The crisis and the IT industry: what to do when it recurs. Tips from a surviving IT company

I am Artyom Degtyarev, CEO of Dunice. We are engaged in the development of sites and applications. Dunice managed to survive the first round of the crisis without significant losses - thanks to clear rules on how to organize work in an unstable environment. The next crisis can happen at any moment - for example, a second wave of isolation. To make more companies from the IT industry ready for it, I share my thoughts and rules of survival.



Let's look at the practical situation - Russia was shut down for the second wave of self-isolation. What we have?



The main blow to the IT industry is the collapse of customers from industries that stop working. These are air transportation, mass events, tourism, beauty services - and many other industries. Companies that do not stop working also feel at risk and would like to reduce the costs of IT services. They postpone projects until they reach a normal turnover - and our number of leads is sharply reduced.



As a result, we get two trends that we have to work with.



Trend 1. Companies focus on cost reduction



Clients do not need long projects with a delayed payback period. Looking for - quick solutions that will help you go online - starting with a landing page with an order form. For those who already have established work online, the automation of monkey-jobs is relevant: instead of paying 10 call center employees, the company orders an SMS mailing service. Projects that will not help you go online or reduce costs are put off until later.



Trend 2. Accounts receivable from customers are growing



In a crisis, development costs are not a priority. The client will first pay rent, employee salaries and taxes - and only then will he pay the IT company if there is money left. Therefore, even for completed projects, we do not always receive money on time.



Let's figure out how to work with these trends.

How not to lose money

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7. Offer clients to return money for the first period of work if they are not satisfied with the result. This will convince more companies to sign a contract with you.

How and where to find new clients

According to our marketing research, since the beginning of the spring quarantine, the cost of attracting a client through contextual advertising has doubled. This means that the ratio of those interested in your services to those who buy them has grown. Here's what I suggest doing in this situation:

1. Don't invest more money in context and targeting. Optimize existing expenses: keep the most effective channels and discard those that do not bring customers.
2. Use word of mouth. Ask clients if they have acquaintances who need your services.
3. Advertise services in installments.
4. To increase the check, sell additional services to the client.
5. Use PR through useful content. Host webinars with an analysis of your cases, organize business breakfasts via video communication for leaders. Tell potential clients how IT can help minimize their costs and solve their problems. Promote these webinars and business breakfasts in your Facebook executive groups, send newsletters to your customer base.

The main thing in a crisis is to have a road map and understand where you are.

I advise you to develop three action plans: for the most pessimistic scenario, for the average, and for the best. These plans should take into account what might be happening to the world and describe your actions.



Keep track of which plan the reality most closely resembles - and organize your actions accordingly.