Create your 2020 recovery plan: 12 questions to ask yourself, by Tide member Rush

Tide member Rushabh Savla is a physiotherapist and founder of R&D Physio.

Having to adapt to lockdown rules, Rush set himself and his team the challenge of answering these 12 questions. The answers then helped the team create a new way forward in 2020 and beyond.

Rush is sharing his questions here to help other small businesses thrive in 2020.

(You might have spotted Rush on the Tide website before, where he’s has given us tips on working from home safely and why back pain isn’t caused by your posture.)

Rush’s 12 Questions

Go through this list, answering the questions. If you have team-mates or collaborators, ask them to contribute too. Your responses will help you plan how your business can adapt and grow in 2020 onwards.

1) What are your inbuilt abilities?

What is it that people are truly buying from you? What’s the experience or outcome of working with you that makes your services or products unique? How can you use that outside your usual business or products? If you can’t trade as usual, how could you monetise your knowledge and skills online?

2) What assets can you sweat?

There are two minicab firms near where I live. One has closed while the other has pivoted to run deliveries from local butchers, greengrocers. How about you?

3) Who could you partner with?

Now’s the time to collaborate not compete. Who has the same audience as you but a non-competing product?  Who could use your skills, know-how or assets? Could you multiply your reach by sharing each other’s marketing power? Or double your impact by teaming up for an offer?

4) If you had to strip back everything, what would be the last product or service you’d lose?

What’s the most important thing you do? Would your customers choose the same thing? Focus on just that most important thing. You could go all-in and communicate that’s all you’re doing. That clarity will remind people about choosing to work with you and the single specialised outcome you deliver.

5) How have your clients been affected?

Listen to what your customers are saying. What’s changed for them? What’s difficult right now? What’s frustrating? What do they need urgently? After lockdown, what are they asking for? Use the answer to help you focus and plan.

6) How can you help?

Make one list of how you can help others, then divide the list into ways you can add value for free and things you could charge for. Write down everything you can think of. The simplest ideas might be the best ones.

7) What else have you got?

Look at ideas you’ve had that are gathering dust on the ‘I’ll do it later’ shelf or things you’ve offered in the past. What could you revive or fast-forward?

8) What could you do at a one-off reduced rate or as a ‘pop-up’?

I’m not advocating dropping your prices, but you could try a short-term offer to deliver a win-win solution.

9) What could you do for free now to create demand for a paid-for product?

Rather than push out a paid-for product, could you offer free support then ask what else people need? That way, your customers are ‘asking’ you for the product, rather than you having to ‘sell’ it.

10) What can you do now that will help you later?

If you can’t create sales, then how about creating demand and trust? What can you do now that will create a desire to work with you when we’re all allowed out again?

11) What’s worth promoting right now?

Not everyone is struggling. In fact, many of you will find that your customers and clients need you now more than ever before. I’m not suggesting you capitalise on that, but if you can and you have good intent, now’s a smart time to be marketing. Especially as there may be less noise to compete with and advertising is cheaper. Now’s a good time to be doing good.

12) Who can support you right now?

Now more than ever we need people to talk to, to share and bounce ideas with, to feel like someone understands. Sometimes family, friends or business partners are too close to us or too busy with their own stuff so make sure you have people or groups you can talk to, or places to get support. And then do seek support.

If you found Rush’s questions useful, please share them with your contacts and tell us more via LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

Read more from Rush:
How to run a business in lockdown: Rush, Founder of R&D Physio

At Tide we’re proud to serve R&D Physio and we wish them every success. And if you’d like to get that pesky injury or niggle treated by Rush’s team of online physios, ping them an enquiry here on their website:
www.r-d-physio.co.uk/online-physiotherapy