How to Keep Up With Demand When Your Business Goes Viral

Balance quality, efficiency & customer satisfaction

Just about every business owner wants their venture to grow, but that growth isn’t always slow and steady—sometimes it’s a spike that seems to come out of nowhere. Maybe you created a spectacular piece of marketing or a social media trend made your goods or services go viral. Whatever the case, a lot of people suddenly want what you sell and you have to do your best to supply them.

A sudden rush of new customers can be a huge stress on your business, but it can also be a great opportunity. With a little planning and tweaking of your existing operations, you can greet your new customers with the same excellent service you’ve provided for everyone who knew you before you were big. Keep calm, remember the basics and get ready to accelerate your plans.

Scale your operations

When you first realize that your business has become an overnight success, you may not know how to feel. On the one hand, it’s everything you hoped for. On the other hand, you may not have the staff or inventory to serve all these new customers. 

When your company faces increased demand, the first thing you need to do is determine whether it’s a passing fad or a sign of things to come. If business returns to normal after a few days, you can probably just grit your teeth and get through the rush. Once it’s clear that this increase in business is your new normal, it’s time to scale up. For products, that means securing more raw materials and converting them into salable goods. For services, that means setting aside time for more customers. Either way, you’re likely to need more staff.

Hiring new employees is one of the most difficult parts of running a business. Start with temporary contracts and make it clear that these arrangements may be temporary. Recruit a small number of workers at first and see how they cope with the rising demand.

Check out 14 Small Business Marketing Tips For Growing Companies for more advice on how to build your company from the ground up.

Secure your supply chain

If your company sells a physical product, then you have to consider your supply chain. Your supplier may not be able to provide tons of raw materials on a tight schedule. If they can, they want to charge you more, which could hurt your bottom line.

There’s no perfect solution to the supply chain question, as no two companies need the same resources, in the same place, at the same time. However, the best strategy is to keep the lines of communication open. If you suddenly need to place bigger orders than ever before, talk to your supplier and explain why. Ask whether they can accommodate you and if it would be reasonable to keep up this pace in the long run. If not, seek out other providers, both online and in-person. Having a physical provider in your region can be a lifesaver if you get a viral boost and need to increase your output under a time crunch.

Automate your workflows

The larger a business gets, the more difficult it becomes for individual workers to oversee everything. That’s where specialized software can come in handy. Computer and smartphone apps can automate large chunks of your workflow, from ordering goods to scheduling appointments. If your company needs simple tasks completed on a regular schedule, there’s a good chance that a piece of technology can do it for you.

Suppose, for example, that your retail business needs to order products from a wholesaler each month. A piece of purchasing or procurement software can handle this for you. If you run a beauty salon, your customers can set up appointments via social media plugins. Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots can answer simple questions for customers, while scheduling software ensures that your employees know exactly what they need to do each week. Automation can’t replace a human workforce, but it can make their jobs much easier.

Looking for ways to make your company stand out? Read Creating a Strong Brand Identity: 7 Tips for Small Business Owners.

Prioritize your customers

Delighting your customers is relatively simple when you have only a few of them. When you have to please hundreds—or thousands—of people every day, your job becomes more difficult. As your business grows, you’ll have to balance customer needs and overall efficiency.

The most important thing you can do for customers is to maintain your standards. Don’t let your company’s good reputation slip. If you sell products, make sure they maintain their high quality. If you sell services, give each client the best experience possible. If demand gets too high and you find yourself running behind, be polite and transparent. A personalized message explaining why you’re running behind schedule, for example, will go a much longer way than an automated “shipment delayed” notification.

Plan for the future

After an unexpected windfall, many businesses assume that the current level of growth will continue, but that’s not always true. Popularity comes and goes, particularly if you owe your success to internet fame. 

Do what you can to address the initial surge, but don’t assume that it will last forever. Build on your initial success through social media, local news, word of mouth and similar marketing techniques. Then, see how your business performs over the course of the next few weeks and months. 

If demand is still through the roof, you may need to grow quickly. If sales return to normal, however, do what you can to build on your moment in the spotlight.

Learn how to Elevate Your Business with Walmart: Exploring the Advantages of a Walmart Business+ Membership.

Grow your company with Walmart Business

Whether you’re growing your company slowly or quickly, the Walmart Business content hub can help. There, you’ll find helpful resources like how to choose the right shipping supplies and what to look for in an office laptop. You’ll also find success stories from other small businesses, which explain how they worked through difficulties and carved out niches for themselves in a crowded marketplace.

For the day-to-day products that help your company run, sign up for a free Walmart Business account. You’ll be able to buy goods in bulk, which can save your employees valuable time and effort. You can also view your complete purchase history for both in-store and online orders, as well as share an account among multiple users. These tools could help you track where your money is going and distribute your workload.

If you already have an account, upgrade to a Walmart Business+ membership. With it, you’ll get free shipping from Business.Walmart.com¹ and free delivery from local Walmart stores on orders of $35 or more.² On orders of $250 or more, you’ll earn 2% cash back in Walmart Business Rewards.³ All of these benefits combined could save your small business more than $500 per year.⁴

¹ Excludes most Marketplace items, freight and certain location surcharges.

² Restrictions apply. 

³ Rewards can only be used toward future purchases on Walmart Business. Additional terms apply. 

⁴ Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business Rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).