Work-life has changed a lot for almost every industry. Due to the current pandemic, companies have been forced to innovate and come up with new solutions.
Some companies have found that working from home is an excellent option for their team, while others have found ways to give back to their communities.
Today we thought it’d be inspiring and uplifting to share examples of how companies are better than they were before this pandemic. We’re going to look at things companies have learned and that they’ll carry with them to the other side.
Here’s a list of ways that companies are innovating!
Innovations in the Medical Industry
The medical industry as a whole has seen one of the highest needs for innovation. Of course, there’s always a need for innovation in the medical industry the need involving the pandemic is one of the greatest in recent years. Here are some of the fantastic developments that the medical industry is accomplishing.
Innovative Ways of Collaborating
Here in Minnesota, we’ve seen hospitals and universities team up across the state to help fight this disease together. Across the country and some parts of the world, organizations are working together to come up with a vaccine at record rates.
Digital Healthcare Innovations
In Europe, a new program called Livi Connect launched. This program is allowing doctors to provide essential meetings with their patients who suffer from chronic illnesses. Digital healthcare in this way hasn’t always been something that people would willingly turn to. Today, it’s become essential.
Additionally, many practices within the behavioral health industries are providing telehealth appointments to continue meeting with their patients. This is an especially important thing considering the damage that Covid-19 has done to mental health.
Telemedicine in the US
Launching almost overnight due to the concerns of stepping into a hospital, telemedicine has completely taken off in the US. The quick adaptation to the new circumstances is providing a large market for tech innovators.
Dyson has Developed a Ventilator
From vacuum cleaners to ventilators, Dyson has really found a way to give back. Throughout the world, there has been a shortage of ventilators. After being commissioned to design a new ventilator to help patients with the coronavirus, the project was completed in just 10 days.
Food Service Companies
Distilleries and Brewers Making Hand Sanitizer
Across the country, distilleries and breweries are shifting some of their operations from consumable alcohol production to making hand sanitizer. Even some larger breweries, including Budweiser, have begun producing hand sanitizer. You can find a complete list and more information on how they do it here.
Automating Grocery Stores
Automated grocery checkouts – That’s right, where it’s offered, consumers can enter a grocery store and fill their physical cart while also filling a virtual cart. Then, when finished shopping, they can exit the store with groceries they’ve purchased from their virtual cart. This helps to make grocery stores much safer and cleaner.
Drive-up Windows
The food industry has taken a big hit due to this virus, but small businesses and restaurants have shifted to offering drive-thrus and takeout options that they didn’t’ offer before.
Some Ramen places are offering packs where you can put together your ramen at home while bars and cocktail lounges are offering carryout mixer packages.
Grocery Delivery Services See a Spike in Participation
Grocery delivery services had nearly given up on pursuing some markets, including the elderly who just wanted to pick out their own groceries. After data came out, saying that elderly folks are more prone to catching Covid-19, the grocery delivery services saw an unheard of spike in sales.
Fashion and Clothing Industry
Most retailers have been forced to close because of the pandemic, and you can bet that it will take a toll on their sales. But manufacturers who have the capacity to give back, including Minneapolis companies, Hackwith Design House and Winsome Goods, have been asking their seamstresses to help sew much-needed masks.
Remote Working and Thriving
Boosting Team Morale
You’re likely to have seen it on social media, but many companies have turned to things like stay-at-home bingo to help boost team morale. Overall, I think you can expect teams and companies to keep some morale-boosting in place over the next year.
Digital Meetings and Communication
Remote work has been essential for the last few weeks. Teams are turning more and more to solutions like zoom and slack. But, now more than ever, they’re realizing that meetings eat up productivity and aren’t always the cure to our problems. Collaboration and communication software is already seeing a boost in use and will most likely continue to climb.
Online Learning
Companies and employees have sought out online learning like never before. A surge to be more “hireable” after this pandemic passes has become extremely important to the workforce, and some online learning companies are offering free resources.
Leasing and Realty
Virtual Tours
Leasing and realty companies have been giving virtual tours instead of meeting in person. These meetings are shorter and more direct, helping consumers get a better understanding of space more quickly. This seems like one of those trends that might stick around. Videos of home spaces might not be a bad thing to post on a listing.
VR and Social Media Combined with Refundable Deposits
Other companies are giving VR and social media tours to their buyers while also offering refunds for deposits made on an online purchase. Evergrande Realestate Group saw an increase in February by 118%.
How to Market and Other Takeaways
This article, in no way, is meant to make light of the things that are happening throughout our world or saying that these circumstances are great for some businesses to make money. Instead, we’re trying to see the positive and see how the world has come together to do good and make good things happen despite the crisis.
Some of the best ways to market right now are to address the needs of your customers directly. Offer them support and solutions to problems. From Gartner’s article about marketing during Covid-19, the big theme they find is the importance of planning. We’re going to have to look into the future and see what things might change, need to change, or stay the same. When we’ve been able to visualize different outcomes, we can then develop the strategies best needed to support them.
Here are a few more key takeaways:
- Deliver compelling content – We’re always trying to deliver high-quality and compelling content at Hook. In fact, we just launched a new guide on Persuasive and Compelling Web Design that you really should take a look at. It’s never good to ignore a crisis like Covid-19, but it’s not wrong to give back to the world in other ways during times like this as well. Try to deliver some compelling content to your audiences.
- Optimize your marketing budget – In times like these, you’re going to feel an extra push to optimize your marketing budget. Sometimes it takes a crunch to help you realize there are things you’re spending on that you don’t need to. Avoid significant cuts like laying off staff, but be smart about where your money is going.
- Promote digital delivery – Digital delivery systems like apps, email lists, and other versatile digital interactions are great things to push during this time. These items are having much more success in times like these, and pushing them will give you success.
Stay positive!
Finally, I want to encourage you to stay positive. There are plenty of things to get discouraged about, but the power of positivity, and a little coffee, is huge. Keep at it and continue to deliver in the best ways you can for your customers.
