How Businesses Can Tackle the Cost-of-Living Crisis

While the cost-of-living crisis might be focused on everyday consumers and the costs that they’re having to shoulder to pay their bills and put food on the table, the current economic climate is no more comfortable for businesses. Companies also consume a high volume of energy, which they’ll be paying through the nose for in the coming months. Plus, with inflation rising, the services that they’re engaging with will be upping their rates. Here’s how you can navigate this difficult time as a business, ensuring you’re able to come out of the crisis unscathed.

Price Rise

Unfortunately, you’ll have little option but to increase your prices to meet inflation. This might make matters worse across the economy, and you might feel that you’re letting down your customers, but you’ll know from looking at your finances that it’s the only way that you can continue to turn a profit and avoid slipping into debt.

Try to keep your prices at a reasonable level so that you don’t put off your customers. People are aware that it’s more costly to run a business when inflation is at a high rate, but they’ll also be able to sense when you’re trying to make the most of the crisis by raising your prices unnecessarily high. Be prudent, but not exploitative, and you’ll keep the cash rolling in. This also goes both ways: if a supplier or partner ups their rates too high, you should feel entitled to complain or find a new partner.

Price Control

Another aspect of your business that you should pay particular attention to is the energy that you’re consuming. This will come in two key forms. On the one hand, you’ll want to reduce your consumption of business utilities like gas and electricity. These prices are rising steeply and are driving the wider inflationary crisis. Escape crippling bills by attending to this part of your firm.

The other energy consumer for your firm is the fuel that your vehicles are using. Costs at the pump have also risen sharply, with a tank of fuel now amounting to eye-watering sums. To handle and manage this change, use a fuel card comparison site to find the best fuel cards to give your drivers, which will mean you have great oversight on this key expenditure.

Basic Services

Your business might have had grand plans for the post-pandemic economy – looking to open new stores, expand your reach, or simply scale up and sell more types of products. You might want to put those plans on hold for the time being, as the economy continues to look uncertain and volatile.

This means taking things back to basics and looking at your product lines to see where your margins are highest and what you should focus on to keep your firm afloat during these difficult times. Refocus on what makes your business profitable, and put your resources into that, to steer your ship through this crisis.

The next year will be difficult for UK businesses, which is why this guide aims to help you navigate these tricky circumstances.