So for what it's worth and as someone who started a business at the end of the last recession to help businesses build back up, I've got some experience in this area and views on what we all need to do.

I can't reinforce this enough. If you let your head drop it will have a domino effect. If you get too worried and act too quickly it can come across as desperation and weakness. Whatever is going on outside your control, this is one thing you have to control. Leave the honest, direct discussions for your accountant/finance team and business advisers/fellow directors - your staff, suppliers and customers will not respond well to speculation right now. 

Those who are confident and talking about the future well beyond the next few months will be the ones that standout. If you sell things that take months to deliver and require input from the client, the current circumstances could help you to at least get through everything you have on right now. Once this situation has passed, the decision time will likely be faster and therefore if you've got an active pipeline you will recover faster than those trying to start from scratch. Savvy people with money know when to buy and they will be out there, the question is whether you are.

If you find yourself with unexpected time, use it to plan and do things today that will help tomorrow. Websites, ideas for campaigns, assessing the competition, looking for new products/services, thinking about your business plan in general etc. Don't let this impact your long term prospects.

I don't know how your sales are going to look in the next month or your cash position BUT I do know that more people than ever are going to be online. I also predict they are going to get VERY VERY bored and as bad as this situation is for many, there will still be a lot of people who are still in work, relatively secure and potentially naive about the extent of the situation. In the consumer market they will be looking around for what to buy to alleviate that boredom or at the very least, feeling like they've got more time than ever before to consider their next purchase. We therefore expect a lot of people to enter the research stage for new products/services and therefore you have got to be there to be seen.

If you've been in a sales mindset for a while, I don't want you to lose focus on that but I do want you to focus on how you are attracting and then nurturing sales which might take longer than usual now to close. You therefore need to be there to be seen a) when people are looking for you so think about your advertising budget for Google b) inspiring relevant people so think about advertising budget for social media - as there's going to be plenty of people on Facebook and LinkedIn over the coming weeks that's for sure and c) targeting the people you want to talk to. You probably have a phone/email account/address book/CRM with details of lots of people you could and should talk to. The world hasn't stopped turning, pick up the phone and make the calls which are either directly pursuing business or building relationships which can generate referrals.

By this I mean look at ways to extend your opening hours/days and how you communicate with people. If your sales scenario involves meeting people, push the phone and even video call scenario. Get it on the website, push it out via email, blogs, social posts and any other way possible. If you're not using video calling check out www.zoom.us - it's a good system, we use it a fair bit and it's free for calls up to 40 mins. Worth a look. 

This goes beyond marketing but it's something you have to think about hard because you need to focus on marketing the products/services you can deliver. If you're importing for example, you need to factor in the fact that you could be looking at extended lead times for many items - so what can you focus on now that you can definitely fulfil (and that may change in the coming weeks/months so have a plan).

There are so many social media posts out at the moment which, going back to point 1, smack of desperation. I get why but there's so much noise, don't become part of it. Think hard about what makes your business, team and offering special and make sure people remember that. Going back to point 2, people are looking for inspiration and distraction. I'm not going to be inspired by any posts I see that have the words Coronavirus or COVID-19 in them directly but if I see a company reminding me they manufacture/build right here in the UK and that supply won't be affected then that might make me sit up and pay attention. Equally if I see that I can video call someone to find out more and progress the discussion, I'm going to be open to that given I'm no longer seeing people day-to-day. Think about your audience, think about your customers and why they love you and get focused on sharing that spirit with the world.

There's lots of talk about all the 'disruption' and I understand why but it's a negative, scary word. Focus on the word 'change' instead and get your mind in gear to adapt. What are your customers going to be buying or valuing right now - how can you help them and what else in the world are people going to be buying from you in the short term. Get creative, be relevant and look sharp.

I wrote this point in respect of your business rather than your marketing. Although the situation is pressing, it's worth taking a breath before rushing in to new marketing initiatives but you certainly should now more than ever before. What I really mean here with point 8 is in regards to your business; your finances, your team etc. I'm sure your finance people are advising you about what to look at in terms of reducing overheads and managing staff but get good people around you and if you need to make tough decisions, make them ASAP to move forward. For some businesses, asking teams to take holiday during this period makes sense as if there's a lack of immediate work, let them use this period to take a break and be available when things pick up again and you need them most. I thought that was a good tip and there will be others which I'll share separately via another format later in the week.   

Not marketing related at all but a simple message to say it's important to keep talking to those around you and if we can help at Digity, get in touch. There's a much bigger picture to consider here and although I can't give you an end date for any of this, it's going to test us all and make us stronger so let's embrace the challenge in front of us and get to work.

I wish you, your families and team the best of health and get your game plans ready.

And if you're wondering why we've called it Operation Lime, it's because if you've ever drank a Corona beer, you'll know Lime is a popular way to make it better!  

To see how we can help you compete for days, weeks and years to come, book a FREE consultation call today.