The whole world is fighting, not against each other but against the novel coronavirus. There is nothing in history that can be compared to the current situation. Covid19 has changed the ways businesses can be done. Organizations need to investigate new ways and strategies to jumpstart business for growth. This is the time to lay long term goals and strategy for business. Organizations can focus on skill-building for teams or finishing pending tasks. This Transformation Tuesday, let us look at 5 ways to get business on track in and after tough times:
Labour and Demand mix
There are organizations that have shared their resources and employees with other organizations that have demand. For example, in India’s online grocery giant, Big Basket partnered with Uber India and helped them to deliver essential goods where there was demand. So, relocate the labor to where the demand is.
Study and develop sales channels
All brick to mortar and person to person retail are badly controlled in countries and regions that are affected by the novel coronavirus. This is causing the organizations both in B2B and B2C to think of new sales channels. For example, a cosmetic organization in China moved its beauty consultants from the stores to digital platforms such as WeChat and thus drive online sales. The result was that this organization increased sales by 200% compared to last year.
Align employees and partners along with the new strategy
Employees from all the level of organization hierarchy should be aligned with new ways and initiatives. For example, organizations should not look for layoffs. They should care for the employees during tough times. With the collapse of the short-term business, organizations should focus on long term preparations. They should keep the headcount the same and motivate the employees to use this time to upgrade internal processes, improve skills and work on new product development. Organizations should focus on post COVID recovery.
Capitalise on new behavior
New behaviors are emerging in the time of lockdown in many countries and regions. The behavior is shifting from outdoor to indoor. For example, many gyms have started giving online consultation to the people. They are also renting their equipment. Few good restaurants in European countries have started providing online cooking classes. Organizations should work towards capitalizing this learning from home behavior that is prevalent due to the current lockdown scenario.
Innovate
As quoted by Plato – “Necessity is the mother of invention”. With every pain that arises there lies an opportunity that can be converted to business. For example, big chains like McDonald’s now sells bread and milk at the restaurant drive-through as people avoid going to supermarkets due to the COVID threat. People are happy with the drive-through service at McDonald’s as they can avoid the crowd and be safe.
Another example would be where Domino’s pizza has partnered with ITC foods to deliver groceries.
Every pain should be looked upon as an opportunity. It should be a learning experience. Innovate and grow. Use the time today to get ready for the future. Unlearn and learn new ways of doing business. Nothing is permanent. This is the opportunity to be innovative and implement the blue ocean strategy to have that first-mover advantage. As we navigate through these tough times let us together remember – This too shall pass!
Written & Compiled by Faber Mayuri
