Businesses in the post-corona era

Patient number one. Social distance. Self-insulation. These are all words that were far from being part of our everyday vocabulary at the beginning of this year. No one can deny that the outbreak of coronavirus disease has brought about changes in almost every area of people’s lives around the world.

In terms of business, the stock market experienced the biggest one-day loss and the biggest one-day gain in history, and the US reported the biggest percentage of job losses ever (no precise data for Slovenia yet). We are currently in uncharted territory. How long we will stay here remains unknown. What we do know for sure is that this pandemic will affect all of our lives in the years, perhaps decades, to come.

Is your company prepared for the three biggest macro-trends (i.e. dynamic changes in the environment) that time brings after the corona?

1. The rise of more advanced websites and digital tools

Many that offer non-emergency services – shops, hairdressers, warehouses and offices – have closed the doors of their physical branches and then found themselves without any technological skills and tools to survive.

At our agency, we have seen a huge increase in the number of companies that are now ready to make the leap into digital. It is crucial that companies can not only survive but thrive with improved websites and digital tools for their customers. Demand for e-commerce in industries where you would never have expected to find it before – social media advertising, chatbots and mobile apps – is higher than ever as SMEs join the technological revolution in the new decade.

2. Cybersecurity issues are at the centre of attention

Cyber security has been an important topic for large companies for some time. The EU General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and other privacy laws, as well as news about the costs and consequences of data breaches, have also forced smaller companies to tackle the problem of online security. As the number of employees working remotely during the virus outbreak has increased, so have the number of data breaches and cyber-attacks. Updating and securing websites and servers is and will continue to be essential. This will force more companies to invest in technology that is secure, scalable, remotely accessible and keeps up with the onslaught of new privacy and data security regulations.

3. Doing business “remotely”

Video certainly cannot replace face-to-face meetings and handshakes, but it can save a lot of time and costs for everyone involved. That’s why we foresee that the trend towards virtual meetings will continue over the next few years – not only in the business world, but also in our everyday lives. So we can have a virtual consultation with a doctor, a banker and a therapist in the same afternoon.

Many companies that previously opposed teleworking, now that they have been forced to close their offices, are realising that employees, even if they work from home, are still reliable and efficient. This trend started more than ten years ago, but will continue to intensify in this new decade, especially now in the wake of the global health crisis.

These trends will be relevant not only in 2020, but probably long beyond. Making the right decisions and implementing changes in line with these trends will ensure that your business is ready and at the forefront of the new digital revolution.