By Segun McMedal,

The first quarter of the year 2020 was very unusual– it was the period the world stood still; one we can never forget no thanks to COVID-19 –described as a pandemic threatening the survival of humanity. The impact of the virus is unprecedented in world history. But governments and partners are working assiduously together to stop its transmission and keep children and their families safe through isolation and social distancing.

And to ensure containment, development partners and governments directed that all social and economic activities should be locked downin all the affected nation-states including Nigeria.

It is pointless to say that we are living in a very challenging time, socially, professionally and economically. The current restrictions mean that the business environment is very toughaltering business models for almost all the industry and professions. While some industries (tourism, aviation, and financial services) are on a life support presently, it is a boom period for others (telecoms, healthcare and medical supply, retail and food processing).

So, how best should businesses respond to survive the onslaught? The best approach is to adapt and make the best use of the situation. The other option isto do nothing and perish. But you don’t want to experience that, do you? This is the time to task your brains to dosome lateral thinking to generate new ideas which are the stuff of change and progress in every field from science to art, from politics to personal happiness.

There are three kinds of people as are companies: those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who wonder what happened. This challenging time opens a window of opportunity for people who are ready to make things happen to remain in business.

This is one of the best times for businesses to step up to the plate and help their customers in navigating this crisis period. This is the time to deepen your business’s positioning in the minds of stakeholders to be relevant during and post COVID-19 crisis. Below are simple ways of ensuring business continuity in this special period:

1. Work Remotely(part of putting people’ssafety first) –This style allowsworkers to execute their duties outside of the traditional office environment. Instead of commuting to the office each morningof weekdays to work from a designated desk, remote employees can perform their assignments wherever they please.

All you need is a computer or smartphone plus accessto the internet to become a remote worker. The internet givesyou access to cloud-based applications which allows you to do everything in or outside the office. Virtual employees can work anytime of the day as they wish to stay in touch with their stakeholders all over the world thanks to the internet.

Working remotely help you to complete your duties on your own schedules which can result in higher engagement rates and increased productivity levels as well, if well managed, according to Harvard Business Review.

But you must learn a new approach to adapt to working remotely. Here’s how, (courtesy of CMC Connect Limited):

1. Create a Dedicated workspace – away from distractions
2. Start Your Day Early – Waking up late will disorganize your day
3. Prepare for Work! – Take a shower, change your clothes
4. Create a to-do-list: Write down the task to be achieved for the day
5. Stay Focused: Avoid distractions by setting boundaries, help your loved ones understand that you’re not on a holiday
6. Take breaks, stretch your legs
7. Communicate! Respond to calls, emails, messaging apps, video calls etc.
8. Celebrate Your Wins: Go over the day’s tasks and tick off those you were able to deliver
9. Review the day’s achievements with your line manager and teammates
10. Working from home (WFH), is only effective when you are in constant communication with line managers and teammates.

2. Embrace Collaborative Business–In collaborative business, companies coordinate withothercompanies to maximize their efficiency and profitability. Collaborative business is used by companies to team up with competitors and suppliers for efficiency, and it can also be used as a sales strategy to capture more market share.

A food vendor and transportercan partner to deliver provisions to homes. Technology consulting firms can partner with a professional body to deliver webinars to their members.

3. Maintain/Increase your Marketing Budget – In challenging times, many businesses cut down their marketing budget though unbeknownst to them it’s to the detriment of the business. Lean periods are the times businesses needs to market more because consumers are restless and looking to make changes in their buying decisions. You need to help them find your products and services easily.

This is the best time to increase your investment in public relations. Almost all the industry and profession have something to say to the virus to navigate the COVID-19 era. Credential experts in medicine, law, finance, HR, technology, media, supply chain management etc. can leverage radio and TV news talk programs to position their brands, and reach more people than they have in years, according to Nielsen. This is one of the times when knowledge or professionalism counts to provide relevant information to customers to manage the crisis.

Brands should constantly update their online profiles – websites and social media handles as the authentic sources of information. Hotlines should be activated as well. Efforts in social listening, media scanning and keyword monitoring should be doubled to quickly respond to any untoward rumour.

4. Protect Business Cash Flow – Cash is the lifeblood of every business to take care of overheads and keep business healthy. But the harder times get, the harder it can be to keep the cash flowing in. Free cash-flow, equity and debt financing are the best sources of working capital. However, these options may not be available for all businesses in challenging times.

In such cases, there are alternative cash-flow management strategies that businesses can use to ease the strain on their working capital such asrequesting for a deposit; cutting or delaying expenses; financing purchase orders; and selling invoices.

5. Communication – Create and maintain an open line of communication relevant to your stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers, creditors and government regulators to maintain ongoing engagement and support. These stakeholders require different messaging and media, it is essential to keep them informed.

6. Maximize Government Financial Support Policies–the Central Bank of Nigeria announced several financial intervention policies to support households and companies in mitigating the negative impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the affected families and enterprises nationwide. This include:

136. The credit relief of $136.6M and additional N50billion facility through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank for households, small and medium-sized enterprises, airline service providers, hotels, and health care merchants affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

2020. The apex bank dropped interest rates on all its intervention funds from 9 percent to 5 percent per annum for one-year effective March 1, 2020.

1. Unspecified credit support for pharmaceutical companies intending to expand or establish their own drug manufacturing plants in Nigeria as well as to hospital and health care practitioners who intend to build or expand to world class standards.

1. Forbearance to big businesses by granting banks leave to consider the temporary restructuring of the tenure and loan terms for businesses and households most affected by the outbreak, particularly the oil and gas, agriculture and manufacturing.

Your organisationmust step up to the plate and toadapting to the current realities. As you already know, this is the era that businesses must demonstrate their nimbleness by quickly and effectively responding to the demands of change while continually delivering high performance.

SegunMcmedal, leading business communications and public affairs advisor, lives in Lagos.