The Corona Effect

After a few years of working as a business consultant, I decided to join the tourism industry. I always enjoyed planning professional visits to my international clients so I decided to make it my profession. It looked like a wise decision two months ago as the number of international visits to Israel was on constant growth. So I left the office in Tel Aviv and joined a large tourism company located in North of Israel with a beautiful office located right in front of the Church of Annunciation. I found this exciting even though I am not a Christian. I don't think that many people see one of the holiest places in the world from their office window. 

And then the Coronavirus arrived.

Initially we were all wrong to think it is a local challenge in China similar to the Ebola in West Africa a few years ago. No one could’ve anticipate that the markets will be closing one after the other as they way they are doing right now. Every day is a complete chaos as the Governments keep changing their regulations and people afraid to travel. It also affects other sectors around the world. Companies can’t ship products, startups can’t implement pilots, and entrepreneurs find it more difficult than ever to raise capital. It is too intimidating to think about all the poor vendors that suddenly found themselves without any source of income. And myself? Well, instead of hiring a fresh team and travel around the world in order to meet clients, I had to postpone my business plans in a few months.

Personally thinking, we should all take a deep breath and treat it as a permanent crisis that will pass exactly like the 2008 crisis. Therefore, instead of wasting time and waiting for something to change, my company decided to take some interesting actions to utilize the spare time we currently have.

I thought it would be interesting to share some of the actions, decisions and conclusions of my management:

• Being Honest- we don’t promise things that we can’t commit to. Neither to our clients nor to employees. People appreciate the honesty and prefer to hear the truth even if it is negative.
• Think Tank teams - When Israel initially closed borders with China, the management immediately gathered the employees from all the departments and created mixed think tank groups for thinking what can be done in order to overcome the crisis. This method was so successful that we decided to make it a habit as it enables the employees to feel more connected to the company and understanding.
• Supportive Groups – During crises, many employees crawl into their shells and feel depressed and worried for their future. Our management encouraged the employees to meet and discuss their feelings in order to create a supportive environment.
• Reconnect via Empathy – I personally called all our international partners and client and emphasize the importance of working together after the crisis will end. I also asked on a personal level about their families and friends. Eventually, people always appreciate when you care for them.
• Improve internal processes – I analyzed old files of my department in order to think how things can be improved. As an example, I created a new pricing calculation method that reduced the time of sending offers in 70%.
• Compare new vendors – all of us rely on our vendors. This is the time to open the contracts with them and renegotiate the terms. 
• Stop (!) Mass (!) Marketing (!)- Instead of burning our marketing budget on Q2, we decided to wait until Q3 for a reassessment. Instead, we use the time to plan new strategies, design new products, identify new collaborations etc. I understand that this is a difficult period, yet businesses should think for the long run and stop blasting with annoying email campaigns. During the last two weeks I keep receiving hundreds of emails and messages on a daily basis. NO ONE is buying right now ANYTHING. ABSOLOUTLY NO ONE.
• Future Promotion – we decided to create future promotions. That shows our clients that we think for the long run, optimistic, and realistic. We also believe it presents our resilience.
• Technology improvement – this is a perfect time to check what are the new technologies available in the market and test them. Might be a new marketing platform, a new CRM, or a new communication system. We allocated a team that is checking what is available in the market and can serve us in order to become more efficient.

This is a small list of the way we are facing the Coronavirus and I’m sure that I will extend it in the near future as the time will pass. I wish to make this post an open discussion. Please share what are the actions your company takes in order to overcome the crisis.