It's no secret that currently, every small to medium-sized business in South Africa and the world needs a survival gameplan. Managers, team leaders and business owners need to make use of one factor which the Coronavirus lockdown has gifted us with - time. 

The current socio-economic landscape gives business owners time to regroup, strategize and to plan. By applying specific steps during South Africa's 21 days of lockdown, businesses will have a solid foundation once the nation is free of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Step 1: Protect Your Employees.

Your employees are an essential part of your business, and it is imperative to protect them within the bounds of the law during this pandemic. Any found companies to operate out of the limits of President Rhamposa's gazette are subject to fines, being shut down and in a worst-case scenario- prison time. 

Ensure that your employees have the tools to work remotely from home. Companies facing distress due to COVID-19 can apply for help, and if necessary, the UIF system can be called on for support.

Step 2: Communication: 

It's more vital than ever to communicate with your company's stakeholders. Whether you do this via a phone call, email or any specific apps for conference calling or video chats, be sure to touch base regularly with your customers, clients, team, suppliers, networks and of course, with your local community. 

Step 3: Monitor Your Customer Base

SMEs will possibly need to alter their services and activities to suit the change in behaviour found within their customers. SMEs in the service and hospitality industries are at risk due to travel restrictions and fear of contamination, thus making it a challenge to make up cash flow losses. 

Step 4: Cash flow:

During this period of economic crisis and the possibility of extended lockdown, SMEs will be at risk of running short on working capital. 

Lower demand from customers, labour force shortages and material shortages could result in lower turnover. Managing cash flow as best possible is critical for all small to medium enterprises. 

Cutting back on spending is common sense, and developing strategies to postpone expenditure, renegotiating big payouts and debt repayments is vital. 

Step 7: Staff cuts and changes:

Unfortunately, for many businesses, this is inevitable. However, this is the time to negotiate with caution and within South Africa's labour laws. Bear in mind, though, for most South Africans, just having a job is better than no job at all. As a business owner, you will need to consider pay cuts, half-day solutions and possibly suspended bonuses. 

Step 8: Implement Work-At-Home Solutions if you can:

If your business is of nature whereby your employees can work from home, this needs to happen if you haven't already done so. 

As mentioned above, constant communication is vital for this to work effectively. Continuous support and checking in on your employees is critical. If individual employees need data, top them up. By doing this, you'll be able to continue holding meetings and have the ability to report back to your team.

Should your business fall under the "work-from-home" banner, remember that, now more than ever, customer service is of utmost importance. Your customers and clients will remember the added support you give them during this time, and they're not likely to forget when everything returns to normal. 

Step 10: Look after your repeat customers:

It is imperative to hold onto your current customers at all costs. Consider creating exclusive deals for them, provide bulk buy options and possibly negotiate cash upfront to ensure delivery of goods and services which could be in short supply. Once again, this takes us back to step 2: communication. 

Lastly, keep in mind that common sense and compassion are powerful during tumultuous times. Go the extra mile with customer service and ensure that if you're still in operation that your clients know that their safety comes first.