It’s been close to a year and a half since we were forced to abandon our old normal and suddenly was thrust upon the new norm of zoom meetings, social distancing, and grocery hunger games.  

However, as the COVID cases continue to decrease thanks to the continued dissemination of vaccines, we are finally close to a remote resemblance of a pre-pandemic economy. People are now coming back to in-store purchasing and the service industry is now gaining back income from postponed appointments.

Just as suddenly it seems, we are faced with an abrupt boom in demand as things gradually go back to the old normal. When you experience an increase in profit out of the post-pandemic demand, here are some improvements you should consider investing in.

Put it in tech

Experts say you should invest in improving financial models and spend management such as multi- and hybrid-cloud platforms, microservices, self-healing networks, and infrastructure-as-code. These are some investments that drive growth and they are perfect for outpacing competitors. 

Investing in automation for things like Spend Management will allow you to make accurate and timely reports. By adding controls to a central finance function and allowing for real-time reporting of expenses, you can improve the spend management and allow some leeway for your company to react better in an emergency. 

Another investment you could make is in a cash forecasting process that allows for scenario planning. This will provide your company with some understanding of what happens to your cash and where it goes. It brings to light what you did right and what you did wrong.

Spend R&D on product lines

Despite the pandemic, don’t stop putting money into research and development costs, rather, it is because of the pandemic that you need to put money into R&D. Innovation can create opportunities that are not only meant to increase productivity and internal efficiency but also to help companies gain a competitive edge during hard times. 

Cost-cutting is the logical flow of action considering last year’s heavy losses caused by the pandemic but don’t do it. While it could increase the bottom line today, the effects could hurt your long-term goals. Invest in Innovation now to drive out the competition, tomorrow.

Scout for talent

In line with innovation, you can also look at niche talent. With the pandemic forcing companies to downsize, this could be the time to scout new blood at competitive salaries.

Improve Brand Marketing

Now that the world is forced to stay at home, you effectively have a captive audience, consuming online content as if the abatement of the pandemic depended on it. It is the best time to spend some extra cash on revamping or just improving your brand. Now that everyone is looking, better branding will introduce you to more potential clients.

Take advantage of new media platforms and deploy collaboration technology that can provide seamless connections like chat, file sharing, and call abilities. Don’t break that chain that escorts a potential customer to get connected to you.  

Look at the Merger and Acquisition Market

Now that there are low interest rates and many troubled companies, it might be time to consider buying out your rivals. With the effects of the pandemic, many sellers decided to minimize risks and just sell. The 2020 presidential race is also a factor. With many believing capital gains tax would increase under the Biden Administration, many are eager to sell their business before anything else added to the economic circus we are experiencing.

After an economic decline, it has been the trend to experience a sudden, intense but short boost of economic activity. You should be prepared to seize the opportunity but you should also have an inkling where you want that extra money to go, otherwise, you end up squandering it around.