With the rapid spread of coronavirus globally, human lives and public safety are the topmost priority. Businesses and government agencies are encouraging people to avoid crowds and stay at home, the whole world has been scrambling to deal with this pandemic.
There is an evident behavioural shift already where people are avoiding all public places. With more and more customers staying indoors, it is natural for them to do digital and hence, online–digital marketing may well be a brand’s best defence against coronavirus.
Just as the famous proverb explains that the primary driving force of most new inventions is the need; this global crisis by coronavirus has made it imperative for the world to rethink daily lives from work to school to entertainment and digitally transform to operate effectively.
Organizations that can leverage the digital platforms right and remodel their business fast-tracking the digitization leading to business transformation that provides them with a competitive edge in these times. Cancellation, as well as the postponement of in-person events, is one of the most impactful events of the pandemic.
As per PredictHQ, February alone led to a 500% surge in cancellations and postponements. Many events tradeshows, conferences, festivals, sporting events, and concerts such as have been rescheduled or been cancelled.
Facebook’s F8 Conference and Rakuten Advertising’s DealMaker London are few of the noticeable events that have been cancelled. Google pulled the plug on April’s CloudNext conference in San Francisco, as well as a smaller Vegas event scheduled later this month. Even major cultural events like Coachella and the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics are called off.
During all the cancellations, the organizations have continued functioning by leveraging digitization at its maximum. From webinars to online meetings and Work from home, businesses right now have adapted every possible digital advancement to ensure their business continuity. Here are a few ways how organizations have fast-tracked their digital transformation during the pandemic.
Work from Home
Organizations that have been resistant to approve of work from home have gradually moulded themselves due to the current situation. They have adapted the work from home process to ensure that the preventive measures for the spread of the virus is in place along with the continuity of the work. Multiple organizations such as Twitter and Google are encouraging their workforce to work from home as well as crafting remote working policies to ensure efficient procedures.
The dark side to this step is that some organizations might lack the necessary infrastructure to run their business as usual. However, this event has further ensured that companies realise the importance of digital transformation and fast-track it.
Telehealth
While there was already some progress in telemedicine before the COVID-19 outbreak, the current lockdown situation has pushed the healthcare industry to adopt it more evidently.
Instead of crowding at the clinics and hospitals, technology can help in diagnosing illness without the fear of the virus. Though it has its own set of limitations and not having a human to human contact is the biggest one, yet it is exactly the limitation that helps in distancing as well. Telehealth has been actively helping medical professionals as well as patients with their disease along with safeguarding them from the pandemic.
Remote Learning
The online learning/ virtual learning was already gaining some attention in order to make education accessible across the globe. The spread of COVID-19 ensured that it is accepted by a wider audience; Schools and universities began to turn to virtual learning options.
Most of the universities decided to switch the rest of the semester’s work to online learning only and some closed campuses to contain the spread of the virus. This transition to digital education is certainly disruptive as it came upon unplanned, but the current situation ensures that educational institutions will be better prepared in the future.
Events Going Virtual
A company’s major budget is allocated to marketing events and just as we mentioned above, almost all events have been cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic. Some organizations took a step ahead and decided to take advantage of the technology and switched to virtual events.
Conferences are an important way to exchange ideas and build professional relationships and as well make up a trillion-dollar industry. The new and innovative ideas due to the current situation have opened up opportunities for people to interact better virtually.
Technology
As organizations widely accepted remote working, many technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Zoom, introduced new tools to make team collaboration easy. Companies also extended their trial period or offered the same service at a lower price.
Summing it up:
While this event has taken aback all the industries, we can look at the brighter side and see that firms have come up with IT solutions to empower their processes now more than ever. Here are some ways to prepare yourself to get back on your feet as soon as the pandemic is behind us.
Take your long term objectives into account when you are planning. How are you going to cover up for all the business you have missed during this event. How will you maximize your bandwidth?
Start planning your comeback story now. Put in place a reliable digital marketing cost per acquisition model and get ready to scale marketing and make a massive come back soon.
Organizations will have to focus on better communication, balancing the needs of the business helping the workforce get back on their feet along with the realization that the company cares about them.
With respect to the current situation, organizations need to rethink as well as reevaluate their policies to make remote working simpler and a more practical approach. Of course, the health and safety of the employees should be the topmost priority of any organization and they must ensure positive hygiene habits, personal protective equipment, amended sick-leave policies and anything else necessary.
Author Bio
Lucy Kaith is a passionate marketer and writer working for Gateway Digital. She authors in-depth content on the topics of digital transformation help businesses choose the right innovative technologies to smoothly transform from legacy to digital. You can connect with Lucy Kaith on Twitter and LinkedIn.