In the five months since pandemic-induced shutdowns began, owners of promo firms have had to make major business decisions as sales plummeted precipitously. According to ASI, Q2 sales fell 44.4% compared to the same quarter last year. By May, 71% of distributors were selling PPE in an effort to shore up operations as employees were sent home, furloughed or let go.

Now, during the third quarter, management teams continue to reassess where they stand, make adjustments and look ahead to 2021. But with COVID cases still high in a number of regions, we’re not out of the woods yet.

“For a lot of businesses, just remaining in operation is what 2020 success looks like,” says Eric Sachs, CEO of Sachs Marketing Group, a digital marketing agency in California. “It’s a tough time, and you have to allow yourself some room to adjust objectives.”

Here’s what business owners should be thinking about in the last four months of this unprecedented year.

Reach out to clients.
In the first weeks of the pandemic, most distributors’ conversations with clients were just friendly reach-outs, letting them know they were there for them. Now, distributors need to be proactive about helping customers adjust to a different business and consumer landscape.

“We’re meeting with clients to make sure we’re working toward their new goals,” says Sachs. “Once I know what to do to make them happy, which is how we succeed, I can then approach my overall business goals and adapt where necessary. We don’t want to be left starting over once things return to normal.”

Take into account that clients are experiencing additional stressors right now, including homebound kids (many starting virtual learning again), barking dogs and significant others’ uncertain job situations, and be sensitive to that. “We have to account for other people’s stress,” says Mark McCormack, owner of Identity Marketing Group (asi/229993) in Omaha. “We remind reps that they’re calling these people at their homes, which might not be an ideal situation right now.”

Working from home has also changed the prospecting dynamic. Were you scoring a lot of business from the closest big city last year? They’re much quieter these days. “Clients in locked-down cities aren’t buying as much, so you have to keep prospecting,” says McCormack. “If your state is shut down, network in one that’s more open. If where you’ve gotten comfortable goes away, you’re in trouble.”

Chris Faris, founder and CEO of Boost Promotions (asi/142942) in Gloucester, MA, says this is the time to show prospects and clients what you’re made of. “Don’t look for anything in return, and go above and beyond for them,” he says. “Help them out, and it will come back to you.”

Rethink spending.
To have as strong a showing as possible at year’s end, continue to cut expenses where possible. Faris recommends renegotiating your lease or looking at technology expenses and trimming the fat when possible. “We just redid our phone systems, at a tenth of the price of what we’d been paying,” he says. “We wouldn’t have thought about doing that before the pandemic. It’s helping with efficiency and our bottom line.”

Since March, there’s been a renewed internal focus on operations and expenses, and firms will have to continue to do so to adjust for ongoing changes that are hard to predict. “Now that the year is coming to a close, we have more clarity,” says Grey Idol, co-founder of Payroll Funding, a business cashflow solution. “Businesses should continue to refine their systems to endure this pandemic environment.”

Protect talent.
One of the ways that companies quickly slowed spending was doing away with employee overhead, leading to widespread furloughs and layoffs. But if it wasn’t enough, “there’s a fast burn rate that’s too great to be sustainable,” says Faris. “There will be another round of layoffs.”

At the same time, getting rid of all employees out of desperation isn’t the answer either. Once business starts to come back, there won’t be enough people to service customers, and the company runs a good chance of folding anyway, says Faris.

“You might be in panic mode and feel that you need to spend as little as possible, but this could end up hurting you when the pandemic begins to clear,” says Sachs. “Invest in your employees now so that you can be stronger than ever when things get better.”

By the same token, when weighing options for returning to work, always err on the side of caution. “Consider the safety implications of bringing people back,” says Idol. “They’re counting on their employers to protect them, but we don’t know what exactly safe looks like yet. Employee talent must be kept as safe as possible. That way, come 2021, you’re poised for growth.”

Pivot quickly.
Take a good, hard look at what customers need right now. While PPE was in the highest demand in the first weeks of shutdowns (Boost Promotions and Identity Marketing did their share too), that’s leveled off some. Now, Faris is seeing more traditional promo, though most of it is kitted and shipped to private homes. They’ve continued with virtual event swag kits as cancellations continue into 2021.

If end-buyers’ physical locations are opening back up to employees and customers, think PPE, distancing signage, Plexiglass barriers and sanitizer stations. For those with employees still working from home, pitch encouraging work-from-home kits with useful and fun items, like tech accessories and sweet treats. And don’t forget onboarding packages to welcome new hires to their first day on the job, even if they’re sitting in their kitchen.

“There’s a lot of pressure on new hires because they beat out tons of applicants for that job, most likely,” McCormack says. “Ask yourself what clients can send people that’s real and tangible. This is where the industry should be right now. It’s a conversation-starter.”

Revisit overall objectives.
Earlier this summer, Faris sat down and thought deeply about what he wanted the rest of the year to look like for his company and asked his employees for their input too. “It’s a huge question mark because no one has any idea,” he says. “There are no predictors to gauge what might happen. So, I thought, where do we want to be? How do we want to be servicing clients? We created a plan, including services outside traditional promo. We’re looking at ways to expand with current clients and gain new ones. If you’re just pushing mugs, you won’t survive.”

In recent years, Boost has diversified into creative services, like marketing strategy, branding and design, that have served the company well during the pandemic. Now, says Faris, they have opportunities to work with companies they wouldn’t normally have collaborated with if they were still just promo products.

“We’re guiding clients’ vision and educating on what it takes to develop a marketing strategy,” he says. “We’re working with a startup on their social media and website and now we have a retainer with them. When they’re ready, we’ll work on promotional products with them too. We’re taking a look at human behavior. How can we be well-positioned so we add value?”

Take a critical look at where your company stands now and realize that your pre-pandemic 2020 plans aren’t completely null and void. “They might just need to be pushed back or worked toward in new, creative ways,” says Sachs. “What can you do now to be ready for when things get back to normal? Consider more time for training and refreshing your sales tactics.”

With so many unknowns, business owners will have to stay nimble to be able to address client needs this year. Build flexibility into your overall strategy and stay vigilant about new opportunities you might not have considered yet. Says Idol: “Pivoting to focus on a more pandemic-appropriate business model is a good sign that a company is looking to the future.”