How Flexibility Can Help Small Businesses Navigate The Changing COVID Restrictions

As the COVID scare continues to affect the global economy, results suggest that a large segment of small businesses across the United States have been severely affected by the virus. Nearly three-quarters of the small businesses have been partially or fully affected.In these testing times, small businesses are looking for financial support and help, and if they do not get it from banks they may look elsewhere and it is the responsibility of Flexibility Capital to help small businesses to keep them afloat and help them adapt to these times.

The possible ways Flexibility Capital can help small businesses are

Enable an easier lending journey

Small businesses are interacting more with the government, especially for applying for loans. Interacting with the government has proven difficult for small businesses in attempting to navigate the bureaucracy rife with very poor user experiences and a lack of transparency.Additional integration with current accounting and expense management systems can streamline the loan process and provide a personalized loan offer based on where small businesses are in terms of finance. Loans can also be marketed to small businesses that pivot or reinvent themselves, with special terms for businesses that shift to key public goods, such as respirators or sanitization supplies.

Social Media Sales

After setting up an online ordering system, businesses will also be able to sell through social media. Many of the e-commerce platforms allow for easy integration.Social media allows businesses to get creative and reach huge audiences that they would normally not be able to reach. Whether they announce a sale on Instagram or put out a live stream on Facebook, there are so many ways to get creative and build businesses online.Although many of these strategies are free and just require effort, flexibility can help grow small businesses exponentially more with just a little marketing budget for these social media platforms. It adds to the audience reach but also takes one of the customers to share their experience positively.

Products that rely on foot traffic

Accelerating digital innovation will be crucial to expand services within the small business segment. There are plenty of opportunities to elevate digital reach and re-think how to build relationships and trust in the evolving digital era. Some examples of digitalization include shifting businesses online, accepting digital payments, and automating bill pay.As digitalization accelerates digital banking platforms become more popular, financial service firms providing superior digital offerings will remain and grow their customer base.

Forge stronger relationships with businesses

Small businesses feel neglected by banks as they do not understand their values and sentiments, institutions who understand the problems are likely to form strong bonds with small businesses.  Many financial institutions are aggressively rolling out new and better robot advisors, and the global conversational AI market is expected to grow from $5 billion in 2020 to $16 billion by 2025.13The multiplication of messaging platforms creates scores of opportunities to create an automated, personalized advice center or chatbot, specifically targeted at small businesses. The advice centers will be able to answer questions with a personal touch and provide immediate, relevant responses, which is critical in this pandemic.

Guide with expertise

Facing extreme uncertainty on how to proceed, when surveyed it was found that small businesses are most likely to turn to friends or family (31%), financial advisors (29%), and banks (28%) for financial advice.Moreover, 41 percent of small businesses plan to discard their current banking partner due to slow support during COVID. Banks are missing the opportunity to deliver a time-sensitive solution to the needs of small businesses which form the backbone of an economy.Small businesses look for a partner that provides targeted advice and expertise for their unique needs. One owner relayed a story about his relationship with his law firm who provided hyper-specific industry advice. With the many priorities, small businesses juggle daily, these findings highlight the opportunities to provide greater expertise.

Expert advice

Offer Excellent Customer Service

If services are unable to meet with customers face to face, it still can provide excellent customer service. While how flexible customer services may change, the quality cannot. Respond promptly and professionally to all inquiries. If the website is getting a lot of traffic and cannot keep up.Increasing sales and marketing hold can take more than originality – a small amount of capital can go a long way. Businesses may need to invest in a better website, sales and customer relationship management software, or professional photography. If it does not have enough working capital a small business loan might be right.Flexible options stand ready to help meet businesses capital needs. This is the time for businesses to adopt the technological changes and opportunities available today, and if by chance businesses need some additional working capital you can reach out and talk to a financing specialist today.