As the COVID-19 lockdown continues, the big question is how soon we will be able to reopen the economy and return to some semblance of what we used to call normal.
The answer seems to differ depending on the locale and the severity of the outbreak in particular areas. But there’s a common thread through all these discussions: how do we open things up without causing more damage, and possibly unleashing a second round of infections?
It appears that we will not be able to go back to a totally open, unfettered existence until a vaccine is developed and widely available–which may take as much as a year or more. Until then, there may be no big sporting or entertainment events with live audiences. Restaurants may need to separate diners and have waiters wear masks. Shopping in malls or other stores may be severely restricted.
What do you do if you are one of the many organizations impacted by this? Well, you could sit and wait for things to return to normal–whatever and whenever that will be. Or, you could be creative and try to find new and innovative ways to offer value to customers.
This goes beyond the initial response to move everything to Zoom. Yesterday, a company that mainly supplies Christmas-related items to stores decided they could leverage their expertise to help get wholesale food items (no longer needed by restaurants) directly to consumers. They came to this conclusion by looking at their expertise–which was delivering large quantities of goods quickly and efficiently with well-established ecommerce capabilities.
It’s time to take a hard look at your core competencies. What is your real expertise? If the world does not miraculously recover in the next 30-60 days, how can you leverage and repurpose that expertise to offer a needed service–and keep your business alive?
It’s time to take a hard look at Plan B. And maybe even Plan C and D, too.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise – even in a crisis situation.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
