Business lessons from COVID-19: Recognising the opportunity arising from adversity

The coronavirus-induced lockdown has brought the entire country to a halt. Many companies are facing challenges to uphold the consumers’ interest in their platform but are finding different ways to connect with them.

Technology has acted as a boon for many companies which are operating from home. Not only the consumer front, but the lockdown has also changed the future roadmaps of the biggest startups.

The global crisis has forced a lot of businesses to reassess their strategies and include ‘out of the box’ reforms and solution to not just sustain but grow their business.

Here are some of the key lessons one should note during this phase for businesses to stay forever:

Changing the dynamics of stagnant services

The biggest lesson startups can take from this emergency is to be as dynamic as the consumer's changing needs. A few months ago, while people had an appetite for leisure buying, today, they need basics. By untangling the knots of the consumer demand, startups can not only remodel their business but can also engage with their consumers to build a recall value of the brand. 

The best illustration is foodtech startups which have revised their operational model to cater to the need of the hour. With the essentials like groceries, medicines, and vegetables added to their bouquet of offerings, the companies are projecting remarkable growth in the business. 

Minding internet marketing

Whether slogging at home, post-work activities, or managing studies, the majority of the time is spent streaming, surfing, or gaming. According to Telecom Ministry data, India’s internet consumption rose by 13 percent since the nationwide lockdown was put in place to check the spread of COVID-19. The majority of the consumption is due to streaming videos, music, gaming, and work. Although the video streaming players have reduced the video quality, the traffic has increased since the lockdown.

In such a scenario, it is the right time to spend your budgets on internet marketing while millions of people are using more video applications and OTT platforms. Along with this, cross-marketing is another key to look at during this lockdown. 

Build a recall value among consumers

People are surely not going to shop for any luxury items. Then, what will happen to those players who are not dealing with the need-of-the-hour essentials? A thread of communication can help in building a stronger recall value.

Communication is indeed another key to ensure customers your commitment towards them. Especially, the ecommerce players, who have suspended their delivery services due to the lockdown, can engage with their consumers by offering fun quizzes and games. While this may not monetise the model today, but it will surely resonate with the consumers. 

Burning the midnight oil

Undoubtedly, digital and edtech players are batting at the front foot with their business model and service. These players have fuelled the need to be a digitally advanced nation and technology-driven society. So, when such a time hits the world, knowledge and skill development doesn’t take a seat back. This is a peak time for digital and edtech players to keep learners engaged with new courses and more interactive services to bind consumer’s interest.

At the time, it’s not only students who are running the wheel of education, but even working professionals are keen to spend time on their long-lost hobbies and passion. The world is upgrading the personal and professional skills. For such companies, technology and service offering plays a vital role.

Therefore, such players must provide services with low data consumption. This will help people with limited internet connectivity to stay connected with the platform. 

The social streak

Apart from streaming videos and music, gaming, and surely spending some time on reading, the major chunk of our day goes to being social. In the present world, you don’t have to be a daily essential company for people to follow your social media pages. But you must be well connected with the consumers with day-to-day updates.

Social media campaigns, contests, or customer engaging posts are the need of the hour to catch the consumer’s eye. With more time to spend on the internet, people tend to see all the feeds on their social media pages. And people tend to remember all the markable social media campaigns. 

Lockdown might have added certain barriers to the business, but business can always find its way to consumers’ attention. 

It is authored by Mr. Kaushik Banerjee, Co-founder and CEO of MeVero Inc.