There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the real estate industry for a loop. From canceled open houses to dwindling homebuyer interest, it can be tough to keep your business afloat right now.
As the pandemic continues to sweep the globe, more and more businesses are finding themselves in a precarious position.
But with a bit of creativity and perseverance, you can still make things work. Here are more than five tips on how to stay afloat in real estate during lockdown you must know and try.
Don't sacrifice quality in your business model.
Quality is everything right now. Your customers are more selective than ever, choosing to wait until they can be sure that the home they’re buying is up-to-code and won’t crumble at the first sign of trouble.
Whenever it comes to quality, you have to be creative. You can improve your craftsmanship, ask your subcontractors for a better job, or try out new materials – anything that will enhance the quality of your work and keep customers coming back for more. In this business, you’re only as good as your product’s reputation.
The best way to improve your business in lockdowns is by providing them with an exceptional experience via quality service.
Whether it’s expanding your team of freelancers in a difficult time to improve turnover or simply keeping an up-to-date blog about the latest developments in COVID-19 research for your potential homebuyers – do whatever it takes to ensure they have a great experience.
It is also vital for small businesses to keep costs under control during difficult periods.
Make sure to avoid sacrificing quality in this change. Not only with your current freelance team but also with the employees you’ll be bringing on.
Before hiring new talent, continue to improve your vetting process to ensure that they are only guaranteed to enhance the quality of your company rather than decrease it.
A business plan must include improving customer satisfaction to increase revenue.
If you’re affected by this pandemic, don’t wait for it to pass. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and trying to save money in every possible manner, look for new ways to improve your financial situation – even if that means taking out a loan or finding a way to boost your cash flow.
So, make sure to avoid sacrificing quality in this change.
Businesses looking to boost profitability should avoid drastic changes to key components. In other words, if real estate brokerages go through dry spells, small business owners can increase their profit margins by buying cheaper houses or outsourcing more affordable services.
Depending on how many people buy houses in a year, the strategy can backfire if customer satisfaction is slowed down.
Stream or video chat your services to keep your small business afloat
Video streaming can keep a small business afloat when profits are dwindling and the market is saturated with competition.
Because video streaming allows people to actually see their freelancers working on projects, the whole process becomes much more effective.
Communicate proactively with your customers
Whether it’s technical work, graphic design, or even accounting – video streaming your services provides an excellent opportunity for business owners to improve their relations with customers.
Take your services digitally for your customers to continue to be in their families’ presence and support you when you need them.
Hold an event online
Many instructors, fitness coaches, and therapists offer free consultations. Utilize free apps such as Skype or Google Hangout and make them integral to your business strategy.
In a service sector not suited for live videos, try making Vimeo channels that allow customers to pay a monthly fee for videos with a common question. Vimeo’s paywall allows users to see your video without paying for your content.
Financial relief alone isn't enough
If you rely on financial assistance as a minor component of your cash flow, consider that it isn’t enough to boost the business in lockdowns.
And if your financial relief is more than half of your total income, you should consider other options right away because there are some risks involved with relying on one source of income for too long. You can improve financial aid by reducing costs or increasing revenue.
Although personal financial benefits are nice during stressful times, they typically don’t improve business performance.
Business loans also aren’t worth the risk these days
Although business loans can improve margins and most businesses buy essential things like office supplies, etc, during a time of need, they’re often too risky to take on.
The stress of paying back these loans in a timely manner requires businesses to have a larger revenue stream than is necessary for survival.
Instead of taking out a business loan, just improve your cash availability through any means necessary, whether it’s by taking on other jobs or finding new revenue streams.
Adapt to market trends
Pandemics can alter the global economy and the business finances for a very short time and perhaps longer. Get a good understanding of how your market will look.
Ask yourself these questions:
Is there any way to provide remote service? Are brands really redefining them? Before the era of online sales, you were probably focusing on offline selling.
In today’s competitive marketplace, business owners have many options to transform their business model to survive the economic crisis.
Look at the big picture
Adapting to market trends is key to continued success in the wake of a pandemic lockdown.
This includes diversifying how your business generates revenue or optimizing cost-efficient processes, allowing online contractors to work from home, and leveraging new technology.
Do whatever is necessary to improve revenue or improve cost-efficiency so that your business continues to improve during lockdown periods.
As explained above, there are many options available for business owners to transform their business model to survive the economic crisis in today’s competitive marketplace.
Ensure access to cash
Managing employees is difficult enough without worrying about whether your employees can meet their basic needs. Ensure that you have the necessary amount of cash and other necessities so that employees can remain focused on work instead of worrying about how they’re getting paid.
If this isn’t possible, take advantage of any free services provided by government agencies (such as a food bank or a mental health agency)
Especially during crisis times, small businesses must make sure they have access. A good first step is to contact the bank loan officer and understand the loan requirements.
Establishing close business relationships between borrowers and banks is vital in small businesses.
The small business owner should also look for additional potential sources of capital. This could include using saved funds, transferring shares, or lending a family member’s money.
We all have seen the struggle of working long hours with not-so-stellar pay. Pandemic exacerbates the effects of this. Employees need to afford basic living expenses, including food, water, and shelter.
And that’s why ensuring access to cash does not only mean for the business but for your employees as well.
Just think about how it can improve your business performance.
First, your employees will improve their performance with the proper amount of food, water, shelter.
Second, the fact you care about your employees will improve their individual performances. It gives them confidence in your leadership and the direction of the company.
Third, positive word-of-mouth would improve your brand image and improve your business even more. In today’s marketing approach, the relevance and power of word-of-mouth have not been altered significantly.
Take a look at your competition
Businesses need to be aware of their competition and determine which companies thrive even in a pandemic lockdown.
Customers form an opinion about your business based on the businesses they see thriving.
When times are tough, what you need to improve is not necessarily your product or service, but how well you present it.
This shows customers that you care by having a good presence on social media networks and sites. The more people trust you, the better sales and online orders you’ll have even during pandemic lockdowns.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many things that business owners should consider in the event of a pandemic.
It’s vital to prepare for a pandemic by having an alternate way of operating your business. The best thing you can do is make sure that cash flow, sales, and the image of your company are all settled during lockdown periods.
You should also make sure employees are happy with their jobs and have access to basic necessities like food or water if they live in a major city where supplies may be scarce.
Remember, it’s not just about what you do when everything goes back to normal; it’s about how prepared you were before things went off the rails in the first place.
