COVID transformed the rhythms and patterns of our lives during a million alternative ways, both big and little. And while some will revert back to normal once the pandemic is over, others won’t. Today, we’re getting to run through a couple of belongings you should be doing to adapt to the new contactless world.
Everyone is online now. Even grocery stores, long the in-person holdout, caved to ecommerce during COVID.
So the very very first thing you ought to do is get a web store up and running.
Out of the box platforms like Advantage CSP and Shopify can get you there quickly and simply, while larger organizations may require more development resources to integrate supply systems, inventory management, and more with a customer-facing front-end. Regardless, getting online is completely essential.
Give people the choice to shop for online, pickup future
Even if your store remains an enormous part of your organization, confirm you’re offering some kind of alternative option for those that want to shop for your products but want lower engagement. Contactless pickup may be a good option, especially for smaller businesses who don’t want to take a position within the logistics necessary for shipping and fulfilment.
Get a faucet payments solution for in-store shoppers
Cash is not any longer king – plastic has stolen its crown.
If you’re offering an in-store experience, confirm you’re upgrading your terminals to support tap to pay as a contactless option. This is often especially important for those organizations where most of the transactions are getting to be but $100 (a common tap limit cutoff).
It may even be worth considering self-serve terminals to again reduce the quantity of human-to-human interaction required.
Adapt to new media consumption patterns
As the patterns of our lives changed, so too did the pattern of our media consumption. To make sure you’re still getting into front of your audience, you would like to adapt your media strategy and offering accordingly.
For B2C companies, this might mean reducing your out of home and radio spend and reinvesting in things like influencer marketing, paid social media, and podcast advertising.
For B2B companies, this largely means shifting money out of events and into other, digital avenues like email marketing, sponsored digital content, and program / paid social campaigns.
For both, it’s also a chance to double down on brand — is your brand strong, could it’s better, and the way are you getting to fix it? Branding will matter more and more as digital channels saturate with the influx of money and price out about the very best spenders.
Build contactless teams
One perk of the pandemic is that remote work is normalized. So cash in on it! If you’re struggling to form a key hire, widen your search parameters to your timezone, then country, then the planet. Not only is it unlikely we’ll return full time to in-person offices any time soon, people have also become far better at working remotely, building home offices that provide employment for them. So remove geography as a barrier for your next key hire.
Invest in contactless
Finally, confirm you invest in contactless. This world of contactless life isn’t going to disappear when pandemic fades. Norms are being set now which will stick. So don’t unplan every solution. That point has passed. Confirm you’re making sensible, long-term investments in your contactless organization which will drive growth long into the contactless future.
Bullet point summary
- Get an ecommerce store up and running ASAP
- Give your customers the choice to settle on their level of contactless
- Get tap payments found out in your store
- Redistribute your marketing and media to suit new consumption patterns
- Build the simplest team you’ll — no matter location
- Double down on contactless — COVID might fade, but the changes it wrought won’t
