The first case of coronavirus (COVID-19) was first isolated in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Now, it is a pandemic that is shutting down activities across the globe. Citizens are advised to avoid public places like malls, places of worship, schools, airports, cinemas, subways, hotels, bars, casinos, gyms, restaurants, concerts, conferences and sport games. In fact entertainment, sporting and business events across the globe have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. Large corporations—medium and small scale businesses too—are giving their employees the option to work from home. Leaders of various countries have declared complete shutdown of activities in their countries and that includes travel ban.

These unpredicted actions have plummeted the stock market globally; nearly a third of the global market capitalization has disappeared. And the world richest people are not left out of the ordeal. Collectively, they have lost about one trillion dollars. Of course, it is a bad time for every country’s economy, but you can be one of the few entrepreneurs who is taking advantage of the coronavirus effect to do business differently.

Like the saying, successful entrepreneurs do not know the difference between failure and success, they use both to their advantage. In this moment of global economic standstill, the best way to leverage on the coronavirus effect is to know how businesses should be conducted until there is a complete eradication of the deadly virus globally. Here is what you should do:

If you have a functional business—small or large—you should start thinking of how you can put in place technology that will help your employees work effectively and efficiently, from home. Except you want to be forcefully shut down by the government of your country you should be thinking of how your employees will be more productive working from home with the best tech tools and integration. You may need to invest in offline and online technology that will enhance this new way of doing business across the globe. There are several tech tools, ranging from video conferencing to task completion, and sharing of information, that are available online. It is time to leverage on all of these to enhance your business operations.

Secondly, you need to strengthen your online platform if you already have one. If you don’t, you will need to set up an online platform where customers can shop and have products delivered to their doorsteps. This will favor product based businesses more than service based ones. However, regardless of your business, you need an interactive ecommerce website that allows your employees and customers to interface with your business without leaving the confines of their homes. Also, you will need to increase your business engagement on social platforms that compliment your business and appeal to your target audience. This is what I call running a business without a physical office. It is not a new phenomenon; it is the new way of doing business in this pandemic. If you need to employ work-from-home-techies, go ahead. Because millions of people across the globe are counting on shopping online during these trying times.

Thirdly, offer discount and special sales. Whether you still choose to open your brick and mortar office or stick to an online one (your website and social platforms), you will need to offer consumers discount on all purchases. If the economy of a nation is grounded, it means money is not in circulation. This is not the time to increase the price of commodities because of high demand; it is the best time to offer discount and special sales.

As much as people want to protect themselves from the virus by staying home, they also want to protect their money so as not to be stranded. So, they are constantly searching online for where they can get what they want at a reasonable price.

Let your business be the one that offers them that price!