Many of you have reached out via phone or whatsapp/social media and asked what can be done for/by businesses during this difficult time of the Covid-19 or Corona Virus restrictions. Specifically, how can we:
- Increase or maintain revenue
- Cut costs while keeping essential staff and services
- Maintain quality
- Keep export clients/business
• Maintain key stakeholder and customer relationships
• Manage employee interactions and communication
These are just some of the key areas of concern and many of you have addressed some of these concerns already, while some of you are still searching for that perfect mix. No solution is “one size fits all” and Ingenuity remains ready to discuss and assist directly with each of you. These are some general ideas that we will be publishing on our website and social media properties, that we felt could be of assistance as a starting point for your own internal discussions, and that we can customize and expand on with you directly:
| Area | Idea | Impact Rationale |
| Expenses | Cut travelling expenses and similar items | With less customer activity and some stores closed, if your business is visit based, some of it may not be reduced or may be able to be conducted via video conference or call. |
| Expenses | Repurpose contract staff or temporarily add to job duties with delivery or other services such as online sales | Based on your type of business, you may have the opportunity to sell/ deliver your product directly to customers/ consumers. Staff that are now idle can be repurposed temporarily for delivery or other related roles such as call centers. |
| Expenses | Transfer staff temporarily to other departments or businesses | Some of you are involved in multiple areas of business and there may be opportunities to temporarily transfer staff to other needed areas. |
| Sales | Create low cost product of service offering and/or add a product or delivery service | In this time, some businesses can create low cost/smaller size/or revised product/service offering that can be attractive to consumers at this time of tight pockets. |
| Sales | Repurpose your manufacturing or principal business to what may be needed | There are always opportunities in times of crisis for certain products. It may be possible to manufacture/retrain or add new products for distribution as an opportunistic means of creating new revenue. |
| Sales | Create crisis specific marketing | Using terms such as “quarantine price list” or “stay home service” and so on to connect with the customer needs. |
| Export Business | Encourage current customers to stock up, if your product is still in demand in their market | While cargo is still flowing, raw material availability from affected countries, T&T foreign exchange shortages in the future and logistical issues may reduce your product availability in the future. |
| Internal Operations | Roster/Stagger staff and use video/ online meeting tools and computer login tools to work from home. Implement sanitization procedures and tools e.g. sinks, cleaning etc | This can minimize employee anxiety and help you play your part in the national call to action and also minimize you risk to all of your staff. This can also avoid getting into difficult union or industrial relations situations. |
In the Ingenuity network, we have manufacturers, restaurants, financial institutions, government institutions, NGO’s, IT companies and service-based companies to name a few. We wish you success in these troubled times and will be touching base with everyone to see how we can assist. Also please don’t hesitate to call or whatsapp if you can’t get us via voice.
Always Moving Forward,
Ingenuity Business Development
www.ibdtt.com
randalld@ibdtt.com; 2808288
rawler@ibdtt.com; 2808285