Whilst it’s nice to hear that UK car sales are the highest since 2007, and that fresh evidence has emerged that Britain’s economic recovery is to strengthen further this year, I think, for most of us at least, thoughts are more with those who have suffered due to the recent weather.
Not so Good News
It’s been a very bleak Christmas for many parts of the UK as storms and flooding hit the country with a vengeance. The cost of this mop up will be horrendous and at the time of writing this blog, there are still over 100 active flood warnings.
The damage that these storms have wreaked is both incredible and horrifying as many properties that haven’t been structurally damaged are still uninhabitable due to flooding. This must be heart breaking for any domestic residents who have been forced out of their homes and are now wondering where it will all end and when normality will finally be restored. Trying Times indeed.
Retailers Problems
Think also of the small retailer who has lost all their stock or cannot return to their business premises because it’s unsafe. Sure, there’s insurance, but those wheels turn slowly and every day lost trading for a small business could be one step nearer to literally, shutting shop.
Hope for Online Businesses
For those businesses who also trade via a website, there is at least some hope. It is sometimes instances such as these storms that bring out the best in people and let loose creativity. Those people who dismissed the idea of using websites, Search Engine Optimisation, PPC and social media are now, regrettably, at a major disadvantage, whilst those forward thinkers are thanking their lucky stars that they can at least trade and move forward through these difficult times.
Business Survival
We have heard some inspiring stories of business survival; The butcher who turned his garden shed into a mini butchers and used social media and email to tell his customers it was ‘Business as usual”, the local baker who took orders by phone, email, twitter and Facebook and then delivered to his customers by boat. Even a local Vicar embraced Google Hangouts and Skype to hold small services and consultations face to face with his parishioners when his church became an island. Devine intervention? You decide.
So, at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who embrace technology and use it to grow their business using the Internet. It’s more poignant however for those businesses who don’t!
