Fine line for firms to walk

Noel Leeming was the last thing on my mind as the dynamic world of coronaviruscontinued to evolve. But clearly, the store felt I needed reminding of its existence, as did the beauty salon, the shoe and clothing stores and many others who all seem, frankly, irrelevant at the moment.

Inane messages filling my inbox about what they were doing to keep us safe from Covid-19 were really a thinly veiled call to say: ‘‘Don’t forget about us.’’ Most disturbing were the descriptions of how much cleaning they were doing, which begged the question: what were they doing before?

So, with businesses all over the country worrying about how to stay afloat, it’s the ones who are adaptable that will survive. There are some obvious winners: as we get ready to hunker down, we’re getting bombarded with ads from Mitre 10 and Netflix.

Unsurprisingly, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ are all reporting increased viewership, while online gaming platforms are getting record numbers, and e-commerce companies are employing tens of thousands more staff to manage increased demand.

I was impressed with the founder of video conferencing company Zoom, who made the service free for unlimited use in virus-affected regions, saying leveraging the situation for sales is a horrible culture. That said, Zoom’s sales have gone up 50 per cent this year.

Adaptability for some has been not sticking to their knitting: the Chinese car manufacturer making surgical masks and hand sanitisers; GM, Ford and Telsa manufacturing ventilators; Louis Vuitton and a Wairarapa gin company producing hand sanitiser. But it will take more than clever marketing and adaptability to rescue some industries being pounded, such as tourism, airlines, trains and cruise ships, oil and gas, investment banking, sports, cinemas, performing arts, events and traditional retail.

The best thing most companies can do is to be flexible and keep customers on side for the longer term – and pray. Travel companies offering up to two years to use bookings keeps the money in their coffers and makes people feel like they have some control, at least. Personally, I’m grateful that Air New Zealand has offered to extend my travel miles status. It’s proof that a bit of corporate give and take can work wonders when the world feels like it’s falling apart.

In difficult times, it’s hard to find the right message; there’s a very fine line between being helpful and sympathetic and exploiting a situation. I laughed that, after years of banks fobbing people off to websites and phone trees, they’re now claiming they actually want to talk to customers.

I do wonder what will change and what will survive at the end of all this isolation. A local publican told us he has a growing trade in home deliveries. I’m envisaging the call: ‘‘Mate I’m selfisolating, send me a 40-ounce of tequila, two of vodka and three of gin.’’ Pair that with nightclubs who are holding ‘‘cloud raves’’ online, and you’ve got a self-isolation party for one.

For the virtuous, online fitness classes have seen a surge, and Nike’s been posting at-home workout videos, replacing weights with water bottles. Maybe online clothing stores could offer a range of ‘‘quick-wear’’ – stretchy clothing you pull on when you get an unexpected video Zoom meeting request.

These are strange and uncertain times and, if businesses can come up with ideas to make our lives a little easier, when life returns to normal we won’t forget how they saved our sanity.

Cas Carter is a marketing and communications specialist.