The pandemic created myriad challenges for businesses of all sizes, but especially small businesses.
On the day many were told they had to close their doors and either cease operations or do business another way, it created a challenge many hadn’t faced before. But if there’s one thing we all know, it’s that small businesses are ready for just about any challenge, including a global pandemic.
And a new survey from GetApp proves that. The company found that nearly all small businesses – an astounding 92% – have reinvented themselves and made changes to their operations to keep going.
These changes may have been forced by the situations caused by the pandemic but may become the norm going forward, for the better.
To learn more about how small businesses reinvented themselves during this challenging time, check out our story on the GetApp survey: 92% of US Small Businesses Have “Reinvented” Themselves During Pandemic.
For the rest of the week’s big news for small business, check out our weekly news roundup below.
Small Business News Roundup – July 31, 2020
Walmart Open Call 2020 Deadline is August 10
Could your product or products be sold from store shelves in Walmart? You’ll never know until you try. Submissions to Walmart’s Open Call are due by August 10. The company annually hosts Open Call, a search for new and innovative products to sell in its stores. Hundreds apply and hundreds benefit.
NetBlaze Launches Digital Marketing App
The most important element of managing a small business is one that can fall through the cracks. Marketing. Small business owners need a many-pegged rack to hold all their hats. Hiring employees, stocking supplies, tracking monies in and out, paying utilities and oh yeah, marketing. Marketing is an important aspect of small business management.
Currnt Helping B2B Marketers Make Informed Decisions from a Distance
Currnt is looking to help B2B marketers sort through COVID 19. The on-demand marketing intelligence startup provides a virtual market research toolkit. And they recently launched SmartGroups, a virtual focus group tool. Small Business Trends contacted Tom O’Malley, founder and CEO of Currnt, to learn more. He described how the network of service delivery partners works.
Teespring Sees Monumental Growth – Good News for Creatives
Teespring, has announced that it has registered a compounded growth of 97% during the second quarter of 2020. The social commerce platform has attributed the staggering growth to a large-scale pivot towards eCommerce activities during the pandemic. The company has benefited as it continues to see 2,400 creators signing on the platform every day. This is a growth of 2013% for the company.
Bartering Helping Cash-Strapped Businesses Survive Pandemic
During economic downturns, such as high unemployment and cash shortages, bartering is always a go-to solution. This is what BizX is seeing during the economic hardship businesses are facing brought on by the pandemic. According to BizX, its platform is emerging as an important tool for businesses so they can keep their cash reserves.
New UPS Store Survey Shows How Small Businesses are Pivoting
UPS’ Inside Small Business Survey reveals 41% of small business owners have pivoted their business in the wake of COVID-19. The survey of more than 330 entrepreneurs, reveals how small businesses have adapted and became resilient. As some businesses ground to halt others have looked for opportunities among the challenges and soldiered on.
45% of People Working from Home Feel More Productive
As far as disruptions go, how we work has been completely upended by COVID-19. With more people working from home, the fact that 44.9% say they feel more productive is good news for businesses. Another 20.6% say they don’t see a change in productivity, leaving 34.5% who say they are more productive in the office. The data comes from a detailed survey and report from SellCell.
Some – Not Many – Small Business Owners Believe Things Will Never Return to Normal
An increasing number of small business owners are saying their businesses won’t return to normal. As of May, this year more than 50% of interviewees noted their pessimism over fears of a resurgence of COVID-19. According to a report by LendingTree the level of pessimism in the business community varies from city to city.
LiveChat Adds Text Messaging to Customer Service Platform
LiveChat has launched a new feature that enables businesses to use text messaging to communicate with customers. LiveChat are specialists in online customer service software. The company recently partnered with Twilio and launched the integration of the LiveChat application with the Twilio platform.
What Gen Z Really Wants at Work — It’s Not What You Think
Your younger employees want more than just fun, recognition, and good work-life balance at the workplace. According to the latest survey from Zippia, the most desired benefits of Gen Z (ages 18-25) are health insurance, remote work, and 401k/retirement benefits. Surprisingly, employees of all ages desired these benefits most.
Kabbage Checking Gives Small Businesses Flexibility With Full Features
Kabbage has announced the launch of its new checking account solution targeting small businesses. The new offering provides small businesses access to digital banking services including electronic wallets, free ATM access and bill payments. According to Kabbage, these are the same capabilities, convenience and security businesses can expect with a traditional checking account.
How Work from Home is Pushing the Boundaries of Privacy Again
With more people working from home, business and personal lives are getting merged more than ever. This trend is also pushing the boundaries of what level of privacy can be expected by employees and consumers in this new work environment.
Small Business Employees Returning to Work – But with Fewer Hours and Lower Pay
Small business employees are returning to work. But there’s a caveat. They’re coming back with fewer hours and less pay for now.
GatherUp Helps Businesses Gather Google Review Info
Customers put a high value on online reviews of business products and services. Businesses should also sit up and take notice. Now that’s a lot easier. GatherUp has launched a service called Google Review Attributes Monitoring. A business owner could call it a reputation management solution.
Image: Depositphotos.com
This article, "In the News – Nearly Every Small Business Reinvented Itself During Pandemic" was first published on Small Business Trends
July 31, 2020 at 08:27AM
via https//www.brucedayne.com/
Small Business Editor, Khareem Sudlow
