The Biggest Challenges Facing US
Businesses This Summer and
How You Can Prepare for Them

It seems like every business has faced more than its fair share of challenges since March 2020. Now that the news is getting a little better every day, it feels a little gloomy to be talking about what kind of problems business owners can still expect to face in the months ahead. However, if we have learned one thing over the course of the pandemic, it is that there will always be a next challenge. There will always be a situation that we don’t expect and that we can’t prepare for, which is why it is so important to anticipate the ones that we can see coming and to have a plan in place to deal with them.

Business owners have been through the wringer in more ways than one over the last eighteen months and we have all learned how to be resilient, flexible and compassionate. What is vital at this point is taking a deep breath and thinking about how we can get our business through the next eighteen months and keep building towards greater and greater success. Here are a few of the issues that we know are coming and how you can make sure that your business is ready for them.

Customer Service Will Be Crucial

Let’s start with an issue that we are all familiar with. All businesses understand, and small business more than most, that having a positive relationship with your customers is crucial to your company’s continued growth. However, problems arise when the business is going through a particularly turbulent time and some issues can sometimes fall through the net.

Now that everyone is spending so much more time online and customers have so many different avenues to publicize any negative interactions, not to mention the competition being so fierce, it is crucial that you place great importance on quality customer service. Think about bringing on a dedicated customer service and satisfaction manager on board to ensure that nothing gets missed and that issues are resolved quickly. An AI chatbot could also be a great addition to your website. They have been shown to improve customer retention and they can be programmed to deal with your most common questions.

Cybercrime Needs to Be Taken Seriously

If you have been running a business during the pandemic, then it will not have escaped your notice that cybercrime figures have been on the rise. The numbers of cybercrime incidents have been absolutely staggering, and we are seeing these incidents hit all kinds of businesses and institutions around the world.

To put it bluntly, we have been shown that a lot of people are not doing enough to protect their finances and to protect their information. If you are running a company then it is your responsibility to take positive action now before it’s too late. Any business using cloud-based tech could be particularly vulnerable. Investing in better security software and indeed bringing in a security expert obviously means spending money at a time when we all want to be tightening our belts, but it definitely beats the alternative.

Remote Working May Be Here to Stay

Now that things are looking brighter for businesses, many companies are considering a return to the office. However, there are plenty of others that have decided that the benefits of working from home outweigh the drawbacks. It’s hard to argue with the amount of money you save when you are not paying for an office space, after all. We all learned how to get by with working from home in the months since the pandemic started, but there is plenty of room for improvement.

You may still be struggling with communication, for example, and flexible working hours can make it tough to make sure that people are clocking in and out. Project management is another element that is prone to wrinkles if you don’t have the means to check progress at any given time. A staff experience online platform can streamline your day-to-day activities and helps your employees to feel more engaged and empowered. One example of this can be seen through StaffCircle, a platform that can drastically reduce the amount of time your business is spending on admin and give you the room to focus on what’s next.

Climate Change Is Here

Finally, we all need to be thinking about how our business is going to be a part of combatting climate change. There isn’t a week that goes by without a news report that shows that the time for positive action is now, whether it’s the soaring temperatures in Seattle and or the fires in the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

You might be wondering how your business can be a part of the solution, but even the smallest steps add up. Look at your energy usage and see what can be reduced. Encourage your employees to think green and make environmental awareness part of your corporate identity. It will bring your team together and help to make a brighter future.