4 Industries That Have Pivoted & Wont Look Back

I don't want this article to all be about the Coronavirus, I'm focusing more on how working from home has changed industries forever.

In my eyes, a lot of companies have 'seen the light' so to speak when they've realised that companies can actually carry on as normal, with less people at a place of work.

It really brought it home when I walked into the living room and the missus was doing a "Les Mills" class from a Youtube video, where she would normally visit the gym.

This got me thinking what industries have had to adapt and overcome in the last few weeks:

1. Gym & Personal Trainers ????♂?

We'll start with this one as it's one that will change the most. (The story above is testament to this)

No longer will people have to get in their car, drive to the gym, wipe down someone else's sweat off the mat and socialise (for the introverts ;) )

You can easily do your workout with an online program. There's huge benefits for personal trainers: think, instead of attending 3 classes a day, they can record that one class and use it in perpetuity, selling it over and over again.

No rent to pay to the gym, no rules from the gym owner, upload it once and let it do it's thing.

Once they've emailed that video to their client, they can then create an email list to market to: up-sell with nutrition plans, affiliate links, the possibilities are endless.

There are some personal trainers that are already doing this and very successfully. A local personal trainer to me, Paddy Earls at Earls Fitness, has been selling online packages for years.

He's carrying on as normal since the social distancing measures were put in place and hasn't had to come up with 100 pieces of content overnight, as some gym owners and PT's are doing as we speak!

These are the ones that will thrive in this market, the ones who pivot fast will reap the rewards!

2. Estate Agents ??

I remember talking to some estate agents about 2 years ago about how every estate agent should look into "Virtual Viewings" and they thought that was light years away.

Roll on this week and I can see every estate agent offering valuations over video and offering to do a 'FaceTime Viewing' for the client. Their hand's have been forced to overcome and adapt a lot sooner than they thought.

Once estate agents realise that they can save time by sending viewings via video, the sooner they will become the norm.

I still think people will have to see the property to make sure it gives them 'that feeling' and nothing substitutes walking round a property, but it wont be long before people will watch 'walk throughs' on Rightmove before booking a viewing.

3. Solicitors - Specifically Conveyancers ??

As long as a conveyancer has a phone and a computer they are able to carry out the majority of their duties.

This is why conveyancers can be hundreds of miles from the property they are working on and can still do a thorough job.

More and more estate agents are using conveyancers that out of area, they do sheer volume, which allows them to keep costs low for consumers and commissions high for estate agents.

A lot of these conveyancers are working from home and being able to cope with the same case load. Wet signatures won't be needed anymore and the rise of 'Docusign' (An online documents signing service) will be apparent.

With no need for conveyancers to be in office, the owners of these solicitors can reduce their floor space they rent, reduce their spend on stationery and still run an efficient business.

I don't think this industry will change straight away, but it will open their eyes to realise they don't have to be in an office to provide their services to their clients.

4. Restaurants & Cafes ??

What an unbelievable response from the community that there's been to local food outlets, it's been great to see.

These business owners have had to pivot on a daily basis to ensure customers are still purchasing from them. Every business I've seen has offered home delivery so they can keep running.

Someone who had maybe never used Deliveroo or Just Eat this weekend would have had food delivered using these services, and they're going to get used to it!

These small businesses are either going to have to sign up to a food delivery service, or make use of staff to keep delivering their food. They can't rely on everyone eating in anymore.

Those are my thoughts on industries that will change as a result of the last few weeks. Yes unfortunately there will be industries that collapse or their turnover with reduce significantly.

On the flip side, I'll always try and look at the positive, there will be new companies that are formed and businesses that will diversify for the better.

The businesses that try and do exactly the same as they were a few weeks ago and don't realise that the world has changed forever are looking at a very bleak future.

Hope everyone stays safe and let's keep supporting those local businesses!