Photo by Allie on Unsplash

Photo by Allie on Unsplash

What can SMEs do themselves to sustain
their operations and jobs?
 Business continuity planning
 Protecting businesses and their workers
from COVID-19
 Marketing in uncertain times
 Accelerating digital transformation
 Collaborative strategies for survival
 New markets, products and customers
 Access financial services
Source: International Labor Organization
What is a Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a document

that outlines how a business will continue
operating during an unplanned disruption in
service.

Source: International Labor Organization

What is Business Community Management?

Business continuity management (BCM) is a

framework for identifying an organization's risk of
exposure to internal and external threats.
The goal of BCM is to provide the organization
with the ability to effectively respond to threats
such as natural disasters or political unrest and
protect the business interests of the organization.
Source: International Labor Organization
Protecting your business and your workers from
COVID-19
Action 1: Gather up-to-date information on COVID-19 to protect
your workers and activities
Action 2: Develop a company preparedness plan for COVID-19
Action 3: Reduce physical contact in the work place
Action 3: Promote personal hygiene measures in the workplace
Action 5: Support sick workers and their families who stay at home
Cooperation in the workplace is the key to success.
Consultation between workers and employers builds trust
and guarantees the effective implementation of your
company's measures under the Pandemic.

Source: International Labor Organization

• Assess the level of risk and
vulnerability of your business; and
• Develop an effective risk and
contingency system for the
business

Source: International Labor Organization

 4 Ps
• People
• Processes
• Profits
• Partnerships

Source: International Labor Organization

Source: International Labor Organization
Source: International Labor Organization
What can SMEs do themselves to sustain their
operations and jobs?

Source: International Labor Organization

COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES

• Working together to reduce costs

• Working together to sell
• Working together to learn
• Working together to buy
• Working together in marketing
• Cooperatives have proven to be
more resilient in times of crisis

Source: International Labor Organization

For some small businesses,
collaborative approaches can be the
solution to survive the COVID-19
crisis.

Working together with other

entrepreneurs may be a vital
component of business resilience
during this difficult period.
There are many ways in which small-
business owners can join forces, learn
from each other, increase purchasing
power, attend new markets and grow
Source: International Labor Organization
their revenues.
Experience shows that the COVID-19 crisis is creating solidarity.
Many collaborative business ideas have popped up round the
world as small business owners find creative ways of working
together.
Collaboration may
develop horizontall
y
(among
competitors)
or vertically (along
a particular value
chain).
Source: International Labor Organization
Why
collaborate?

Collaborate to reduce costs

Small business owners will need to look for
cost saving measures during the COVID-19
crisis. The good thing is that you are not the
only one. During other crisis situations,
small businesses have survived by:
•Sharing office space with other small
businesses (co-working spaces)
•Sharing equipment with other small
businesses
•Sharing digital tools and software (licences,
open source access, etc.)
Collaborate to sell
When your traditional market is
collapsing, you may look for
collaborative ways of attending new
markets. When clients cannot
come to your shop, for instance,
maybe you can sell your products
through the channels that other
businesses use to sell their
products.
Collaborate to learn

Many small business owners will go through

a steep learning curve during the present
COVID-19 crisis.

How do I protect my workers? How do I sell

on-line? How do I do a crowdfunding
campaign? When you contact local business
networks and associations, you will find out
that others are struggling with the same
questions.

Make a joint proposal for training to your

local business development service provider.
Or lobby jointly with the government in order
to get this training for free. As a group, you
Collaborate to
buy

Small businesses are often at

a disadvantage buying from
distributors and wholesalers
when compared to larger
businesses that have bulk
buying power.
Source: International Labor Organization
 Collaborate to market your
products and services

Marketing to local clients for

new groups of potential clients

Social media campaign –

Thousands of people to see
your business and products
for the first time
Source: International Labor Organization
Collaborate to innovate

You may want to consider

joining forces with another
SME or start-up well
established in the sector to
develop the new product
together.

Source: International Labor Organization

MARKETING IN TIMES OF
COVID-19

Source: International Labor Organization

Marketing is the capacity to
identify customers' needs and
to satisfy them better than your
competitors in order to make a
profit.

Source: International Labor Organization

Source: International Labor Organization
What should MSMEs do?
• Analyze the market & identify new needs
• Observe your customers
• Analyze your new needs
• Monitor your competition
• Identify consumer trends
• Develop loyalty strategies
Source: International Labor Organization
PRODUCT: Adapt your product
The product is the first P of marketing.

It's about the goods or services your

customers need.

If your sales are not good or have

dropped sharply during the crisis, you
must ask yourself if your product meets
the basic needs of your customers
Source: International Labor Organization
Source: International Labor Organization
PRICE: Adapt your price
Price is the second P of marketing.

In general, your product will sell at a

price that your consumers are willing to
pay, but making sure that it still allows
you to make a profit.

The goal is to retain customers.

Source: International Labor Organization

Source: International Labor Organization
PLACE
The third P is the place.

Here we analyze the place of

purchase, the space where customers
can go to purchase their products
and/or its distribution.

The most obvious example to illustrate

this place would be a store.
Source: International Labor Organization
Source: International Labor Organization
PROMOTION
To retain customers, the P for promotion will mean developing strategies for
staying in touch with customers, informing them about your products, how they
can be purchased and used.

In crisis situations, communication and advertising channels must be adapted. In

addition to advertising on radio, television, etc., digital marketing is important, as
are the tools that the Internet offers to reach our audience, which may include
the following:

1. Create a website that reports on your product

2. Open a channel on social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.)
3. Develop electronic product information brochures
4. Position yourself in web search engines (naturally or through paid services)
5. Electronic brochures, mass mail, etc.

Source: International Labor Organization

Source: International Labor Organization
PEOPLE
The P for PEOPLE refers to the company's
staff. We have already described the
importance of maintaining the safety and
security of workers.

Under a marketing approach, involving

staff in the definition of the strategy can be
very useful, since they are closer to the
needs of the clients and are the ones who
will implement the strategy.

Source: International Labor Organization

Source: International Labor Organization
PROCESS - PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
The final Ps of the marketing mix refers to
the procedures or processes that are
developed to ensure that the customer
has a positive and memorable experience
when purchasing and / or using your
product or service.

What does it mean during COVID-19?

Source: International Labor Organization

Source: International Labor Organization
Source: International Labor Organization
 What is
Productivity?
Productivity is the relationship between the output and input.

PRODUCTIVITY

National Wages and Productivity SOURCE: Asian Productivity Organization

Commission Handbook on Productivity, 2015
 How to
PRODUCTIVE?
be
OUTPUT QUALITY
PRODUCTIVITY =
INPUT

Outputs should be QUALITY OUTPUTS.

National Wages and Productivity SOURCE: Asian Productivity Organization

Commission Handbook on Productivity, 2015
 CUSTOMER’S
QUALITY PREFERENCES

PRODUCT SERVICE
Performance Friendly
Reliability Fast / Timely
Features Accessible
Aesthetics Responsive

National Wages and Productivity

Commission
 How to
PRODUCTIVE?
be
OUTPUT
PRODUCTIVITY =
INPUT MANAGE
EFFICIENTLY
Inputs (manpower, materials, machine and method)

National Wages and Productivity SOURCE: Asian Productivity Organization

Commission Handbook on Productivity, 2015
 How to Manage Inputs [Resources]
Efficiently
INPUTS WHAT TO DO WHAT TO AVOID

Be competent on the job

Manpower Errors
Apply required knowledge, skills,
ATTITUDE
Optimize materials Wastages / Rejects
Materials
Use materials properly /
Reworks / Recalls
Machine Know how to properly operate the machine Delays
Do regular preventive maintenance

Delays / Rejects /
Method Comply with given work procedures
Recalls / Reworks

National Wages and Productivity

Commission
Source: International Labor Organization