What Technology Giants Can Teach Us About Business Continuity During A Crisis
What Technology Giants Can Teach Us About Business Continuity During A Crisis
IT Data Solutions
As the world continues to grapple with the health and economic crises caused by Covid-19, small businesses aren’t the only ones struggling. Even some of the largest, most widely known technology giants have taken noticeable hits. And while they may be in a better position to recover than others, their experiences during this period can provide lessons that all types of businesses can benefit from.
Perhaps the most important lessons are simply recognizing that business conditions can rapidly change and essentially no business is inherently immune to change. Who would have predicted that Amazon, for example, would struggle to keep up with inventory and meet delivery windows? While Amazon has largely turned operations around since the start of the crisis, not every company will be able to adapt as quickly, and they should heed this experience as a warning.
Plus, even though sectors like technology have generally performed better than others during the early stages of the pandemic, considering many areas of the industry naturally align with people staying home, plenty of technology companies have struggled during this crisis. Smartphone sales, for instance, fell by 20% globally in Q1 of 2020, according to Gartner Inc.
As chief marketing officer of a company that offers an automated customer sentiment analysis platform, I know there are strategic ways marketers can listen to their customers’ needs in order to pivot their efforts in the most effective direction. To succeed during a crisis, brands can take the following steps:
Listen to the voice of the customer.
Tapping into consumer sentiment, such as by analyzing customer reviews and listening to customer service feedback, can provide companies with what’s known as the voice of the customer (VoC). This VoC might indicate that companies need to be more focused on certain product areas, be more active in their communities, provide better service, etc.
During times of crisis, listening to the VoC becomes even more critical, as businesses cannot afford to lose customers who might be taking a closer look at where their money goes, whereas they might spend more freely in non-crisis periods. Yet, based on what I’ve observed, many tech giants either don’t pay much attention to the VoC or inaccurately try to capture it, leading to these brands seeming like they’re not “customer first.”
For example, in an analysis of leading smartphone brands, my company found that consumer sentiment on camera performance lags overall consumer satisfaction. One manufacturer, in particular, ranks the lowest for consumer sentiment on camera performance, so if that brand wanted to take more market share, it might prioritize this feature in its research and development (R&D).
Of course, implementing product changes takes time and can’t provide the sorts of pivots that might be necessary during a crisis, but the point remains: Businesses need to listen to their customers and give them what they want. And during a crisis, they can at least adapt their messaging to show they’re listening.
Be there for your customers.
Connected to tapping into the VoC is being there for your customers at the right time and place. In some cases, that means being tuned into your customer base enough to know what sales channels they prefer, or it could mean being diversified enough to be able to lean into certain channels as conditions change.
