If there’s one thing the previous year and a half has taught us, it’s that nothing is certain. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted businesses and industries worldwide, crippling some industries, shutting the doors of various companies, and changing lives forever. Not only were small businesses and startups impacted, but large, international brands felt the pinch of 2020 and the restrictions on trade.

Companies and brands globally had to scramble to adjust their business and strategies to cater to a new type of customer and to remain relevant in the unfamiliar landscape. Companies not only had to alter their offerings, operations, and processes but had to also shift employee management and overall infrastructure within the company.

With this in mind, we took a look at several key aspects that you can consider if you are looking to continue to scale your business, even past the impact of COVID-19. Let’s get started right away.

Make Your Business Accessible to Your Client

One of the key learnings that most companies took from COVID-19 was the fact that they were ill-prepared to service clients from a variety of platforms. As customers have evolved, and more and more day-to-day decisions are made digitally, companies need to open their services up to customers on a variety of platforms.

While some customers still opt for brick-and-mortar solutions, others have primarily shifted to online solutions, while others prefer the convenience of real-time access to your brand through apps.

If your company has not yet invested in an app, it is strongly advised to put that on your priority list. Apps not only provide instant, real-time access to your brand, they also reduce cart abandonment, increase engagement and allow effective and streamlined access to your customer and client.

What is more, building an app does not need to cost a fortune. A simple app creator can get your business up and running in no time with an app that offers an impressive range of functionalities and features. Your clients will be able to create profiles, add vital payment details, and engage with your brand to heighten your conversion rates.

Heighten Your Data Management

The next lesson, which for some companies was a difficult one to grasp, was how data was managed, stored, used, and collected in the business prior to COVID-19. Global lockdowns forced employees and customers alike into their homes, and those businesses who had not already moved their operations to the cloud suffered immensely for it.

In fact, over the last decade, companies globally have appeared to learn the hard way what the consequences of failing to invest in effective data center services are. Due to inefficient and inadequate data systems, companies around the world are losing billions of dollars every month to data fraud and digital espionage.

The statistics are shocking, in 2020 alone, global data breaches cost companies $3.86 million per breach, on average. These attacks impacted almost 300.6 million people globally, with the data breaches mostly being made up of cyberattacks. Nearly 40% of malicious incidents were caused by stolen or compromised credentials and cloud misconfigurations.

Companies around the world easily shift to a preventative model to protect their vital company data and to scale their business with the right data management system. By partnering with the right data center services, you can ensure turnkey data protection, all-flash encrypted storage standard, intelligent routing, and state-of-the-art cloud automation. All in all, an effective data management system can not only save you money, but it can help you make money with intelligent data management.

Adapt Your Business to Its Environment

When asking businesses what they did to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, we found out that a large number of companies had to shift their operations to stay relevant during the pandemic.

Brick-and-mortar brands, for example, had to shift their operations exponentially and start catering for the new digital customer. The retail and food industry had to rapidly turn to eCommerce to remain relevant, while the entertainment and education industries had to take their services online.

The same can be said with multitudes of other service providers globally. Digital platforms allowed millions of businesses to take their brands online, and in the wake of 2020, most companies have actually chosen to keep their offerings digital.

In order to remain relevant, and ensure that your customers can be serviced at any time, it is imperative to keep your brand and offerings as fluid as possible. Keep up to date with key trends and your environment at all times, and stay up to date with digital tools and platforms that you can integrate to make your processes easier.

Last Thoughts

2020 was certainly the year that tested the capabilities of companies globally to remain competitive, sustainable, and relevant in an incredibly trying environment.

Those who were resilient and even expanded during the time were those who were more adaptable and quick to pivot. They were more responsive in their reaction to the change in environment and took swift measures in adapting their day-to-day operations and business models to cater to the new customer.

In order for large-scale businesses to remain at the top of their game, they need constant insight into their customers, the environments, and current trends at all times. By having a competitive advantage, you will ensure the growth of your business.