Page 19 - IMDR EBOOK 20 OCT 2020

"Pandemic and Beyond: Naviga ng the New Normal" E - Book Year 2020
Overall it appears that companies are struggling to recover xed costs in the absence of
revenue generation due to sharp drop in sales. The reduction in costs is more by default
than design, owing to the changed circumstances of the pandemic. Increase in costs are
due to enablement of digital platforms, increased freight and cartage costs and increased
costs of raw materials.
4.5 Impact on interactions with customers and other stakeholders

94% respondents reported that the pandemic has changed the way in which they
interact with customers and other stakeholders. The following themes emerged from
data analysis as summarised in Table 10.
Table 10: Impact of COVID-19 on interactions with customers and stakeholders

1. Focus on servicing existing customers as it is difcult to generate new business: It
appears from the responses that new customers are difcult to tap using the virtual
medium. As one respondent noted, “ Right now everything is on telephone and internet
which is inadequate”. Another observed, “ No personal meetings is the new reality, so
decisions with new clients are delayed”.

2. Most of the interactions with existing clients are for execution of orders. Companies
are more responsive towards existing clients in the hope that they will be able to generate
business from them in the future. Respondents also report that they have low bargaining
power with customers due to price reductions by competitors. It would appear that the old
adage ‘A bird in hand is worth two in the bush’ would apply to all companies right now.

3. Collaborative relationships: It would appear that companies are moving towards more
collaborative relationships with customers and stakeholders. One respondent reported
‘more collective efforts, support to run business with empathy’. Another succinctly
observed: “I think Covid 19 made us reduce the noise n be more straight with consumers;
we tried to increase distribution network; reached out to nal consumer (this wouldn’t
have been possible without Covid19) . Our distributor teams worked even closely with our
sales team- so it gave more collaboration; We reached out to our employees more; our
bosses reached out to us more. Covid 19 made us more human than we were before”.
4. Communication modes: Communication has shifted from face to face to online, voice
calls, video conferencing, social media and virtual platforms. Concern seems to be to
combine ‘high tech’ with ‘high touch’. As one respondent puts it: “ We are trying to be in
constant touch with the community…to keep the connection alive”.
5. Content of communication: The shift to a more collaborative relationship with
customers and other stakeholders is also reected in the communication. As one
respondent notes: “The communication is all about acknowledging and the accepting the
current scenario and understanding & helping each other”. Another respondent notes
with wry humour the change in communication content thus: “The frequently used words
like Surely, Certainly, do not worry, Promises have now changed to Hopefully, good
health, let’s see, bear with us !”

It would appear that focusing on existing customers and building collaborative
relationships is the new normal. Virtual modes of communication seem inadequate to
generate new business. It seems that businesses require at least one face to face
interaction to build trust and commitment. The shift to a more collaborative relationship
with customers and other stakeholders is also reected in the communication which is
more responsive and empathetic.
4.6 Future impact of COVID-19 (next six months to one year) on business
operations
It is a telling comment on the unprecedented uncertainty created by this pandemic that
78% of the respondents are not able to predict the timeline for recovery of business
operations. 16% of the respondents predict that business operations will recover in the
next six months, while 6% feel that it will take a year’s time for normalcy to return. Most
companies expect between 10-80% drop in sales and between 25-30% drop in revenues.
Two areas that occupy the mind-space of business leaders are business operations and
consumer demand. Some of the themes that emerge from data analysis are as depicted in
Table 11.

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