Insight
There is no industry that has been impervious to COVID-19 – some companies have adapted and perhaps flourished (e.g., Amazon, Zoom, etc), but the vast majority have suffered. Lockdown measures imposed to tackle the deadly virus and protect people’s health have had catastrophic consequences for many industries and economies.
In this article we outline some of the challenges businesses face and highlight some of the digital solutions adopted in response.
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Digital tools for businesses as they adapt or risk collapse
Now, more than ever, companies are turning to new digital solutions as their ‚ ‘business as usual‚Äù has been uprooted – according to the Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey (BICS) by the ONS, 23% of businesses* from ,All Industries, in the UK saw turnover decrease by more than 50% in the two weeks 6th April to 19th April.
Many companies are, however, continuing to operate in the wake of COVID-19 and are having to find new ways to collaborate and work together, whilst continuing to market their products and services. Some examples of the digital tools and strategies that are helping companies to adapt are outlined below.
*Over 6,000 businesses responded to survey.
Collaboration Tools
Microsoft Teams appears to be the on-trend solution of choice for businesses to communicate and collaborate. The pooling of various functions – private or group chat, dedicated teams, file sharing, collaborative file editing, video conferencing, etc – into one packaged solution has enabled the tech giant to maintain its quality standards when more agile start-ups seek to take advantage.
Slack is a platform that offers instant messaging, file transfers and powerful historic message searching. Moreover, external guests can join dedicated channels to collaborate and the app supports dozens of app integrations.
GoToMeeting is video conferencing software that allows multiple users to join from different locations: it supports audio or video call, share screens, designate control of desktops to other meeting members, record sessions, and so on. It has grown in popularity due to its quality of features.
Asana is a project management tool allowing users to assign tasks to other members, add followers to projects and monitor deadlines. It has useful to-do list and strategic planning functions but does not support communication functions like calling or instant messaging.
These are, of course, a small sample of the multitude of tools businesses are turning to as they work remotely or battle some other challenge. At Optimat, we switched to Microsoft Teams full time when we switched to remote working. 30 years working in an office will ingrain certain habits, so this was not a simple flick of the switch. Arguably one of the biggest benefits for us (aside from communication functions) is the collaborative file sharing and editing. A whole host of app integrations are available too.
We also started using GoToMeeting regularly as we needed a reliable video conferencing solution that can support multiple members from (often) different countries. GoToMeeting has a really handy meeting invite where international/toll numbers are programmed in a drop-down, and the video and audio quality are sharp and smooth (respectively). Multiple seats can be costly, however.
Digital Marketing Tools
Digital marketing can be daunting for businesses that have embedded traditional marketing techniques and channels into their business; but digital marketing strategies are either central, or at least supplementary, to most businesses in this day and age. Legacy processes, systems and modes of working are being transformed industry by industry and digital marketing is one area that has exploded as the internet has evolved over the years.
Social media, like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are excellent platforms for maintaining engagement with existing or prospective customers. Social platforms can be effective for simple brand awareness campaigns through occasional business updates or more proactive sales where advertising campaigns are activated, measured, and optimised.
Popular Tools: Facebook Advertising for ad campaigns; Hootsuite or Buffer for post scheduling and performance analysis (views, engagement, etc).
Content marketing can be advanced, with teams dedicated to harnessing the power of Google to rank highly for searches relevant to their business and industry – this is known as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This involves multiple elements and is a balance of science and art – keyword analysis, technical SEO, backlinks, copywriting, etc – that stretches beyond just writing an article. Alternatively, the strategy can be based on simple, informative blog/article writing seeking organic (non-paid) engagement, opposed to hardcore SEO.
Popular Tools: Google Keyword Planner, Google Search Console, Moz, SEMRush (all for SEO).
Email marketing has been leveraged so much that it can be a thankless task trying to get a prospective customer to open their emails (fear of ‚ ‘Spam‚Äù). However, a well-designed strategy will constantly optimise the user throughout the funnel, from landing on a page and signing up to receive emails to the type of emails they receive and frequency of send. Other elements can, and should, be tested, these include the email design/style; the phrasing of call to actions (buttons like ,Buy Now,) and their placement within the email; the length and size of the email; and much more can be optimised.
Popular Tools: Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, HubSpot do the heavy lifting allowing campaigns to be built, sent, and analysed (email open-rates, click-through rates, sales attribution, etc).
Digitally transform or digitally upskill in preparation for the ‚ ‘new normal‚Äù
The digital tools listed above will help in the short term, but approaches that fast track digital transformation right through the business from back-end systems and security, sales/marketing and customer services, and all of the in-between, may help businesses navigate the difficult months ahead where traditional activities like office working, face to face meetings, events, and so on, may not be an option. If a full or even partial digital transformation strategy is not plausible or is too daunting, at least addressing digital resource and skills gaps now means businesses can get ahead and avoid falling victim to slippage – it may not be too late.
In fact, evidence suggests workforces are taking action to upskill themselves while they have spare capacity: 31% of UK workforce (15+) has been learning and honing digital skills for work purposes according to the recent Lloyds Bank Consumer Digital Index survey. This may be a shining light in an otherwise bleak outlook as approximately 17 million people (52% of the workforce) do not achieve the standard of Essential Digital Skills in the workplace according to the same report.
Businesses have been increasingly turning to digital tools as they adapt to life under lockdown. Moving forwards, digital transformation will become more pervasive and expect to see digital technologies replacing, or supplementing, key business functions. For now, business leaders will continue to navigate the short-term challenges presented by COVID-19; at the same time, they must keep one eye on the long-term, so they are prepared for life in the ‚ ‘new normal‚Äù.