Surviving Coronavirus Pandemic: A Guide for Startups

Yes, we're witnessing a crisis unfolding. Not only people get gripped by the coronavirus fear. It's like a stroke for most businesses - some will recover, some won't.

Does this corona crisis necessarily mean a failure for your business? If you play your cards right, Covid-19 could spell... success. So, no need to read coffee grounds to tell what awaits your business, experts advise on how to make the most of the current situation.

Now let's have a closer look at the tricky marketing situation that industries face right now.

People stay at home

People are staying at home. There's no telling what damage coronavirus will bring for travel services. It could take months for the industry to recover from the tailspin the coronavirus has sent it to. So, many of them will have to lie low unless they find a way to adjust.

Another wave of impact runs through e-learning: Covid-19 compelled the shift to virtual learning. In response, education technology companies have stepped forward. Mass technology adoption is what drives the dynamics of ed-tech financing.

People still need to eat. Food-delivery expects a high surge in the order number. To minimize the danger while passing the packages, some delivery apps now provide the option to ask for a no-contact drop-off.

People adjust to working from home. Quarantine pushed WFH from a growing trend to a central focus. Workplace software companies do their best to stand up to extraordinary demand for facilities for corporate communication, virtual meetings, and training sessions. 

Growing industries

Amid coronavirus pandemic, telemedicine is revolutionizing healthcare. Coronavirus increases users' reliance on it. For example, China has moved half of its medical care online. This dramatic increase in virtual visits slowed down coronavirus transmission. Virtual services, like online symptom-checking tools and remote consults with doctors, could keep the so-called "worried well" from flooding hospitals.

People stockpile. The growing alarm over the coronavirus makes them place large orders. Some experts claim that this will have a permanent effect on future shopping habits. The analysis shown an 8.8% increase in conversion rates, compared with the same period the previous year. More and more buyers who were visiting websites do make a purchase. Due to the coronavirus, retailers supplying like toilet paper, face masks, and water bottles are having significant sagging under the weight of surge in demand. Still, in the long-term, these retailers are concerned the coronavirus will negatively impact their revenue in 2020.

Startup rescue plan

That said, Covid-19 is likely to fuel areas like online shopping, e-learning, healthcare, delivery service, and remote work. 

Clearly, it's no longer business as usual, no longer a regular market, especially if you're leading a startup or a small company. Given different degrees of preparedness across companies, we've prepared a general action plan to tackle this pressing challenge:

• Estimate the risks and test your assumptions about customers and revenue. You need to figure out your actual burn rate and runway in this new environment now.
• Set up a WFH environment, set up communication standards and tools to stay productive. Remember that you are recognized for what you do, not your time in the office chair.
• Explain your expectations from the team and maintain a healthy team spirit. Your team can be just as happy, connected, and productive at home as they are in the office.
• Analyze the resources you have on hand and picture how you could make it last for at least six to nine months. And if you don't have enough, look at how you could cut expenses or increase sales by doing something different.
• Find alternative resources with a better value for money ratio. Switching the non-vital process to an outsourced team can greatly decrease costs. Here Zfort Group can be of great help. We are offering the best deals for you to get the most benefit out of every dollar you invest. Besides, unlike in-house employees who may not be able to find a replacement if they get sick, you can rest assured the job is covered with no gap by an outsourced team.
• Come out of this disruption stronger than ever.

Of course, coronavirus isn't something we'd have wished. But from scarcity and reframed perspectives comes innovation and creativity.

Investors are seeking startups that could quickly produce a lot of ventilators, masks or gowns, screening existing drugs for effectiveness, novel approaches to vaccines, and new therapeutics that big pharma companies are unlikely to develop.

Startups are flexible, so adjust to changes faster. For instance, a health services startup and a provider of telemedicine, which previously specialized in Opioid Use Disorder treatment, managed to meet the growing demand for its virtual medication-assisted treatment programs due to Covid-19. As a result, Series A capital fundraising was announced. Its online portal quickly collaborates with on-site providers and transition patients into virtual care at home and already works in remote and rural areas. 

This example shows that a startup leader needs to plan, communicate, and act. Together, we can get through this.