the long term. Consumers as a whole have less spending power, and savings cushions have been depleted, and as a result of the lockdown the move towards digitisation has been accelerated making online sales the norm for many.
With this brand loyalty has been replaced by transactional convenience, with purchasing impacted by supply and demand shortages and global network disruption. Having reviewed the changing market conditions we have drawn us a series of guidance points that we hope will help businesses and freelances. As a digital business ourselves we understand the speed of change, and being in the financial services sector we know how important astute financial management is.”
The guidance put forward by Paysend has a five point plan:
• Adapt to the new social expectations such as distancing and be responsive to customer’s sensitivities
• Keep abreast of new government regulations and legislation
• Put financial health high up the agenda, building in a cushion for unexpected hiccups
• Adapt to a depleted customer list
• Go the extra mile to build trust with customers as part of a critical retention strategy
“The report is well thought through,” says Alberto Macciani. “The guidance is in many ways absolutely logical, but from our analysis work it is clear that many businesses have been too preoccupied with the ‘now’ to think about the ‘future’, so we hope that the pointers we are proposing will help businesses to focus on their longer terms goals as well as their day to day survival.”
The full report is available at: https://paysend.com/en-us/blog/article-paysend-business-white-paper#top
