The majority of Turkish businesses made significant changes to their business models and diversified into new products and services as a recovery strategy from the coronavirus pandemic, an industry survey showed.

In a study, prepared jointly by the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED) and the UPS Foundation and released on Saturday, more than 200 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and representatives of leading business associations were surveyed about their plans to recover from the pandemic.

According to the research, 70% of the enterprises included set a temporary working system during the crisis while 67% of them reduced their costs and 41% decided to invest more in research and development (R&D) activities.

When these businesses moved on to the recovery stage, 86% of them reconsidered their business models to step up their game. One of the most popular actions was to introduce new products and services, followed by 76% of businesses. Meanwhile, 73% of firms recalculated demand and supply patterns and redesigned their operations accordingly.

TÜRKONFED noted that businesses that have taken “right decisions at the right time” will be the ones to find their way to the next normal. It also added that 60% to 70% of Turkish firms have taken some kind of initiative in the right direction to weather the crisis.

Orhan Turan, head of TÜRKONFED, said businesses should focus on building long-term resilience rather than finding a rapid exit from the crisis.

He also noted that Turkish business associations proved to have the right reflexes and crisis management capabilities to successfully manage the crisis.

“From the beginning, we established active and healthy communication with businesses and conducted online trainings, coaching programs and impact analysis.”

Turan said their goal is to help member firms move to the new normal successfully and help them get through the uncertainty created by fears over a second-wave of infections.

Burak Kılıç, the general manager of UPS Turkey, said the report acts as a guide for the businesses in the country during their recovery process.

“It was the first time we experienced such a large-scale epidemic, the impact of which was felt intensely all over the world. What this report does is to provide information about the situation and tell us what we should focus next,” Kılıç said.