Impact of COVID-19 On Business — How to Answer Two Crucial Questions
Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on business and commerce, companies across the world are asking themselves the same kinds of questions: What does the future hold for our industry? How do we remain the first choice of our customers? Since the pandemic has caused a surge in online demand, how can we adapt and innovate in the digital space?
Anyone who claims to have a foolproof answer to such questions in these volatile times better have an entry reading “Won the national lottery a few times” in their This is Your Life book. No matter how much a brand thinks it knows its industry and customers, acts of God like a global pandemic can turn present knowledge into past ignorance, making answering such questions difficult.
Having said that, there are things your brand can do to gain a very educated prediction for what the answers are likely to be and what actions to take.
Thus, for this article, we’ll look at two of the questions raised by the impact of COVID-19 and ways businesses can find answers to them.
How can we adapt and innovate online during the coronavirus pandemic?
One of the main things we do as a creative digital marketing agency is help brands across various industries not only adapt to the current state of the market, but also adopt and implement new ideas that will make them innovators and industry leaders.
The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be quite a tester of how well companies, especially when it comes to online or digital marketing, can morph and raise the bar to meet the challenges it has presented. To answer the question that forms the headline of this section, a brand must know where it currently is, where it needs to go, and how it can continue to progress ahead of the competition.
One of the digital marketing services we offer clients is a website audit. These audits can involve analysing technical, website design, SEO, social media, and Google Analytics aspects of a company’s online presence. The aim of these audits is to analyse the current performance level of a company’s website and discover ways a company’s online marketing can be improved.
With the coronavirus affecting business operation so dramatically, this is the perfect time to assess where your brand currently is in the context of the pandemic. Doing this will then highlight the opportunities digital solutions present for adapting to these unique times.
The right digital agency can then present you with digital innovations that not only help consumers achieve their goals, but helps your business maintain and gain the top of mind awareness that comes with being at the cutting edge of new online marketing technology.
An example of this is a Christmas virtual event we contributed to the building and execution of for a little known online retail company called Amazon.
Unable to host its yearly Christmas in-person PR event showcasing its products and gifts to the media due to COVID-19 lockdown, Amazon sought a solution that would capture the energy and festive joy of the event virtually.
Jubba, Amazon’s events team approached our creative digital team to create an online experience that not only recaptured the feel of the physical event, but also told an immersive story that presented products, items, and festive gifts creatively.
Partnering with another agency called Venus in Fur to develop concepts, animation and illustration, the outcome was Amazon Smile, a virtual experience that included innovative web animation, video, sound, and a friendly UI (User Interface) and UX design. All of this was delivered with a traditional children’s Christmas book concept.
When it comes to adapting to circumstances and delivering a digital experience that is forward-thinking, this is a great example to learn from.
Considering the Impact of the Coronavirus, what does the future hold for my industry?
Of all the questions a business might ask, this is possibly the trickiest to answer (hence why it comes second in this article, guilty as charged). Even when there isn’t a global pandemic impacting business, trying to gain a precise prediction for what the future has in store for any industry is difficult at the best of times.
Did the first telecommunication companies know consumers would eventually be able to make phone calls over the internet? Did Henry Ford envision a time when the fumes produced by cars would contribute towards global warming and electric vehicles would be pushed to become the standard? Did any of the businesses from the early 1900s know for sure that a thing called CSR would become important to business practice? The answer for all three is probably no.
However, what the Ford Motor Company could have done is a thorough micro and macro environment analysis of the motor industry — a sort of internal and external audit, if you will.
For the micro-environment, the analysis could cover technology currently in development within its core industries (e.g., mechanical engineering, transportation) as well as broader industries (e.g., logistics, road construction, safety).
For the macro-environment, analysis can be done on national politics and how it may affect the industry in the near future — could the election of that forward-thinking presidential candidate mean the industry will receive government backing and funding, thus boosting mass production, affordability, and the scope of what a motor vehicle could be used for?
To bring this question to the present day, say your company is an e-commerce business that operates in the online fashion industry, specifically in the business/formal clothing sector. Doing a micro-environment analysis could reveal that sales are down due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing a large number of the country’s workforce to work from home (a phenomenon that’s likely to continue going forward), while a macro-environment analysis could show that COVID-19 as well as Brexit are impacting logistics and distribution due to a lack of drivers.
What more people working from home could mean for the e-commerce business clothing sector in the future could be that brands have to shift towards stocking business clothing with a bit more flair to their designs so they can double up as fine evening wear too. Look, I’m by no means a fashion expert but I have worn my sharper business suits to weddings, nights out, as well as business meetings.
Another thing it could mean is that companies have to change how they market what they sell, from changing the perception the consumer has of what business clothing is meant to be, to highlighting that virtual meetings still require suitable apparel, and a Sex Pistols shirt may not always be the best idea when the company CEO decides to jump in on a meeting last minute. It’s not just about selling suits, but smart shirts, blouses, and blazers. A business in this sector may also have to diversify their products to cater to other markets within the industry.
As for COVID-19 and Brexit’s impact on logistics, what this could mean for the future of this particular industry is that its distribution model might have to change. Perhaps companies who use HGV or LGV to carry cargo have to start making training drivers in-house part of their company structure. Maybe going forward, helping foreign drivers apply for work visas to work in the UK might be a part of their business model going forward.
It could also mean the future of this industry will heavily involve sourcing items as locally as possible and distributing them through direct or remote channels, like Amazon using local lockers as spots for customers to pick up their items.
So while the current coronavirus pandemic is raising business questions that are difficult to have guaranteed answers for, there are ways companies can make educated predictions, anticipate what’s to come, and come up with solutions that counter the effect COVID-19 is having on industries.
Whether you’re a company dipping its toes in a sector targeting a younger audience for the first time, or you’re a restaurant brand looking to put together an event in the era of social distancing, SMACK is a creative digital agency in London that helps clients navigate the obstacles raised by the pandemic. Get in touch.
