Business Innovation during Covid19 Crisis

Crisis leads to Innovation:rnThe pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to a global health crisis which has arndeep impact on the way we see our world and has impacted our everyday lives. Looking at therncurrent Covid19 crisis, there’s no reservation in also saying that it has led to several innovationsrnbe it the new drugs, medical instruments, improved healthcare procedures, industrial andrnsupply chain innovations and new techniques to collaborate.rnA common thing with all these innovations is that they will lead to solving the problems forrnus, which is the core of innovation. Innovation is also determined by a strong desire to helprnother people and finding a solution when the situation is tough.rnLeaders and Innovation:rnSome key shifts happen during a crisis which allows the opportunity to think new ways ofrnthinking and doing things. A leader in an organization if understanding these shifts then canrndrive their organization to the right path. During a crisis, what we see is that there is a majorrnboost to the energy of the employees in the organization. Those leaders who can suitably focusrntheir energy on a clear objective in coming out of the crisis. They allow their workforce torncome out with insights on their working which normally they keep to themselves.rnBusiness Disruption and Innovation:rnOne of the powerful outcomes of innovation is that it allows a business to successfully comernout from periods of disruption. CEOs and business leaders may find it difficult to realize thernpower of a disruptive start-up or a powerful developing technology can have on their business.rnWhile many organizations understand that the solution which they are looking at may liernbeyond their business. This has never been accurate to what it is right now during the Covid19rncrisis.rnOrganizations across the world are giving fresh thought on how they deliver services andrnproducts to their customers, how to keep their employees safe, and how they communicate withrntheir customers, vendors, business partners, and other stakeholders. There are issues withrnregards to cash flows and their sales pipeline is also impacted. A business which will stick torntheir usual methods will not be able to get the innovative ideas to get them out of this crisis.rnTherefore, an innovative approach is required to ride through these challenging times and thernsmart organizations will have processes in place to capture these innovative ideas andrnimplement them as well.rnForms of Business Innovation:rn1) Customer delight with cost reductionrnAn innovation that helps the organization to cut costs and not impacting the customerrnexperience is known as Costovation. ‘Clover’ a vegetarian fast-food chain managed to cut itsrncosts and gained customer delight by using the ingredients which were earlier treated as wasternand then using them to make boxes of fruits and vegetables and then giving healthy options torntheir customers.rn2) Collaboration with other BrandsrnCompanies are coming together to jointly look at solutions to the current crisis as on one siderncompanies must fire people due to loss of business, there are companies in e-commercernbusiness who are helping them hire back. These types of collaborative approaches are helpingrncompanies and society in general. In China, there were almost 40 companies that came togetherrnto create an employment exchange where Hema, which is a supermarket owned by Alibabarnhired people from hotels as they desperately needed more employees to meet the demand.rn3) Changing Customer Experience ConceptrnClassification: InternalrnWith the Covid19 crisis, the concept of customer experience is also changing. The situationrndemands the businesses to find our new ways of creating customer experiences like many smallrnstores named The Old Brick Store headed to social media to give their loyal customers a viewrnof their daily inventories which will help them to order products which they want and are inrnstock and even hosted virtual pizza parties and happy hours for this customers.rn4) Adjusting to new habits of the buyersrnWith the Covid19 crisis, it has resulted into new habits among the buyers, and social distancingrnis one of the new norms, it is very difficult to follow the same in some of the crowdedrnsupermarkets. Thus, companies are now working on curbside pick-up offers, home deliveries,rnpre-packed combos which will help them ease out the footfalls in their facilities.rn5) Retaining loyal customersrnKeeping your loyal customer closer to you during these challenging times is even morernimportant as we may come across situations where customers make a shift from their localrnstore to an online store. An innovative solution which came out from a local grocery store in arnWestern Massachusetts where ‘Wild Oats’ started opening their store in morning 0700hrs torn0900hrs for senior citizens and then have staggered timings for other customers, therebyrnkeeping their loyal customers closer to them. Earl’s, which is a popular spot with storesrneverywhere in Canada and the US started offering grocery delivery and pick up service.rnThe whole world is currently in a crisis and we need more partnership than ever and come uprnwith more innovative ideas as a society. The innovation industry recognizes the rewards thatrnco-creation and innovation can bring with regards to the coronavirus crisis, and it has onlyrnsensitized us with the need for more innovative approaches going forward.