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WH, World Health Organization has affirmed the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, a pandemic. It is a tentative time with lots of unknowns and while no one has all the answers, and we are here to share that what we actually know and provide some guidance of the customers and other small businesses that might be facing shifts in their business. This pandemic is affecting the public health and it is also impacting the economy as well. As per Google, “since the first week of February, search interest in the Coronavirus increased by +260% globally”. While spikes in the search trends are common while events of the scale, there have also been some surges in traffic for related products as well as topics as a direct response to the pandemic.
The lockdown led to a huge economic disruption with hundreds of businesses forced to shut shop, and the continuous safety measures have made remote working and the digital operations the new normal. As a result, businesses will now have to make a fast transition from offline to online that needs a completely new approach to business strategy.
The business impact of COVID-19 industrial impact
In the post-pandemic world, services that trusted entirely or heavily on customer mobility have been the worst hot. Transportation services such as fitness centers, Uber, and the tourism industry. For instance, have taken heavy losses and in many cases have permanently closed operations.
Other businesses have been bound to lessen their workforce, provide up their physical office addresses, and restrict client communications to digital conversations. Technological impact with COVID-19 necessitating social distancing and work from home, businesses have been experiencing an unprecedented level of IT challenges. The requirement to make real-time decisions and manage both internal and external operations online is pressuring C-suite executives to instantly amp up the flexibility of their system. In many cases, this calls for the entire overhaul of the IT infrastructure.
Customer relations impact
Customer expectations have now changed drastically, both in terms of purchasing patterns as well as interactions with a brand
Operation Impact
Supply chains have undergone a concept shift as distribution and shipping facilities have been either shut down or severely restricted. It means that businesses can now meet only a fraction of customer requirements, and must instantly adapt to new channels particularly e-commerce if they want to survive.
HR Impact
Both team members and the executives are struggling to adjust to virtual work while coping with the reservations of the present and the future. As businesses struggle to fulfill the requirement, employees have extra worries about whether they will experience pay cuts or even job losses.
The way forward for businesses
Market research
As a business calculates its plants to deliver services optimally in a post-pandemic world, it requires finding the answers to questions about whether the geographies and markets it has been serving remain profitable, that core technology and business practices require to be changed and how the team can be best enabled to keep providing in the new normal.
It needs detailed research on online business best practices and the customers would like to be best served in the new reality. The research itself, apart from this, has to be completed online as in-person communications become the exception rather than the rule while remaining as trustworthy, unbiased, and foal-oriented as before.
Digital Transformation
The requirement for digital transformation is not the only outcome of COVID-19. According to a study, it has predicted that in 2017 that up to 375 million workers would require to update their skills by 2030 to adapt to the new wave of artificial intelligence and automation. Another current survey revealed that 87% of executives were already facing skill gaps or would do so in the next few years. For a business, the move to the digital is not just about setting up a website and running social media campaigns. It has to figure out the optimal ways for the team to stay connected and continue business as usual while working from, while also staying connected with consumer expectations and requirements.
Market Research Tools to Support Digital Transformation
Market research companies are providing businesses with various solutions in this regard that includes a DIY qualitative solution and in-depth data collection assistance. These tools can be set up by any business and can operate on its own. Compatible around devices, the tool is designed for focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with clients. Another online solution allows businesses to integrate with online communities of customers, whom they can categorize according to interest groups and create loyalty via a rewards program. Supply chains require to be reshaped and processes require to be automated wherever reasonable. Companies should be supple with their finances so that they have enough liquidity to respond to the unexpected requirements.
Adjusting to Remote Working
CHROs across the world are rising to the new challenge to help their teams locate the side and the huge transition into remote working. It is tough for now for the leader to display solidarity with their teams and support them emotionally as well as professionally. Keeping team members informed about the strategic decisions and also provides them with a platform to voice concerns and suggestions will aid them to feel included.
The COVID-19 lockdown was a situation no one could have assumed. Now, more than ever, it is the time for businesses to be at their most agile and to adapt intelligently and optimally to a mostly-online way of working. It requires the active support of the team and an extensive understanding of how markets want to work now and in the foreseeable future.
