When Disaster Strikes Small Business

Put your customers’ well-being first by extending a sincere helping hand

As marketers, we should have our customers’ well-being as our No. 1 priority. It is a fact that without customers, you will have no sales and without sales there will be no profit. If you have a business that touches the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area consider campaigns that help its recently battered residents—it is the time to seriously divert any investment from, sometimes esoteric, sustainability efforts and invest in palpable actions that will help your customers even at a short-term loss. The long-term goodwill will remunerate you a hundredfold (okay, maybe just tenfold).

Consider the corner deli or local restaurant without power. Is it possible you could open and distribute food and water to those communities for free? Chances are the food would have gone bad anyway due to the lack of refrigeration. How about giving incentive to your employees to go out and assist the Red Cross in its shelter operations? Or maybe just using part of your call center lines (If you have a larger company) to help with donation collection or answering calls about the well-being of a neighborhood to worried out-of-state family and friends.

This is only a top-of-mind list of things that could really help; it’s by no means exhaustive. Realistically we know that legal liability checks need to be performed but seriously, the time is now to try to do anything you can to help out your affected customers. In the age of social media your actions will most likely not only be applauded by your immediate market but also broadcast by the digital power of tweets and Facebook statuses.

Just remember the following:

1) Be transparent.
2) Mean it (from your heart, not your pocket).
3) Don’t gloat about it—let your customers do that for you.

Customer empathy is Marketing 101.

What about your own business’s recovery? Here are some articles that provide information that can help.

IT Backup Information

1. Backing Small Businesses Up in the Cloud
By David Streit
Concerned about keeping your data accessible in the event of a computer problem? Cloud-based backup and disaster recovery services use snapshot technology to restore data quickly and efficiently and provide business continuity
http://latinbusinesstoday.com/2012/07/backing-small-business-up-in-the-cloud/

2. Webinar archive: A Comprehensive Guide to Backup and Disaster Recovery
By David Streit
http://latinbusinesstoday.com/lbt_webinar/a-comprehensive-guide-to-backup-and-disaster-recovery-2/

Financial information Backup

1. When Disaster Strikes
By Sandra Napoleon-Hudson
A Little Advance Planning Can Save a World of Trouble
You never know when disaster could strike your business. Be prepared, have a plan and be ready so that if it strikes you will be back in business in short order, with minimal loss of activity.
http://latinbusinesstoday.com/2011/12/when-disaster-strikes/

2. SBA Support
By U.S. Small Business Administration

Disaster Recovery Plan

To view the complete Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan, please click here.

Executive Summary
Since its inception in 1953, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has served to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small businesses. While SBA is generally known for the financial support it provides to small businesses, it also plays a critical role in assisting the victims of natural and other disasters. SBA provides disaster assistance through capital, counseling, and contracting services. Its Disaster Loan Program helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private nonprofits fund their recovery. (As of March 2012, SBA has approved more than 1.9 million disaster loans for over $50 billion.) Counseling by SBA and its resource partners helps small businesses navigate through the recovery process. Federal contracting guidance and other SBA efforts bring business to impacted firms.
SBA’s response to disasters has five guiding principles. These principles allow the Agency to effectively execute surge plans involving the whole Agency. They are as follows:

• SBA is prepared to respond. SBA has an organizational infrastructure designed to respond swiftly and effectively to disaster activity.
• SBA is trained to respond. Training and coordination are the keys to preparedness.
• SBA’s response at higher post-disaster demand levels requires a “One SBA” approach. Employees across SBA organization have roles to play and are valuable assets to help SBA achieve the level of performance America requires and expects.
• SBA takes pride in quality assurance and customer service. The Agency continuously strives to deliver the highest level of quality of service with available resources. Customers will be provided with the necessary support and communication channels to minimize confusion and ensure a positive experience during their time of greatest need.
• SBA’s actions are coordinated with its government partners. The Agency communicates with local, state, federal government agencies, and Congress to deliver timely assistance.

http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Disaster%20Recovery%20Plan%202012.pdf
SBA support
U.S. Small Business Administration
Disaster Business Loan Application
http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/serv_da_all_loanapp_2_0_0.pdf

Tax relief from the IRS
By IRS

Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses

Overview
Special tax law provisions may help taxpayers and businesses recover financially from the impact of a disaster, especially when the federal government declares their location to be a major disaster area. Depending on the circumstances, the IRS may grant additional time to file returns and pay taxes. Both individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area can get a faster refund by claiming losses related to the disaster on the tax return for the previous year, usually by filing an amended return.
The IRS also offers audio presentations on Planning for Disaster. These presentations discuss business continuity planning, insurance coverage, recording keeping and other tips to stay in business after a major disaster.
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Disaster-Assistance-and-Emergency-Relief-for-Individuals-and-Businesses-1

For Businesses
Publication 2194, Disaster Resource Guide for Individuals and Businesses (PDF)?Publication 2194 is a Disaster Losses Kit to help businesses claim casualty losses on property that has been destroyed by a natural disaster. The kit contains tax forms needed to claim a casualty loss.

About the author:

Cuban born, Puerto Rico raised and U.S. educated, Jesús Grana is a strategy and marketing professional with 20 years of CPG, Technology and Worldwide marketing experience. As a consultant, he is actively learning and testing Social Media strategies and tools to truly understand its capabilities and assist his clients focus their efforts toward real performance and away from the fads and hoopla. You can read more about him and his marketing thoughts in his blog at jrgrana.com.