The impact of the COVID-19 and especially the lockdown has been devastating on businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Businesses all over the world including Nepal are having to rethink the way they operate their business & interact with their buyers in accordance with the changing customer behavior caused due to the pandemic.
The manner businesses in Nepal operate will go through a significant transformation and it is apparent that the ones that are the most agile and receptive to changes will prevail. Different businesses in Nepal have been hit differently by the pandemic, but here are some general changes that most businesses will need to be receptive towards to ensure their businesses adapt to the changing environment.
Boosting Your Online Presence
Brands cannot rely entirely on their offline presence even after the lockdowns are called off. To cater to the changing customer behavior and ensure business continuity, now is a good time to diversify digitally and converge your business operations to both online and offline stores.
For those businesses that are able, finding ways to expand your operations online will be the key to getting back up and running sooner. But even if you’re not able to do this, enhancing your online presence, focusing on your visual branding, and preparing for increased demand will help you keep your brand alive. Invest in the digital side of your business, set up your company website, keep your brand’s social media updated, and encourage customer interactions with the brand. It’s important for all businesses to get their social media game strong, so if you’re unable to do this on your own, look for good companies that can help you in getting your business online, set up your website, redesign your logo and create digital contents for your brand.
Embrace Social Media Campaigns
Social Media Campaigns are coordinated marketing efforts to reinforce or assist with a business goal using one or more social media platforms. Campaigns differ from everyday social media efforts because of their increased focus, targeting and measurability.
Social media is a vital tool of digital persuasion. Some people view it as mindless scrolling, but engaged consumers use platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube to inform their purchasing decisions and qualify brands’ trustworthiness. In this way, social platforms are more than just followers, fans and photos; they’re intrinsically enmeshed in the buyer journey.
With the possibility of significant reach, ability to directly engage with followers and customers, the ease of sharing your content with thousands (or even lakhs) of people, and the budget-friendly nature of the work, social media campaigns are appealing to both large scale businesses as well as SMEs in Nepal.
Planning, organizing, executing, and measuring campaigns will require ample skills and resources. This is where you can get in contact with companies that specialize in marketing campaigns like these.
Contactless buying
Regardless if you sell clothes or electronics, this is the time to start thinking about how you can effectively sell your products online. By investing in an eCommerce strategy, you will depend less on physical retail, even once the shutdown is over. Online retailing allows you to have easier access to the market, as well as reduce overheads. While switching to an eCommerce strategy, you might have two options – get your products listed on a marketplace or create your own eCommerce.
Marketplaces like Daraz, Sastodeal, NepBay are a great starting point for e-commerce novices; it minimizes the time and costs for setting up your own store however they charge on memberships, commission, advertisements, and more. If you’re an established brand and don’t want to share your gains with a marketplace, or are in need of a tailor-made solution that will respond to your requirements, then creating your own e-commerce might be the option for you.
Extra options for restaurants and cafes
The key for restaurants & cafes to the changing customer behavior will be setting up a customer ordering system, setting up online, and facilitating home delivery.
Get your menu online
Make your menus easily accessible to people online by publishing them on your website and your brand profiles. People are unlikely to be exploring new restaurants to discover new places to eat. Getting your menu online makes it easy for people to go through your online profiles and easily get information about your offering for when they decide to drop by or opt for home delivery from you.
Offering Takeaway & Delivery Service
Takeaway and delivery offerings have been very popular amongst restaurants & cafes with huge growth in countries like China & UK. The trend is likely to continue for such businesses in Nepal as well. The effectiveness of their offerings, however, hugely depends on how well they are able to attract the customers. Reaching out to people to marketing their brand and their offering properly through the right medium is crucial. It is essential for these businesses to leverage the power of digital platforms to engage and inform their customers.
Partnering with Food Delivery Platforms
Partnering with food delivery platforms like BHOJ & Foodmandu can be very helpful for restaurants and cafes to leverage the platforms’ reach and resources to increase their demand. These platforms charge you on registration & commission and some may charge you for advertisement. Registering with them is easy and they also handle the logistics.
Most importantly, don’t let your customers forget you.
Finally, make sure your customers don’t forget you! Utilize your social media channels to keep engaging with your audience. Keep your customers up to date with what’s happening for you, how they can still access your services, and any new developments you’re working on. There has never been a more important moment to reach out and let your customers know you are still here and open for business.
Also Check: The Post-Pandemic World: What Technologies Shall Prevail?
We hope this helped you to at least have some clarity regarding the actions you can take to ensure you’re making the most out of the situation. If you’re looking to get started on creating unique and engaging content for your brand, run effective marketing campaigns, make an impact that drives sales and gets people pumped about your brand then you can reach out to Pixel Creatives at [email protected]
Also, you can visit Pixel Creatives Website to learn more about how Pixel Creatives has been working with some of the most amazing domestic as well as international brands to supercharge their business and how you too can be one of them!
About Pixel Creatives
Pixel Creatives is a digital solutions company that has been actively working with medium & large scale businesses across creative, technology & media. We’re integrated, which means all three of our departments – Creative, Production & Web, work under a single roof building a quality product that is guided by a single look, tone of voice, and business vision. This ensures everything we create is always in line with the business direction and creative direction you set out. Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help your business.
[Note: This is a guest post from our partner’s Pixel Creatives and their take on the topic. Let us know if you want more guest posts from them.]
