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May 2020

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E-Commerce and Its Business Advantage During the Pandemic

While majority of business sectors around the world are reeling from the economic crisis caused by the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is one sector that seems to be entirely resilient against the economic downturn happening all over the globe – the e-commerce industry.  According to research done by Ipsos, consumer behavior have changed and many are now purchasing online instead of in-store.

What This Means to Businesses

The mandatory closure of stores and the stay-at-home orders of many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the purchasing behavior of many consumers. Pre-COVID, many consumers preferred to go shopping in brick-and-mortar stores to personally see and touch the products they wanted to purchase. COVID-19 has changed all these – many consumers are now downloading grocery apps and ordering items online. Businesses and consumers are now interacting more online and e-commerce has boomed even more at an unprecedented pace.  Buy Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS) is also fast becoming the norm.  This acceleration of consumers’ structural shift towards e-commerce and online interaction means that brands and businesses, particularly those who have not been using the power of e-commerce pre-COVID, should now change their means of doing business. They should now start adopting and using technology to meet their customers’ needs.

How You Can Use E-Commerce to Leverage Your Business During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Getting into e-commerce is one of the best business strategies to implement these days for business owners and first time entrepreneurs. E-commerce makes it possible for brands to stay current and accessible despite the economic downturn. With e-commerce, you as a business owner can still connect with consumers even if they are quarantined at the safety of their homes.

What is E-Commerce?

If you are planning to get your business online and join the e-commerce bandwagon, you should first know the fundamentals and understand how e-commerce works. Basically, e-commerce or electronic commerce is the process of buying or selling of goods, products, and services online. In this type of business, all types of transactions, including the selling and purchasing of goods or services, monetary payments, and even transfer of data are done through the Internet.

What E-Commerce Model Will Work Best for You During and After the COVID-19 Crisis?

There are several different types of e-commerce. These include Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), Customer to Business (C2B), and Customer to Customer (C2C). The terms themselves are explanatory, so I will not delve deep into the explanations of these different types. I will however, be publishing separate blogs for each type soon.

The COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way for new brands and products to successfully make it into the online market. The crisis has led to the closure of many brick-and-mortar stores and it has hindered many well-known brands to continually produce their products. As a result, many consumers have turned to new and upcoming brands. According to Ipsos, 38% of consumers who have switched brands during the pandemic are likely to use the same brands after the crisis ends.

What does this mean for you and your business? It means that whatever e-commerce model you choose for your business, you have to make sure that your products, your brand, or your services should be something that consumers really need whether there is a crisis or not. You do not have to stick to selling well-known brands online to be successful in e-commerce. You only need to find the right product that people will certainly want to purchase during and after the crisis is over.

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Business

Business Strategy: How to Bounce Back After the COVID-19 Crisis

As the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread its deadly tentacles across the globe, more and more industries suffer from temporary closure and non-operation. This leads to a domino effect, with thousands of people losing their jobs and means of living. Both employees and employers alike are forced to stay at home while frontliners do their jobs in battling the virus.   

Business owners, however, are resilient and are trying their very best to outmaneuver the massive challenge that COVID-19 brings. There is too much uncertainty regarding the future of all businesses and the world’s economy, but the ambiguity of what is to come is enough to inspire businesses to think of ways to bounce back even when the virus is still raging chaos around the globe.

COVID-19’s Impact on Business Operations

The processes of most businesses are severely impacted by the new coronavirus disease. According to Gartner’s business continuity survey, 11% out of their 1,500 respondents said that their businesses are relatively or very unprepared for the impact of the pandemic. Fifty-seven percent said that they are likely to continue but at a reduced pace, while 16% said that their business operations are likely to be severely restricted. Only 2% said that their operations may likely continue as normal, while 1% said they might discontinue their business operations altogether.

Around the world, millions of businesses are severely affected by lockdowns and quarantine restrictions. Only a few of these businesses survive; majority have been forced to shut down operations.

COVID-19’s Impact on Consumers

The COVID-19 crisis has inarguably changed the consumers’ buying and spending habits. With social distancing now the new normal in communities, going to bars and restaurants as well as buying from malls and retail stores have become a thing of the past, at least temporarily. Some industries and product categories, however, are enjoying growth in sales. Transactions in medical supplies, for example, are experiencing a huge spike, even outpacing some food products. More and more consumers also seem to purchase canned and dry goods more instead of buying perishable goods. Online purchases have also skyrocketed as consumers adapt to the new normal of staying indoors and doing cashless transactions.

How Can Businesses Bounce Back After the COVID-19 Pandemic?

In this time of crisis, businesses must explore new ways to sustain their operations. Taking into account data on consumers’ movement during the crisis, they should be able to generate action plans on how they can continue their operations and serve their target market. While traditional business processes have been hampered by the pandemic, new technologies present viable options that can serve not only businesses but their target markets as well.

So, how can businesses bounce back after the pandemic is over? Here are some possible solutions:

Businesses Must Adopt New Work Processes

The impact of COVID-19 has this message to all companies regardless of size – they should re-evaluate their processes of doing business and they should do it at an unprecedented speed if they want to curb potential revenue loss. They must also restructure their business models to cater to the changing work environments and the manner by which consumers are responding to the global crisis. Moreover, they should be able to establish a set of cohesive leading practices that can be used now and after the crisis is over.

Businesses Must Use Service-Automation Strategies

Today’s technologies provide companies the ability to adopt enterprise solutions that may be helpful in sustaining crucial operations. Customer care, for instance, is a crucial business process that require utmost attention. With the large growth of e-commerce and with more customers turning to online shopping and cashless transactions, companies must also be able to meet the growth and surges in demand. This could mean hiring more people to man their e-commerce operations and enhancing their customer care services to meet the needs of consumers. Even then, the huge demand can overwhelm the workforce and may result to adverse outcomes in the business perspective. It can also be hard for businesses to keep track of all business transactions if they do not have automated strategies, such as Business Process Automation, put in place.

Business Process Automation is a method that uses technology to execute recurring tasks or business processes. Automation can replace manual effort and can help minimize cost. It can help streamline business processes, leading to greater efficiency in production, employee onboarding and supervision, customer-tracking, and customer-care. Business Process Automation or digital transformation can help standardize operations leading to customer satisfaction.

Businesses Must Enhance Contact Center Management

Consumers are an important aspect in any business. Without them, no business can thrive. If business owners want their companies to prosper during and after the crisis, they should focus not only on their production but also on customer satisfaction.

The COVID-19 crisis has adversely affected the emotional state of most consumers. The pandemic has instilled in them a combination of fear, frustration, and uncertainty. The manner by which a business answers their concerns can either increase positive perception on their brand and lead to customer loyalty post-COVID or drive them away. That is why enhancing contact centers are crucial. Businesses should be able to provide compassionate customer service at all times and give them an accessible channel to ask questions and communicate their concerns.

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Earning Money Online

How to Start Working from Home

Working from home and earning a full-time salary was an opportunity I enjoyed since 2008. Since then, people have been asking me how I did it, although there were also some skeptics who were quick to judge me and the work I did online.

Those who were cynical about me working online thought that the Internet did not bring any good to anyone, that it was a haven for immorality and laziness, and that it would have been better if I found a real job in big companies and corporations. It was hard living and working under their judgmental eyes but I persevered. Working online was something I enjoyed, not only because of the vast knowledge the Internet has given me but also because of the earning opportunities that in my own point of view were much better than when I worked in a daily office job.

Fast forward to 2020 and the idea of working from home has become even more popular. In fact, it may already be the new norm. As more and more people are losing their day jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many more are shifting careers and finding ways to earn online.

Are you one of the many who are looking for ways to earn at the comfort of home despite the fact that COVID-19 is wreaking havoc around the world? Here are some tips on how to start working from home and earning a decent living with just your computer and Internet connection.

Get A Stable Internet Connection

Since you would be working from home and using the Internet as your main source of income, it is highly recommended that you get an Internet plan that is stable and provides fast connection. This should be first in your list if you are planning to take working from home seriously. Wireless connection may work, but they can oftentimes be unreliable. Therefore, make sure that you get a wired connection from your preferred Internet provider.

Know Your Passion

Start with the thing you love the most. What is it that you really love doing and have always wanted to do? What are your skills? Your talents? Your qualifications? In my case, I have always loved reading and writing, so I ended up working online as a content writer and copy editor.

When searching for earning opportunities online, do not just jump on any opportunity just because they give promises of high income. Take on some work because you love doing it and not just because of the money that may come out of it. You see, no matter how easy a particular job is, if you have no passion for it, you will never succeed. If you love what you are doing, however, no matter how hard the job is, you will always find it pleasurable and self-satisfying. From there, you will slowly succeed and maximize your earning potential. Remember, work will never feel like work if you enjoy doing it.

Take It One Step At A Time

Do not rush things. Take time to learn the secrets of making money online. Read helpful materials on the Internet’s earning potentials, watch vlogs and informational videos, listen to podcasts, and see which earning opportunities will work best for you. It may take some time before you will truly land your dream job online and earn a decent income from your efforts, but do not despair. Great opportunities await for those who persevere.    

Condition Yourself to Working at Home

Let’s face it – not all people can stand staying at home all of the time. If you have decided that working from home is your new normal, you must be prepared to spend most of your waking time at home even after COVID-19. Most full-time online jobs offer flexible working hours, but it does not mean that you can go out of the house any time you like. There will be deadlines to meet, online meetings to attend, or trainings to complete. All these can take up much of your time. If you are good at managing your time, though, you may still have some time to go out with friends, but this should not be something you look forward to if you are just starting out with online work, especially if you would be working full-time. Just like traditional office work, working from home and online takes a lot of dedication and passion.

Apply to Opportunities Online

There are countless opportunities you can find online. Some of them offer better compensation than others and some offer better life-work balance. It is up to you to weigh whether one opportunity fits you better than all the others you find. Competition across all industries are tough, though, so expect some rejections along the way. Don’t be discouraged, however. It is always hard to break through when it is your first time, but when you are used to it, you will find that all your efforts are worth it.

Use Your Skills and Talents to Gain Income

If you are well-equipped with a particular skill that allow you to be your own boss, why not use them to your advantage instead of applying to jobs online? Are you great at cooking and baking? Do you have products to sell? There are avenues online that allow people to sell products and services. So if you have been baking for a living offline or creating crafts that some people use for their own benefit, you can use these skills to still earn income even if you are confined at the comforts of your home. Many people are now selling their home-made pastries and recipes through social media sites and they are earning quite a decent income from this venture. Some sell beauty products and supplements and other things that people usually buy in malls.

Think about this: online selling and e-commerce may possibly take the place of traditional malls altogether in the future. Who knows what will happen next? The COVID-19 crisis is showing us that working from home may be the next best thing in this ever-changing world. To continue living comfortably, we need to be able to adapt to every change that may happen along the way.

To reiterate, there are countless opportunities for those who want to start working from home and most of these do not require high capital. You just have to be creative and to know yourself well to decide which ones will work best for you in these changing times.

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