Can you fly blind?

The world as we know it has changed forever with the corona pandemic wrecking havoc in most countries. In an intricately connected world we are now seeking disconnections for survival desperately. As human beings across the world struggle to cope with a virus infected habitat, businesses too are struggling to breathe in an infected economy. Some have the immunity to survive but some are on invasive ventilators already.

Many businesses are going to face the storm for longer while a few other will be able to bounce back the moment lock down is lifted albeit partially. Some businesses are core to basic necessities and hence can be termed as 'need' satisfiers but many are satisfying 'want' and hence may fall in a different cluster. I came across this infographic that predicts the potential winners and losers in the short term.

Whether you are potential winner or a loser, it is very apparent that it is not going to business as usual when the current lockdown gets lifted. While there are enough survival tips out there from best of the minds in the business world on how to navigate through these choppy waters I find a glaring omission in most of the recommendations. The deep psychological impact (Fear, uncertainty, loneliness, boredom ) of this crisis on the consumers which can have a significant manifestation on their behaviour in the short and the medium term is not factored in anywhere. This is particularly true for all the 'want' driven categories. All the insights and data collected and used as the basis for business decisions prior to the crisis are stale or even dead in some cases.

The first step towards survival and then towards thriving is to go back to the consumers and understand the impact of this crisis in their lives. What are their primary fears and motivators now ? What are their need states and has that changed significantly? What are their priorities in the short term and medium term? Before we even take even one decision regarding our businesses we need to know this pronto. It may vary for category to category and business to business. The most dangerous thing to do is to rely on a generic sentiment analysis published on a random site claiming to be the true litmus.

But in these times of social distancing how are we going to conduct a consumer study? We are already in a world where field research is an option anytime soon. Would a Survey monkey questionnaire suffice ? This isn't about some good to know information but the most critical data and insights on which you are going to base a lot of future decisions on. It has to be done by experts and with reliable accuracy that you can support critical business decisions. Thats where technology comes into play. Recently I came across Zectr (www.zectr.io) - an automated consumer insights and analytics AI system which can take on this task well. Zectr is on online research solution which is fast and frugal compared to the traditional research. I can see companies like Zectr transforming consumer in-sighting and analytics paradigm totally in the coming days .

Whatever the solution, it is just suicidal for businesses not to go back to consumers before they reboot their show again. Unless they have the ability to fly blind like a certain nocturnal bird which isn't the world's most popular bird at this moment.