How to turn the challenge of COVID-19 into a digitalization opportunity?

EBOOK HOW TO TURN THE CHALLENGE OF COVID-19 INTO A DIGITALIZATION OPPORTUNITY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Which are the worst, the least and the positively affected industries?

04

The on-demand industry

05

The entertainment and media industry

06

The online education industry

07

How the available digitalization technologies can help you survive the worst of the pandemic

08

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HOW TO TURN THE CHALLENGE OF COVID-19 INTO A DIGITALIZATION OPPORTUNITY The Covid-19 outbreak took the world by surprise. No industry has been left untouched. Some have gained, many have lost.

For example, the airlines industry stands to lose $113 billion in 2020. The tourist industry just in the US is projected to lose $25 billion just from tourism spending.

By mid-March, the National Restaurant Association in the US predicted that just in three months, the restaurant industry may lose $225 billion.

The losses faced by other industries are‌ The global sports industry: $600 billion The ad industry associated with the sports industry: $26 billion Oil industry: demand fell by 57% The list goes on.

According to a McKinsey report, just in six weeks after March 14, 2020, the unemployment claims reached 30 million in the US.

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Which are the worst, the least and the positively affected industries?

This table gives you a bird’s eye view: S No

Severe

High

Moderate

Positive

Retail Non-food Items

Drugs & Pharma

Remote Working Applications

1

Gems & Jewellery

2

Entertainment

Wholesale Trade

Automotive

Over the Top Media Service

3

Hospitality

Electronics

Textile

Online Gaming

4

Transport

Banking

Metals

E-education

5

Livestock

MSMEs

6

Tourism

As you can see, the industries that stand to benefit from the situation brought about The on-demand industry The entertainment and media industry The online education industry The online coaching industry These industries are benefiting because of their positioning as well as the convenience that they provide during the times of social distancing and “stay-athome” work culture.

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The on-demand industry The on-demand industry thrives on products and services that can be delivered to customers and clients without them having to step out of their homes.

These include

Food delivery

Groceries, vegetables, & other eatable items

Laundry services

Healthcare through video conferencing

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Medicines

Video on demand

and basically, every product or service that can be delivered without human to human contact. The delivery person can simply leave the item at the doorstep and move away. Then the item can be picked by the household members without coming in contact with the delivery person. If they want, they can leave the item at an isolated place in their house for a couple of days before using it.

The entertainment and media industry The world of entertainment and media consumption has been rapidly moving towards digital consumption for many years now. The need to stay-at-home and ďŹ nd avenues for entertainment without stepping outside has given a big push to streaming and video sharing services.

The following services have experienced a big surge‌ 51% 35% 32% 32% 30%

21% 14%

12%

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The online education industry It is the institution of conventional education like schools and colleges that have experienced the biggest thrust towards digitalization during the Covid-19 times.

Students, especially school going kids, are highly vulnerable and most of the parents don’t want to send their kids to schools. At the same time, neither schools nor the parents want the kids to neglect their studies.

Most of the schools are taking online classes using services like G Suite for Education. Colleges are broadcasting online classes through online video services and collaboration tools.

Wherever instruction is possible online, it is being provided. Gyms are imparting online ďŹ tness training. Yoga & dance classes are being provided online. Most of the tutor services are delivering online classes.

Consequently, peer-to-peer video conferencing apps are growing in leaps and bounds. Some of the video conferencing apps and the growth that they have experienced are listed below:

266%

85% 66%

43%

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How the available digitalization technologies can help you survive the worst of the pandemic The biggest impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been that people are unable to commute and go to offices and other places of work. People are not thronging at entertainment centers such as cinema halls and sports stadiums. They are not visiting malls and shops. They don’t want to use public transport. It’s like the dominos – everything is impacting everything else.

As mentioned above, many industries are leveraging the ondemand app trends as well as online education facilities to not just carry on their businesses, but in many cases, even thrive and find new growth opportunities that were previously unavailable due to geographical constraints and logistical hurdles.

Although not every aspect of your business can be digitalized, there are many that can be. Some technological options available to you are Remote working/telecommuting Cloud-enabled applications including online payments Digital business communication platforms Virtual collaboration platforms Business analytics tools Frankly, for most of the businesses hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a “now or never” situation.

The world has been hit by colossal pandemics throughout human history.

This time, we are fortunate enough – as far as businesses go – to not to be sitting ducks. There are many options available to us that can help us not just survive through these difficult times, but also thrive and maybe, change the directions of how we work and deliver our products and services, forever.

Below we are going to discuss some technologies that can help you through digitalization. Many of these technologies, one way or another, you may have already been using. So far, they have existed on the periphery. For many businesses, they have been optional. Now they are proving to be essential.

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The digital assets that you will need for digitalizing your business Essential tools Google My Business Facebook Messenger WhatsApp for Business Essential tools A website A mobile app (Android & iOS) Business CRM Online payment platforms Chat bot implementation Deep analysis of business Here is how these tools help you increase your visibility and make it easier for your prospective customers and clients to find you.

Google My Business Makes it easier for people to find you locally. When they search for your service or product, your business appears on Google Maps.

People can rate your business. They can also leave reviews. This improves your local search engine rankings.

You get insights such as how many people saw your listings, how many people called you and how many times your listings appeared in front of people.

It’s free and easy to use. Once your business address is verified by Google, your listing becomes visible.

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Facebook Messenger Almost everybody who uses Facebook uses Facebook Messenger. You can also use Facebook Messenger for business. You can connect the Messenger to your Facebook business page and when you run promotional campaigns on Facebook, your prospective customers and clients can directly contact you using Facebook Messenger.

You can also use chat bots (automated replies) on Facebook Messenger so that your customers and clients can get support automatically without having to raise support tickets.

WhatsApp for Business This is a separate application from the usual instant messaging app that you have been using so far.

You can create a complete business proďŹ le. You can use its automation features that work like an auto responder. For example, if someone asks “what is your most affordable web design package?â€?, a pre-prepared reply can be sent with the package details.

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A website Frankly, very few businesses remain without a website, but still, if you haven’t built a website for your business yet, now is the right time.

When people search for information on Google, how do they find you? If you don’t have a website, how does Google index your business? Sure, we have talked about Google My Business above, but what if your business is not local or what if many local businesses are competing for visibility?

Your website can give you an advantage. It increases your online visibility, and online visibility is something that matters the most during the pandemic when everyone is searching for products and services online. Best of all, people can buy from you through your website.

A mobile app A mobile app is dedicated to bridging the gap between your customers/clients and your business.

If you are a retail store, people can buy from you through your mobile app. If you are a publishing house, people can consume your content through your mobile app. If you provide online classes, your students and participants can attend your classes through your mobile app.

Even if you don’t want to do direct business from your mobile app, you can use your mobile app for branding. For example, you can have a mobile game to engage your customers and clients and then through a reward system, you can encourage them to buy from you.

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Business CRM Many businesses are scrapping the bottom of the barrel for customers and clients.

Hence, it becomes absolutely necessary to manage your customers and clients in an engaging manner and a business CRM (customer relationship management) can go a long way.

Constant communication is very important. Your CRM allows you to automate many communication processes so that your customers and clients are constantly engaged. You can provide better customer service. You can take care of individual customer and client. You can send them product offers based on their previous buying history.

Online payment platforms You certainly want your customers and clients to pay you. Conventional currency is anyway discouraged during the pandemic. More than that, when people are doing business with you remotely, they should be able to pay you remotely.

There are many platforms available to you such as PayPal, PayTM, Amazon Pay, Google Pay and Stripe. Of course, if you have a website or a mobile app, these payment platforms need to be integrated with that for interface as well as for processing.

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Chatbot implementation Chat bots are available on instant messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp for Business. They can also be implemented on your website.

Once you have installed the chat software on your website, your chatbot uses artiďŹ cial intelligence and machine learning to provide accurate answers to people’s questions.

Deep analysis of your business Technology, especially digitalization, gives you deep analysis capabilities. You can measure every aspect of your digital activities including how many people visit your website or use your mobile app, which function of your website or mobile app do they use the most, which portions of your website or mobile app send them away and such. Through deep analysis, you can make strategic decisions to improve your business prospects.

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Conclusion Do you own a food shop? Do you manage a grocery, pharmacy or a laundry outlet? Is your business suffering due to the Covid pandemic? There is no need for your business to suffer. You can use an on-demand mobile app to enable your customers to do business with you without having to visit your shop.

Similarly, if you are an educational institution such as a school or college, you can easily provide online training and carry on with the curriculum using video ondemand delivery and other collaboration tools.

DCI has been helping businesses during these trying times to embrace digitalization and turn many challenges into unprecedented opportunities.

Need more information on how you can save your business through digitalization?

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