Adapting Your Business to the New Reality

It will be quite some time before we understand the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the history of such shocking events tells us many things.

Even in severe economic downturns and recessions, many companies have been able to gain advantage and emerge stronger. This data has been evident among a number of surveyed firms doing business during the past four downturns. The result was 14% of them had increased both their sales, growth rate, and EBIT margin.

The same can be applied to our industry’s “Convenience Channel” champions, mavericks, and competitors …

Who is doing well? What market segments are you and your rivals focused on? What products or services can be introduced and/or programs launched? This guiding principle can also be extended to customers; Which ones are exhibiting new behaviors? Which have stayed operational and loyal? What new reality needs do customers require, and what are they paying attention to? In your own organization, ask; which workplace breakroom innovations are taking hold among leading firms? What new needs are employees responding to? What opportunities and differentiations can potentially be developed and rolled out more strategically?

Armed with an understanding of where your opportunities lie, you can now move to the next step of shaping and reinvigorating your business model to capture them. 

Most business models have and will continue to be driven by the demand and supply shifts relevant to our industry. Most “Away from Home” locations have been profoundly affected by today’s global events. Therefore, to figure out what business model your new normal requires, the time has come for leadership to ask basic  questions about how they can create and deliver value! Who they will need to partner with, and who your customers will be? For example, look at how retail shopping  businesses should be adjusting to the demand shift to digital. How does that parallel to your business?

In times of crisis, it’s easy for organizations to default to old habits—but those are often the times in which new approaches are most valuable. As companies position themselves for the new normal, they cannot afford to be constrained by traditional information sources, business models, and capital allocation behaviors. Instead, they must highlight anomalies and revamp their business models, and invest their resources dynamically to not only survive the crisis but thrive in the post-crisis world.