It is no secret that many Zimbabwean businesses have been unceremoniously thrust into the digital sphere in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Like many in the global community, the accelerated digitization of our organisations has led to the increased use of video conferencing systems in and out of the workplace, and digital access to healthcare, education and essential goods and services. It has also led many employees to consider how digital disruption caused by this pandemic could impact their careers and even question what jobs their children will be doing when they grow up. Employers face the same challenges as they decide which capabilities, they need to develop to enable their business to grow now and beyond COVID-19.
Since the pandemic has drastically changed the way we work and the nature of our workplaces, new combinations of talent and technology are delivering decisive advances in customer experience, operational efficiency and competitive edge. As such, we continue to witness digital transformation driving positive outcomes as the pandemic rages. Whether it is streamlining processes, harnessing data or shaping entirely new ways of doing business, this is about uniting every part of the enterprise in a common purpose. So, how can businesses prepare for a future that will only see greater adoption of technology beyond the pandemic?
Big Data, Big Impact: Leverage the Power of Big Data and Analytics
Another practical way for organizations to positively embrace digital disruption is to use sophisticated analytics software to leverage what is often under-utilized or latent corporate and customer data.
Africa may trail the US and Europe in terms of technology, but the gap is bridging fast. The continent has taken great strides in the technological and policy prerequisites necessary for big data impact. The explosion in the growth of the ICT industry, the rise of the use of mobile technology for financial and development transactions have been well documented.
In Zimbabwe for instance, mobile money financial transactions are changing the way business is done, helping the rural poor leverage microfinance and carry out profitable self-sustaining small enterprises without any need for big banks.
Likewise, in other African countries like Uganda and Kenya, this has even helped many Zimbabweans during this current lockdown to do their transactions using mobile applications. In the process, social distancing is practised, and a healthy digital appreciation of mobile technologies is accelerated.
The Zimbabwean financial services space, there is a growing focus on automated applications. For those who have been paying attention to the big data conversations revolving around supply chains, one thing has become clear: smart supply chain professionals are hooked on to the idea of big data as a game changer, understanding that big data holds infinite possibilities.
Here are a few more examples that fulfilled objectives using big data successfully:
- The Bosch Group: As very early adaptors of big data, they were able to capitalise on their advantage by almost pioneering multiple ‘smart’ devices that range from fleet management systems to intelligent vehicle-charging tools.
- Telecom Industry: The telecom industry is literally sitting on a gold mine of big data that is available in real-time. Crucial analysis could provide insights into consumer preferences, patterns and behaviour – in the here and now. Let us look at a leading company leveraging Big Data. Bharati Airtel is a telecoms company in India leverages on its Big Data to create more than 5000 daily target campaigns.
- Mobile Industry: Another example is about a mobile manufacturer (name hasn’t been declared) who, with the traditional market research approach, found that the camera was the main reason why consumers bought their phones. This manufacturer wanted to get more in-depth knowledge about this, so they decided to get help from Big Data analysts.
Collaborations, Networking and Partnerships
The Covid-19 pandemic is sparking a 1-in-100-year economic event and a potential global recession. The question is: how will your businesses continue to remain relevant, pivot, add value and reach customers while budgets are being slashed and an end date to this pandemic is uncertain?
There has never been a better time to collaborate with other brands. Businesses need to band together, cross-promote and tap into collaboration marketing as a strategy. When two or more brands create a strategic alliance help each other grow in the process, it is a recipe for cost-effective success.
Think limited edition products, virtual events, gifts-with-purchase, digital collaborations like Spotify x Charni Nicholas’ ‘cosmic playlists,’ social media competitions, challenges or a content series. Not only are you tapping into a whole new community of potential customers with clever cross-promotion, collaboration marketing also allows brands to create exciting newsworthy stories to generate media coverage, too.
Businesses can leverage what they already have; social media communities, email lists, products, services, skills, time, venue spaces, channel promotion, publicity opportunities or resources in order to establish a win/win exchange of value. In fact, collaboration marketing is up to 25x cheaper than digital advertising and businesses can use collaborations to halve production costs.
There lies a lot of opportunity amidst all this current chaos and some companies have been quick to jump on the collaboration bandwagon to add value amid the pandemic. Some examples of strategic brand collaborations during the Covid-19 crisis include Apple and Google two tech industry’s biggest players and rivals worked together to build COVID-19 tracking technology into iOS and Android software supported devices.
Social media usage is surging up, along with online shopping activity during this global pandemic and in Zimbabwe we now have retail shops and online delivery services collaborating during this lockdown to deliver groceries and food stuff to people in the comfort of their homes, hence, promoting business continuity for both enterprises.
Zimbabwe extending the coronavirus lockdown ‘indefinitely’ and all private kombis and buses grounded, that leaves the public operator as the only option. Ride-hailing companies with a licence to operate from the government during this lockdown are collaborating with employers both in the private and public sector. They are transporting their employees safely and in a timely manner to their workplaces, ensuring that there is productivity and employee satisfaction amid this global crisis.
Therefore, businesses such as manufacturers and retailers need to fund new approaches to offset technical debt and build new capabilities through partnerships and collaboration. Those that can build the flexibility to venture into new capabilities more effectively than their competitors will be winners during this global crisis and beyond.
Growth Opportunities for Brands During the COVID-19 Crisis
COVID-19 has already had an enormous impact on consumers and brands. The stay-at-home directives, radical shifts in demand for certain product categories, undersupplied distribution channels, and supply chain difficulties for certain companies have disrupted habitual behaviors and required customers to shop in new ways.
Due to the current lockdown, online delivery services of fresh farm vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy in Zimbabwe have disrupted how consumers used to purchase those products from big retail shops which they are now going online. Clearly, the current environment offers an unprecedented opportunity for smaller companies and entrepreneurs. They have the space to compete against their more established rivals for exposure, mindshare, product trials, and market share with a new and broader base of potential customers.
Think solution, not just product:
During this pandemic, businesses must understand that there is no ideal product but only a solution that fits with their customer’s needs and desired outcome. Many incumbent leading brands continue to define their appeal based on how they are differentiated from competitors. However, the current opportunity lies in how brands can be differentiated for customers. Throughout this crisis, brands that prove to be relevant to customers’ concerns about safety, security, and assurance will find competitive footing.
Consider Pomchies: For nearly 20 years, the company has made fashion headbands, scrunchies, and water bottle carriers that are popular among young consumers. Realizing the current shift in consumers’ needs, it has introduced new product lines like nonmedical face masks. While this is a major shift from its norm, Pomchies is delivering solutions to meet the changed needs of traditional customers and gaining attention and revenue from new ones.
Similarly, Hyundai, a midtier brand in its category, acted decisively as the pandemic spread and quickly pivoted to a COVID-19-related version of its Hyundai Assurance program (previously offered in 2009 during the financial crisis). This revised program provides the solution of deferred payments for new purchasers and for recent buyers who suffer a job loss and/or are temporarily unable to work because they are caring for themselves or a member of their household.
Rising to the challenge preparing for a digital future is no easy task. Especially a future which seems to have been thrust upon us. However, the digital agenda is a crucial one. It means developing digital capabilities in which a company’s activities, people, culture, and structure are in sync and aligned toward a set of organizational goals. It must be done if you want your business to survive this COVID-19 and beyond any other global pandemic.
