In August 2020, the terrible and devastating derecho storm caused significant damage to Iowa. The city worst hit by the damage was Cedar Rapids, which is the second largest in the entire state. The damage has been extremely substantial, and it’s left people wondering whether small businesses will be able to recover from this. While the tragedy is still fresh for many, in order to support the economy and get things back to normal, these businesses are going to have to do everything in their power to get back on the right path. So, what can be done?
Call In New People
One of the things that small businesses can do is hire some more help in order to ensure that the business is to the highest possible standard. After such a devastating time, money might be a bit of a problem, especially if there was a lot of damage to the business office, but that’s why we’re not suggesting you hire a whole new team. One or two people should be enough to help get the business back to where it should be. These could be general employees, or a business might need a specialist such as an IT Consultant to sort out the network and keep it protected post storm.
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Of course, some employees could be taking time off right now due to the devastation, so an all hands-on deck approach is going to be necessary.
Marketing Has Never Been So Important
People probably aren’t spending money right now the way they used to. If there has been any damage to their home, or any issues that they have experienced since the derecho, sorting this has to come first. That is why marketing has never been so important though. Small businesses need to get their name out there, and show people why they are still relevant and why the public should be buying from them. It’s important that people understand why they should buy from a specific business, rather than just that they should. If someone tries to tell you to do something, you likely are going to want an explanation as to why this is the case, which is where marketing comes in.
Work Through The New Normal
Of course, it’s not just the derecho that has caused major problems, but this came right in the middle of a pandemic. Things aren’t going particularly well right now, but small businesses need to power through and find a way to survive in the new normal. It’s not possible to treat these things as though they didn’t happen, and this would be the wrong approach anyway. Businesses need to accept what has happened and adapt to make their business desirable even in these trying times. Offer promotions and deals to customers, get the business involved in helping with repairs or something that contributes productively to one of these issues. There is plenty that a business can do, and helping others in the new normal will make your business stand out.
Hopefully now you know a little more about how a small business will be able to recover post derecho.