Quarantine & Chill… 5 Ways for Businesses to Adjust to a New Reality

With over 100 000 cases and 6 000 deaths, and counting, COVID-19 is weighing heavy on our hearts and minds. The president addressed the nation on Sunday evening, encouraging everyone to play their role in trying to limit the spread of the disease, #ReduceTheCurve. At Angle Orange, we’ve allowed our staff to self-quarantine by implementing a work-from-home policy, effective Monday, the 16th of March. Through make-shift office spaces and the myriad of apps available to us, we’ve managed to maintain our momentum as a business. Founder Pierre le Grange and other senior staff members felt equipped to take necessary action at this early stage, as discussions of this nature first occurred during the Cape Town drought, a few years ago. Now, despite our physical distance and change of scenery, Angle Orange is still running successfully and producing top-quality work for our clients, and your business can too. Here’s how:

Consider Logistics

For a successful transition, senior staff members must come together and explore how a work-from-home policy can be executed effectively. During this session, important questions need to be raised, for e.g, will everyone have access to high-speed internet, if not what are the alternatives? Surveys should be sent to staffers in order to gauge the situation. Once all variables have been considered, a plan-of-action needs to be formulated and shared with employees. This will ensure all questions are answered and everyone is clear as to what methods of communication will be used and what will be expected of them. Adjusting may take a day or two, but eventually, the kinks will be smoothed-out and business, as usual, will commence.

Maintain Structure

If you wouldn’t bring your bed to work to sprawl out on while answering emails, then there is no reason why you should do that when you’re working from home. As much as possible, you should try to emulate your behaviour at the office - that means working from a desk in a quiet room with minimal distractions. Struggling to find the perfect spot? Perhaps explore a less obvious choice. AO founder Pierre le Grange transformed the workshop in his garage into an ideal working space, away from family and distractions, with easy access to the kitchen for coffee breaks. Keeping your work schedule is also important, which means no 2pm shopping sprees or hair appointments. If you typically work from 9-5 with an hour lunch break, then retain that - this will help you maintain some sort of divide between home life and work life.

Get Tech-Savvy

From Zoom to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp, Skype, and more, working from home doesn’t have to be an isolating experience. There are various digital communication alternatives and programmes that have been designed specifically to bring you closer to your colleagues, despite the physical distance. It’s important to select the options that you think will work best for your business. If brainstorming ideas and having team meetings is an essential component of the job, Zoom is a great platform. It allows you to conference in multiple people, and share PowerPoint presentations or videos while doing so. A lot of millennials and Gen-Z prefer to speak through an app than have a face-to-face conversation, anyway, so why not give the people what they want?

Meet People Where They’re At

What does a quarantine mean with regard to the shopper marketing industry? Well, it simply means that you have to adapt your marketing strategy to keep up with the times. Because of the nature of this situation, people’s phones are glued to their hands as they check social media and online news almost obsessively. Many people will also be changing their habits and looking at purchasing online, particularly when it comes to non-durable goods like food and beverages. Take this as an opportunity to reach the shopper at home. Make use of online marketing methods like data-driven personalisation, which will ensure that your ad reaches the right shopper at the right time. Retail partnering is also a great alternative to maximising reach, ensuring heightened brand visibility online.

We’re currently working on an article detailing how COVID-19 will shift the retail landscape in the short to medium term and what this will mean for brands and shopper marketers alike, with many shoppers either staying at home, stock-piling, or spending minimal time in retail outlets.

Change Your Mindset

The world isn’t ending just yet, so keep a level head and focus on the things that you can control. Being solutions-driven and focusing on the positive is imperative at a time like this. Think of how much money and time is saved by not having to sit through an hour of traffic every morning and evening, that’s two more hours that you can spend either doing something productive for work or spending time with your family. Mental health is also of the utmost importance during these times, consider downloading a meditation app or partaking in an online yoga class, this will help to clear your head and remain calm. Good leadership will also be tested during these trying times. If upper management remains positive and upbeat, the rest of the company will follow suit.

If you’d like to know more about Angle Orange and the amazing work that we are now doing from home, or if you need to hit us up for shopper marketing advice. Click here.

References

https://www.convinceandconvert.com/digital-marketing/data-driven-personalization/

https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/shopper-marketing-online-experience/