Only These Businesses Will Survive Covid-19
There are a few industries who are getting hit hard by the outbreak of Covid-19.
The events industry, travel and transportation industries, construction, global deliveries, restaurants, any small "mom and pop" shop, the list goes on.
Who will survive on a mix of factors, not all of which are in our control--but we're going to focus on what's in our control, for now.
The market isn't behaving like it normally does because there is so much uncertainty about what will happen next.
Will this be over in a month? 2 months? 9 months?
How much food should I stock up on? Do I really need toilet paper? Is there any DayQuil left on Amazon? Is Amazon still shipping at all?
Businesses, consumers, and everyone in between are being more conservative with their money.
So, if you're a business, you may need to adapt what you're doing to survive.
What I'm NOT saying is that if you're a bowling alley, you should stop what you're doing an open an eCommerce store selling 3D printed face masks . . .
What I AM saying is that you may need to double down on your core competencies for a while.
Made-up example: if Microsoft has a 1 million dollar budget for consultants who advise their game developers on how to use those games in classrooms, a few things might happen.
- They might have a reduced budget because they need to focus on their bread and butter operations right now.
- They might have more budget because they know they need to focus on their bread and butter operations right now.
- They might reallocate their existing budget based on what programs in that department are performing and which aren't.
There might be some combination of these 3 things. Unless you're on the inside, you really won't know what decision will be made until it's made.
So, think about it like this: if you are their most trusted consultant, they may give you more business during this stressful time. The budget might be cut, but you might get more of it.
In their view, they are being more conservative with their money. They are less willing to spend it on new projects, new consultants, and unproven revenue streams.
They are less willing to spend on uncertain things and more willing to spend on certain things.
It's back to basics.
So, if you're an insurgent brand--a new company that no one has ever heard of--depending on the circumstances, you may have a really difficult time entering the market.
But if you're already a trusted partner, someone who has delivered before, you are better positioned to succeed.
The punchline: if you're already good at something and your industry is still breathing, your best bet is to double-down on your core competencies and focus on delivering value.
This might mean you have to change the way you deliver. It doesn't mean you have to change what you do.
2 Minute Action:
You're not going to solve your business' problems in 2 minutes. Let's be real.
What you can do is start shaping your mindset by thinking outside the box about solutions.
Here are some ideas to inspire your thoughts:
- If you're used to flying somewhere and having a meeting, you might have to go virtual.
- If you're used to opening a day-care each day, you may have to build new technology partnerships.
- If you're used to flipping tables at your restaurant, you may have to work with DoorDash and UberEats to create some incentive for your customers.
I'm not saying you should stop what you're doing or continue what you've always done--that's insane.
Focus on your core-competencies and figure out what would have to happen for you to deliver business value in this new environment.
Take 2 minutes to look at what your competitors are doing.
Take 2 minutes to research an idea.
Take 2 minutes to email someone in your field who can help you think through the problem.
An Unexpected Outcome Of The Corona Virus Nightmare
I'm not going to talk about the silver lining we should be seeking in the wake of the Corona Virus.
If you haven't heard, New York City's hospital staff is getting crushed.
It's hard to talk about the good things that can come from bad things when the bad things are really bad.
So, instead, I would like to find another way to reframe what's happening.
We have to admit that what's happening is a nightmare for many people.
I'm very grateful that I don't live paycheck to paycheck and that my life hasn't been entirely altered by this, so I feel that too--but I want to focus on the pain.
I don't know about you, but chances are, if you're reading this blog, you have something inside you that is driven by helping people.
You might be making software, writing a book, or helping an amazing company reach more people, but at the heart of it, chances are, you're in it for impact.
This is your chance.
People are in pain.
It's a nightmare for a lot of folks.
But it's not just a nightmare. Nightmares don't stay nightmares forever.
It's an opportunity to help people.
It's your chance to rise.
It's a nightmare, but it's a calling too.
2 Minute Action:
Take 2 minutes to help someone today.
If you don't know how, here are some ideas:
- Call your mom and ask if she needs help ordering groceries online.
- Text your friends and ask if they want to set up a "skype date" to stay social and raise spirits.
- Send a pizza to your local ER and let them know they matter.
None of these things are hard, but they mean so much.
It's definitely a nightmare.
But it's also your calling.
P.S. Here's what some other folks are doing, too:
DONATE
Wethos is partnering up with the Freelancers Union to launch a half a million dollar relief fund that will distribute grants of up to $1,000 for freelancers experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic. Donate to the cause, here.
CROWD SOURCE
Betterific/Ideascale launched a public health challenge. People are collaborating to find relevant and actionable ideas to the crisis. Get involved, here.
BUILD SOMETHING
Copper 3D has developed and open-sourced a design for reusable 3D-printed face masks as part of their #HackThePandemic initiative.
AMPLIFY WHAT YOU DO
OLIO is matching your home-cooked meals with low-income families who previously relied on free school meals to feed their children.
USE THE INTERWEBS
Classcraft is helping students and educators all over the world navigate the shift to remote learning in the wake of school closures.
FILL THE GAPS
Cell-Ed created this free mobile text-to-audio COVID-19 guide to bridge the information gap for hard-to-reach populations, no data or internet required to download.
Read This If You're Getting Tons Of Useless Emails From Companies About Corona Virus
"The health of our employees is important to us . . ."
"Please, remember to wash your hands . . ."
"We're washing down all our keyboards and sending people home . . ."
Unless you are contributing some new information or notifying of some important procedural change that impacts customers in a big way, these emails are basically just spam.
That's the definition of spam, isn't it?
It's pretending to be ham.
But it's not.
So, it's spam.
Here's what I think is happening:
Someone at the office is saying "Jeeze, a lot of people are talking about this and I just got this email from Bob's Crab Shack telling me they're only serving pick-up orders. What do you think, Bill? I guess we'd better send something out to our list to let them know we are taking this seriously."
Doesn't that just inspire you?
The best email I've gotten so far has been from a financial advisor saying "don't make any moves!"
From a user perspective, getting a zillion emails is not a good thing. It means I have less time to distinguish the spam from the ham. I have less time to do useful things.
If the people who wrote the email thought of what the customer actually needs, I don't think 90% of these emails would be sent at all.
If anything, all this nonsense is an indication that the bar is low!
The bar is low for interesting, useful, and important messaging!
It's your time!
2 Minute Action:
Take one small, single thing you do today and just before you execute it, consider what your customer or end-user will actually think.
I guess another way to say all this is to "treat others the way you wish to be treated."
And the crazy part?
I bet it only takes 2 minutes or less to consider.