Hurricanes: Finding the Opportunity in the Crisis

No doubt, a hurricane is a force to be reckoned with. It can cost a business thousands in damages and lost revenue but believe it or not… a hurricane also represents an opportunity for most, if not all businesses to make money. 

Experts estimate that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused up to $200 billion in damages. When the damage is that extensive many individuals and businesses are affected in several ways.

The Bad News For Your Business

• Employees are unable to come to work due to dealing with their crises.
• Your brick-and-mortar businesses might have to stay closed while dealing with damages to physical structures.
• Even online businesses might suffer due to downed phone lines and no staff available to answer questions or provide support.

The Good News For Your Business

•  If you provide any kind of recovery service in the aftermath of a hurricane, then you will be in high demand.
• Even if you don’t provide a recovery service, by having your “act together”, you can make a favorable impression on customers and clients that will help set you apart from competitors who might be floundering in the aftermath of the crisis.

What Happens When No One Picks Up the Phone

• You very likely could lose out on that potential customer or client.
• You could stress and disappoint current customers or clients, weakening your reputation.

We don’t control the weather and some things are simply outside of our control. But to the greatest extent possible, we could be prepared to deal with crises. What is a potential client worth? Possibly thousands of dollars in repeat business upsells, and potential referrals. When you crunch the numbers you realize that every lead is valuable.

What You Can Do: Have a Plan

•  Have a plan ready.
• Be that business that does answer its phones, day and night, 24/7/365 days of a year. Even in a crisis, be that business that never leaves its clients and customers in the lurch.
• Every call that comes in after-hours or during a natural disaster presents even more of an opportunity because you can create instant positive associations which will make you be perceived as trustworthy, on top of things, and therefore dependable.