They’re probably not business owners. If January is any indication of what this year has in store, well, buckle up! Without getting in to any specific reason why, we thought it was a good time to remind you of three things:
- Business Contingency Plans are important.
- Business owners and managers need to focus on what is most important, and not get sidelined by urgencies.
- Communicating with customers, in good times and bad, builds trust and long-term relationships.
Contingency Plans
Contingency plans are “what if” scenarios that help you think about what you will do if something unexpected happens. Every business has at least a few factors that are critical to their operations. Maybe it’s your just-in-time receipt of raw materials, or a distribution network that relies on third parties. Consider where you are most vulnerable in the event of a disruption to standard operational practices.
If you’ve never prepared a contingency plan, you might want to at least give some thought to potential events and make a few phone calls and notes. There are lots of resources on the internet. Here are two:

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The Eisenhower Matrix
This time-management tool makes a distinction between important and urgent. Some issues are both, some are neither, and some fall in between.
The matrix works like this:
Anything that falls into category 4 (not important and not urgent), doesn’t need your attention at all. Delete or delegate.
Issues in category #1 will draw your attention, but you need to ensure that you also carve out time to deal with items in square #2 (which is probably where your contingency planning falls, so ya).
Communicating with Customers
Staying in touch with your customer base is always helpful, but it’s particularly helpful when your business is having difficulties that stem from circumstances far beyond your control. That’s not to say that you can use a situation as an excuse for everything that goes wrong, but when you have done, and continue to do, your very best to meet consumers’ expectations of you, keeping them in the loop can give you the break you need to catch your breath.
This is where we can also be very helpful. Communication is the foundation of our work and goes beyond advertising. We can advise you on what, when, and where, put it all together, and set the plan in motion. If you want to be really proactive, call us when you’ve worked through the key aspects of your contingency plan and we’ll do some advance preparation.