For businesses that are just now reopening or were decimated by the pandemic, the tasks to get back to normal are enormous.  From how to keep your team safe to how to provide a great user experience with the new restrictions, it can be overwhelming and scary. 

I believe that you need to pull back and look at an even simpler question- do you invest in the supply side of your business (typically the business facing side of the house) or the demand side (the customer interaction side). 

It is the ultimate chicken or egg decision- do I blast out to my customers that we are open for business, run specials to entice them, etc.? Or do I staff with the attitude that there is so much pent up demand that as soon as I open, the masses will come.

The answer obviously is that you need a balance of both.  You need to promote that you are back online and ready to serve AND you need to have the infrastructure ready to handle your customers.  Each industry is unique- a non-emergent health center can push patients out until they can bring providers back onto a full slate, but a restaurant needs to have the food and staff needed to serve some portion of their normal business every day and be able to react if their load is higher or lower than expected.

The key is that you understand that the sides need to work in tandem.  Too much demand generation without enough support leads to customer dissatisfaction.  Too much supply yields waste.  And both are spending money without a return on investment.

If you are in this situation and want to discuss further, please contact me at jim@cuchcorp.com or hit me up on FB or Twitter.