The Coronavirus aka Covid-19 virus has drastically changed lives globally and the impact of this pandemic will be felt long after it is suppressed when life can return to some form of normality.
In fact, it is widely considered that day to day life as we currently know it, will never be the same from this time on.
Aside from the mental scars of having one’s life turned upside down, consider those who will have lost loved ones during this testing time.
Then there are also the economic challenges that we all face which will take years to fully recover from.
Businesses big and small, locally and globally, are destined to all feel the impact of these global shutdowns and no one is impervious to the effect it has had.
Then and Now
The positive side of any challenge or drastic change to normality is that it forces us to grow as human beings and (hopefully) reassess the way we live our lives.
The same can be said for our businesses.
One of the glaring realities for many small to medium-size businesses, when the Coronavirus lockdown was announced, was their lack of ‘digital preparedness’ for this outcome.
We live in a global world where business can be conducted anywhere and anytime.
You no longer need to be in a conference room with your peers to have a meeting.
You no longer need to drive to an office to work on spreadsheets, presentations, planning documents, reply to email etc.
The global reality is that as the world becomes more and more populated and roads busier, the conventional idea of spending up to two hours on average driving to an office each and every day is now, more than ever, under the spotlight.
In fact, many Digital Marketing Agencies have long-since enabled their staff to work remotely and it is now time for other businesses to follow suit.
In fact, we have been big supporters of remote working for some time now.
Digital Saviour
There are many aspects to ‘going digital’ in one’s business.
On the basic, mundane level, it means administering your business using technology.
We mostly all use email, Smartphones, messaging services such as WhatsApp etc.
But what about remote conferencing, remote workstations, cloud file management and digital marketing?
Out of the four mentioned above, digital marketing has seen the highest adoption rate in the business, mainly due to the ever-changing and fast-moving pace of the marketing sector pushing this forward, coupled with the digital world we now live in.
As at 2019 there were 5,11 billion unique mobile users and 4,39 billion internet users.
3,48 billion used social media of which 3,26 billion used social media on mobile devices.
These statistics alone support the reasons why businesses have gone digital for their marketing needs.
READ: Storytelling that doesn’t’t suck: Beyond Content Marketing
Did you know that Facebook Workplace, for example, offers a suite of tools that enables you and your team to work together, no matter your location?
Did you know that Google offers a full bouquet of business tools such as spreadsheets, documents, presentations etc., all accessible online and remotely?
These are just two examples of many, many different options for digitising one’s business, not only for marketing but for general productivity and day-to-day work.
The Coronavirus shutdown has spotlighted the need for businesses to review their practices moving forward.
Our planet, our wellbeing
Then, also consider the impact the current ‘norm’ of travelling to work each day.
Think about the two hours you and your staff sit in traffic on average per day – the unproductive two hours that is!
Think about the wellbeing of your staff who would be so much fresher and productive without the unnecessary debilitating peak hour traffic.
Think about the environmental impact and the fossil fuels being burnt daily.
Think about more housing for the poor if less office space was needed globally.
Sound radical?
If the Coronavirus pandemic teaches us anything, it will be to shift the paradigm, for improved working environments and a more considered lifestyle.
The future is upon us, let us all embrace it.
It’s Bigger Than Me, it’s bigger than you!