Question

EDS 321 ASSIGNMENT ASSIGNMENT DETAILS STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO WRITE A TWO PAGE IN MS WORD FORMAT 1. BUSINESS NAME 2. PROBLEM IDENTIFIED DURING COVID 3. SOLUTIONS PROFERRED 4. EFFECTIVE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE YOUR SOLUTIONS TO THE TARGET AUDIENCE. IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN TIMES NEW ROMAN FONT SIZE 12

Answer 1

The worldwide lockdown has had its impact on businesses of all types and sizes. As economies are slowly easing up restrictions, the shock suffered by businesses will be known soon enough. A new reality awaits each one of us, as we must learn to cope with changing norms at both the workplace and elsewhere. Despite the fact that the pandemic has disrupted the lives of one and all, the main burden of implementing the new norms lies on the people who own businesses.

For the given question, we shall take the example of the cosmetics industry. In a 2017 survey, it was found that about 41% of Americans wore makeup daily. Since the parlour business is directly related the cosmetics business, it can be inferred that a good percentage of Americans are beauty conscious and so the shutdown of parlour activities must have had some impact on them. Now, given their resources, the large players in this industry might sustain only short-term losses but they are most likely to survive in the long run. It is the small players that need to re-strategise for maintaining the market share.

Please note that parlour business is closely associated with the beauty/cosmetics business. There is an important supply chain running between parlours across the nation and the beauty/cosmetics companies selling skincare, hair care products, fragrances and of course makeup products.

The following points highlight the main steps that need to be taken by these businesses:

Business Name:                               Beauty/Parlour businesses

Problem Identified during Covid: Lack of Demand for Most Products/ Lack of Footfall in parlours

Solution Proffered:                            Placing emphasis on online sales and virtual parlours.

Effective Ways to Communicate your Solutions to the Target Audience:

Since the advent of the Internet, technology has provided us with excellent solutions to many problems. Businesses have witnessed an increase in both the number and reach of the customer base. E-commerce companies have taken advantage of this boom in online sales and captured significant shares in international markets. Today most customers prefer online shopping as e-catalogues provided by companies give them an opportunity to make the best choice among a variety of options at just the click of a button. Customers save both time, money and effort. As most companies already have tie-ups with e-commerce companies and some are even selling from their own websites, tapping into this segment of customer base won’t be that difficult.

Virtual parlours are something that is typically new. However, setting them up won’t require much effort. You just need to have an active customer base. During the lockdown, many beauty experts switched to virtual parlours for advising their clients on their skin, hair problems. Virtual parlours will allow businesses to retain the existing customer base and at the same time maybe attract newer ones, till a time the situation gets back to normal.

Social media platforms can be used to advertise online selling and the new virtual parlours. The safe environment provided by virtual parlours should be highlighted. The creative talent of the existing staff should be utilised by roping them in to create smart adverts promoting virtual parlours and the benefits of online shopping.