Early in my career, I learned that it is unwise to rebuild a retail outlet on site when there is an option to build on another site better positioned to serve the trade area. Taking an outlet off-line for reconstruction, forced our customers to seek alternatives. They began shopping with other brands, creating new habits. And, the rebuilt outlet seldom regained their full sales volume. It was a bad investment. Building a new outlet in a better location avoided the lost revenue while creating excitement for the new store. It was usually a better investment.
Once a new shopping pattern is established (read – a new habit), it is difficult to revert. This experience gives me confidence that the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak will create new habits and accelerate other trends.
Trends to Watch
- Improved/Greater Focus on Personal Hygiene
- Remote Working
- Internet Shopping/Home Delivery
- Tele-Medicine
- Virtual Meetings
The first change I expect is an increased vigilance toward sanitation. It is obvious that people are likely to become accustomed to washing their hands more often, hopefully using anti-bacterial soap. It’s reasonable to expect retailers and other employers to adopt measures to better protect their customers and employees. Who knows, this might lead to a reduction in overall flu cases, reducing absenteeism. Even now, I have a client in the Janitorial Services Sector who is generating significant add-on sales from an innovative sanitizer product.
My friend Faith says that this pandemic will be the catalyst to make telemedicine a more widely accepted modality of care. “Telemedicine has been operational for 40 years. It has had a tremendous resurgence since 2016 and continues to increase in utilization. Telemedicine, including telehealth, is viewed as a viable option to access needed care. Copays and other fees are being waived both for commercial and Medicare patients. The virtual platform that is steering patients will become more widely accepted and utilized. There was already a push for digital applications to handle chronic conditions, urgent care, follow up visits, and medical consultations. It will be difficult to resume pre-pandemic modes of care.”
As I begin my third day of voluntary quarantine, I have changed the plans for our monthly meeting in favor of a ZOOM meeting. Based on government guidance, I decided to conduct a virtual meeting instead. It isn’t as useful from a networking perspective, but the content of the meeting will be presented well, and I will record the meeting for future reference. I am hearing that many of my colleagues have been engaged in virtual meetings this week. I imagine that many will become more accustomed to virtual meetings during this quarantine.
As people work from home for the next two weeks, many managers who are uncomfortable with remote working will have an opportunity to change their thinking. Imagine the overall benefit of working from home. Less commuting time via automobile will benefit employee mental health and productivity while lowering the cost of owning an automobile. The benefit to the environment and maintenance of infrastructure will be enormous. Mass commuting to and from work by automobile is no longer practical or sustainable.
Yesterday, I heard that Amazon.com is hiring another 100,000 workers. It’s safe to say that the home shopping trend, including restaurant delivery, will experience a surge of growth. One can imagine how restaurants will change their business models to accommodate more home delivery. I expect the creation of outlets providing delivery and carry-out only, without any accommodations for dine-in customers. This is a huge opportunity for grocery stores as well.
For the next two or more weeks we will be living outside our normal patterns. Disruption of our typical routine will certainly result in the creation of new habits. Working from home, making greater use of technology and new applications will reveal better ways to accomplish our work. I expect that our quarantine will be a catalyst for accelerating change.
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Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I landed a new client this week, referred to me by another of our coaches. The client, John, had recently purchased a franchise for an online business. He reached out to us because he’s having trouble generating revenue. John’s an occupational therapist. This is his first experience as an entrepreneur; however, he has the presence of mind to know that he needs help. As we were getting to know one another over the phone I asked about the training he had received from the franchisor. He provided a brief overview but admitted that he wasn’t comfortable with some aspects of the Brand’s training, especially regarding customer acquisition. That revelation gave me a clear direction for our first meeting. There is obviously a disconnect between John’s desire to have a business and his willingness to follow the franchiser’s model for success. To be helpful, I must understand his rationale for acquiring the franchise compared to his personal strengths and interests.
While engaged in recent networking activities I became acquainted with a Senior Consultant assigned to the Atlanta office for a National Outplacement Company. He had heard about ITB Partners and wanted to learn more about our program. During our discussion, I asked about their activity level, given that the economy has improved, and unemployment had reached a historic low. I was somewhat surprised to learn that their business was still strong. He said that, notwithstanding the strength of the economy, many companies are reorganizing their workforces to better serve their customers and achieve a competitive advantage. I found this interesting and made a mental note to explore the issue further as I thought it would be a good topic for an article. Two weeks ago, my health-care-consultant-friend and colleague, Faith told me that she had just finished an engagement to help a client through a major reorganization. That triggered the memory of my conversation with the Outplacement Consultant so I asked her if she would like to collaborate on a blog post. I find it interesting to learn how large companies endeavor to maintain a competitive advantage as we transition further into the Digital Age.
