The sudden arrival of coronavirus COVID-19 to our shores has brought about a seismic shift in the way we both live and work. Despite having endured challenging business and personal times in my 50+ years, what we face now seems much more troubling and difficult.
Most of us have lived and worked all our lives in a largely positive, growth-driven economy. Companies of all sizes, established and startups, have seen revenue grow year-on-year over the past quarter-century. There has been a sense of confidence and optimism about what levers to pull and in what order. But this year, and potentially next, will be the first time many organisations and those who work for them will experience a downturn.
With most of us working from home and socially distancing ourselves, and with many quite rightly anxious about the future, what are those right levers now? What will be needed to retain our customers? How will we ensure they continue to use our products and services when jobs are at risk and the future is so uncertain?
At a time the Coronavirus had only impacted a few Australians, our stores had been stripped of not only toilet paper but pasta, flour, jam and other staples. If 200 cases of COVID-19 can cause that seemingly (emphasis here) irrational behaviour by smart, usually normal acting Australians across all demographics with that little disruption, how will we act when it becomes a lot worse? (which by all account it will).
Now, of course, many businesses have had the rug pulled out from under them as customers snap closed their wallets. In such unusual circumstances, can we truly expect our leaders to know how to get those same customers spending again on our products and services? Especially when things get worse, as they are likely to do in the short to medium term.
Here at Proto Partners, we continually operate in a world of uncertainty. We are constantly asked questions for which we don't immediately have answers. Questions like:
- We want to move into a new market, how do we do that?
- Our customers are leaving us and we don't understand why. How do we stop that?
- Our customers often abandon the purchase process before it is completed. Why are they doing that?
- We have customers paying us, but not using our product much, how do we drive deeper engagement so they don't one day just up and leave?
- Our products are market-leading but we can’t get any traction. Why is that?
- We are being disrupted, how do we improve results at the same time as using innovation to close gaps in the market?
We don't have the immediate answers, what we do have is a proven framework to find them.
If, in this new coronavirus world, you are looking beyond hunkering down to accelerating growth and want to determine what levers to pull and in what order, we are here to help. Not only will it reduce uncertainty and make good use of the next six months, but you will come out the other end in a healthy state, having not only beaten this virus but also have set yourself and your organisation up for growth, now and for the future.
As we inevitably move towards some sort of lockdown situation, people may take the opportunity and extra time they have available to review their phone plan, insurance policies, software as a service subscription or similar. Has there ever been a more important time to engage with them and ensure your offer meets their needs and is providing ongoing value?
We are currently offering a free Zoom consultation for any business which wants to be proactive in these times of uncertainty. Please email/call us to organise this.
In the meantime, we urge everyone to do their utmost to stay safe and abide by the measures being put in place to curtail the personal and business effects of this virus.
