With the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are disrupted in every aspect of their lives. Where they live, work, play, shop and so on. Social distancing, shelter-in-place, and self-quarantines are new concepts.<\/p>\n
Many scared shoppers are stockpiling everything, emptying shopping aisles, while others are scared to go out and order their groceries online. And, for workers, while select businesses have allowed working from home for years, most have never stopped commuting. Until now.<\/p>\n
M<\/span>any of these new behavior patterns <\/span>\u2013 our new normal \u2013 w<\/span>ill <\/span>remain<\/span>, even after COVID-19 fades into our collective memories. The results: <\/span>businesses <\/span>need <\/span>to adapt. <\/span>And, many of them are.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To successfully<\/span> pivot<\/span>, <\/span>businesses need to address three key areas: 1) <\/span>the product <\/span>offering; 2) financing to enable you to survive while pivoting; 3) your messaging.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> Let\u2019s <\/span>explore<\/span> each<\/span> one<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n First, let\u2019s look at <\/span><\/b>your <\/span><\/b>product <\/span><\/b>mix<\/span><\/b>. <\/span>Businesses are adapting in real-time, <\/span>innovating on the fly, <\/span>from <\/span>senior shopping hours<\/span> to help protect our most vulnerable to<\/span> high-end<\/span> restaurants<\/span> known for providing unique dining experiences launching take-out and delivery options.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even many durable goods companies are adapting. <\/span>Two examples<\/span> from the automotive world: Hyundai is offering to cover <\/span>payments for anyone who bought or leased a vehicle before April 30<\/span>th<\/span> and then loses their job. Ford<\/span>\u00a0is now allowing purchasers of new vehicles to delay their first payment for 90 days.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even business-to-business firms are <\/span>finding innovative ways to <\/span>adapt.\u00a0<\/span> A sports marketing firm that<\/span>\u00a0represents a range of <\/span>Olympians and Paralympians training for Tokyo 2020<\/span>, among others, launched an <\/span>online <\/span>s<\/span>peaker<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>s<\/span>eries<\/span> after their athlete\u2019s live speaking events where canceled.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Their first client: Amazon for a <\/span>speech and Q&A with <\/span>Paralympian<\/span> Melissa Hoffman <\/span>Stockwell<\/span>, who was the first female to lose <\/span>a limb \u2013 <\/span>her left leg <\/span>\u2013 <\/span>in the Iraq war.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Our business is primarily <\/span>conference <\/span>keynotes and <\/span>other speaking events and then <\/span>everything started getting postponed<\/span>, <\/span>says <\/span>Jeannie Goldstein <\/span>at <\/span>Chicago Sports Partners<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>We also realized that there was no better time for sharing stories about overcoming adversity. <\/span>We felt it was something that was needed because the<\/span> stories<\/span> could help others feel<\/span> inspired, motivated, and <\/span>connected.\u201d<\/span> Keep in mind, when pivoting,<\/span> as <\/span>Jill Cain, <\/span>TEGNA\u2019s <\/span>Director of Consumer Insights and Sponsorship<\/span>, <\/span>points out, <\/span>\u201cI<\/span>t\u2019s not about selling. Rather, it\u2019s about fulfilling needs<\/span> during crisis<\/span> and supporting your local communities<\/span>. <\/span>People will remember how you helped<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, <\/span><\/b>financing<\/span><\/b>. I<\/span>f you\u2019re among the lucky <\/span>ones<\/span>, you have enough working capital to make your payroll<\/span> \u2013 or a source to obtain it at low-interest rates as part of your disaster preparedness plan<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If not, small business owners in all states are now eligible to apply for low-interest <\/span>Economic Injury Disaster Loans<\/span> through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). This program offers working capital loans worth up to $2 million to help bridge the gap, so you can cover accounts payable, fixed debt, payroll, and other operating costs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe know small businesses are feeling a great deal of uncertainty right now about their futures, and this disaster loan program can offer some stability and reassurance to help entrepreneurs get through the challenging times,\u201d said SBA Illinois District Director Robert Steiner.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Whatever you do, be wary of predatory loans that you might be inspired to take in desperation.\u00a0 <\/span>High-interest predatory loans <\/span>may help you prolong your business<\/span> in the short run<\/span>, only to put you out of it in the future<\/span>, because of the repayment burden<\/span>. Rather, be sure <\/span>you<\/span> obtain loans for working capital from a reputable source.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, you need to <\/span><\/b>ensure <\/span><\/b>that<\/span><\/b>\u00a0messaging is <\/span><\/b>relevant<\/span><\/b>. <\/span>Business<\/span>es<\/span> are refocusing their messages<\/span>, emphasizing how they\u2019re part of the community<\/span> and being responsive to its needs<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For instance, <\/span>according to Cain, \u201cA<\/span> regional pizza chain has pivoted its advertising to focus on take-out and, more importantly, delivery to those who can\u2019t get out, showing how they are serving the betterment of their community.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Other businesses, including many event-based ones,<\/span> are donating their <\/span>paid advertising slots, so the time can be used for public service announcements (PSAs), as a way to give back.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>People are now looking for information<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> I<\/span>t\u2019s one of the reasons why local broadcast television viewing is doubling during this crisis<\/span>,\u201d says Cain<\/span>, \u201ca<\/span>nd you<\/span>r business<\/span> can be part of the solution<\/span> too<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Whatever you do, stay positive. We will get through this pandemic. The changes you make to business today \u2013 and the relationships <\/span>and goodwill <\/span>you create through your acts of caring \u2013 <\/span>can help thrive in the coming years. Your pivots might give you additional ongoing sources of revenue and <\/span>improve <\/span>your brand equity \u2013 the benefits you accrue for positive impressions of your brand \u2013 can also improve as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As consumers are adopting new habits amid the COVID-19 crisis, businesses need to adapt just as quickly. Here are tips and tricks to help adapt to these new and ever-changing shopping habits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beingoodcompany","wpautop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegna.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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