Fight or flight..

"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Franklin D Roosevelt

Back in February 2020, when the virus had become a reality, the food aggregators coined the phrase "contactless delivery"- a set of delivery protocols presumably to give comfort to the fearful customer. Of course, in reality, it was pretty meaningless because there was never much contact with the customer in the delivery process, its not as if Indian customers were aching to hug their delivery person, it would be a lot if they ended up tipping him even. Now the same lot of spin masters tell us that "contactless dining" will be the thing to save the food industry from crumbling into the dust. Don't kid yourself.

Sure, things have to be restructured and redesigned- whether it is public transportation, market and mall areas, schools and restaurants, to fit into the post-covid world (I should say Covid world because apparently we didn't beat it in 21 days, or 40 days or in 50 days, so we will now have to live with it). How many tables and guests can you accommodate in your restaurant, how do you ensure social distancing along with a pleasurable dining experience, how to restructure the kitchen processes to ensure the new standards of hygiene, etc. Industry leaders will show us the way, no doubt. But to think this will be enough to get the customers back inside, would be a big mistake.

The elephant in the room

The virus is scary, but we know many things about it. We know what we can do to be safe, not 100% protected, but safe. But how do you fight fear, "the nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror" that reigns supreme in the hearts and minds of our customers. Large swathes of the consuming class in India have been holed up in their homes, many practically barricaded in by their autocratic residential welfare associations. Locked in, seemingly indefinitely, their minds have conjured up monsters in the form of maids, drivers, delivery persons, even healthcare workers who would come to devour them. They buy what is needed and shut themselves up again. Even when they want to trust you, a voice in the back of their head whispers lightly "what if.." and they shut their homes and minds again. Living through one of the most stringent lockdowns in the world has been deeply psychologically damaging to consumer sentiment. We have been so focused on the statistics- the number of positive cases, the fatality rate, the doubling rate, that we didn't see this coming and even now, our minds are not prepared to grapple with what it means to us. 

As the restrictions begin to ease and cases rise, people cling even more tightly to their ideas of what will keep them safe. They may emerge long enough to buy a "nonessential" item or two- could be a vaccum cleaner or a dishwasher or clothes for the kids, books for school and then they will return back into their shell. It is barely a recovery let alone a U or V shaped curve. But until they come out and really want to spend, none of us (business owners) have a chance in hell to pick ourselves back from the rock bottom we have hit. Do we wait for the tide to turn, or is there a way to nudge it along?

Call the doctor

A week into "Lockdown 1.0", we got a call from a regular customer in the neighbourhood asking us if there was any way he could have our dosa. It surprised us, he was an old gentleman, a doctor at that. It never occurred to us at that time that there could be people who would even consider ordering in, however hard it was becoming to do everything at home. A week from then, we opened up our kitchen. Even though orders were few and far between, one thing that was consistent no matter where we went, doctors of all ages were more open to ordering in.

We didn't know what to do with that in the beginning. But put together with another trend, it became an insight. People were more open to ordering-in in neighbourhoods and condos that were relatively easy going within the parameters of the Government's lockdown, in that, residents were free to go for walks within the gates, there was no naming and shaming in the whatsapp group for perceived "misdemenours". What it told us was that people who had to go out to work, or enjoyed some freedom of movement, were relatively less prone to seeing monsters everywhere and were more open to buying. This insight gave us direction, at least we weren't flying blind any more.

Become their milkman

Building customer trust is a big challenge for us. It is easier for big brands- years of marketing campaigns have built trust and in today's circumstances, they are deep pocketed enough to exude a perception of safety and hygiene.

For a small business, it looks different, but we saw that it wasn't impossible to gain the customer's trust. People had learnt to trust their neighborhood kirana store, their vegetable vendor, their milkman. These are not people who have overhauled their business model or their way of working. Most have donned a mask and slapped on some gloves, parked a table in front of their stores, nothing more. Customers may put the veggies out in the sun for a bit or wash the milk containers, but on the whole they do trust that familiar face. That is what we needed to be, the person they trust. We did that by giving them what they ask for within the parameters of what we could do. For us, that meant, selling them batter when they ask for it, even though I would rather they buy my dosa and idly. But if it meant that one additional person was ready to come out to collect the packet of batter from me, I knew we had taken one step closer to earning their trust. The next time perhaps they feel it is too much effort to make the dosas and are willing to order it instead.

Let them get to know you

This is not a time to hide behind an app. Even though we went live on the delivery apps after resisting them for many years, but we don't depend on them to drive our business, to connect with our customers. Only we can tell our stories. and we tell it every time a customer calls to order. They are ready to hear it because they too seek reassurance. This is the reason perhaps why we are getting to read what CEOs are telling their employees as they let them go. What would have been an internal memo is now vetted and edited, to be passed around as examples of great leadership. Which is also why I felt compelled to write about our experience. It hits a nerve and we need that, we need a connect, some empathy, even likes on our Facebook page. Something to tell our customers that we are here, against all odds, trying, sometimes making mistakes, but trying again.

Keep at it...

Barring an active behavioral intervention at a societal level, it is likely that demand will be depressed for a while now. That is the new normal. The pick up will be excruciatingly slow, like four steps forward and three steps back. There will be days when it will feel pointless, particularly for many who have been focused on fast paced growth. But like that apocryphal ant with a grain of rice climbing the wall, we have to keep at it.