COMPARED with the past crises, businesses today have an edge to weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic through the internet.
Pedro Delantar Jr., president and chief executive officer of Nature's Legacy Eximport Inc., said once they assessed the situation during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, they immediately reached out to their clients—online.
"What we did during the lockdown was to stay connected and reconnect with our buyers and clients. You see, in a crisis, people and organizations are full of fears because business doesn't function the way it is," he said.
According to Delantar, there were a lot of uncertainties and questions on what will come next.
"But one thing was available to us in this crisis that was not available in the previous ones.That's the internet," he said.
Delantar explained that the internet allowed them to continue spreading product awareness to their market and sell to them despite the restrictions.
"We kept our customers informed even though they were not asking. We continued to work on the things that were left idle," he said.
Delantar said they also implemented practical solutions to keep the business going.
"We cut down on costs. Things that were not necessary, we eliminated them. We also improved processes like what can be combined and what can be eliminated or totally fused," he said.
The efforts worked, he said.
When the local economy started to reopen, all their customers and clients that were informed of their sustained operations remained present.
"Business is starting to come back and things are getting busy. Clients asked for what we have, what is available and what is new," he said.
Delantar said they also strengthened internal processes and provided motivation and moral support to the staff and associates as well as the community.
He said they were more prepared to take on the new markets since they did not stop innovating on their products to adapt to the current demands caused by the pandemic.
Recently, Nature's Legacy was awarded a Green Ribbon Award by the Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC), presented by SFC Ambassador John Douglas Eason during the High Point Market Event on Oct. 13 to 21, 2020.
The Green Ribbon Award was judged based on design, sustainability and ingenuity.