Changing your 2020 Strategy

It can be difficult to adapt to change at the best of times, what we are experiencing now is most certainly not something we could have predicted dealing with this year. With most businesses having already made plans for 2020 and beyond, it’s clear they may no longer be quite so achievable given the Covid-19 pandemic. 

How do we adapt our strategies?

Businesses regularly have to make changes to the way they operate and often look to adapt their strategy to enhance, react and respond to factors such as opportunity and threat however,  it’s unlikely that a business would decide to make so many of these changes at any one time. 

Whichever department you sit under, whether it be HR, Marketing or Customer Service, we are all having to change our strategies and adjust to our new landscape. As a marketer, it’s clear the marketplace has changed instantly and the demand for remote services is a key focus right now.  

Flexibility has been key; campaigns would typically be planned months in advance but now it’s all about delivering valuable content quickly to best serve our customers and prospective clients. Marketing departments will also be forced to think through longer-term considerations around shifts in certain industries, changes to core markets and how businesses will operate as a result of the pandemic.  

Consider the impact on all departments

Finance teams play a big role in strategy during these uncertain times, in most organisations they are used to working to protect business growth and profitability. They will now be faced with a new approach focussing on cash flow planning, financial modelling to improve resilience and other ways to protect the business. Another new challenge will be interpreting the Government initiatives to understand how they can be implemented. 

Although we must remain flexible, it’s necessary to regularly assess the performance of any changes to your strategy, being responsive to change can mean you are ahead of the next challenge you may face. 

Once restrictions lift and the situation starts to become under control, what happens next? What does the path to business continuity and growth look like and will beingthe impact of Covid-19ed by this crisis change how your business looks at strategy moving forward?