The COVID-19 pandemic has been the stimulus to spur the official Digital Transformation of the business world. Before this, many enterprises had started to realize that they needed to make some changes to enter the digital world so they could continue to compete and survive in the future…but only a small minority really took action to make those changes.

Then suddenly COVID-19 came, and every business was forced to deal with it. Changes were no longer optional. Digital technology inevitably began to play a greater role in everyone’s life, especially their work life. Many parts of offline living were suddenly banned due to social distancing requirements. Suddenly, every road led to the online world. The world’s giant corporations and even very small SMEs all had to depend on digital technology to keep their businesses alive and moving.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways the digital transformation sparked by COVID-19 has affected the business world, and see what kinds of tools and aids can help businesses find opportunities in the New Normal.

Adjusting organizations for new work modes

One of the first changes that became immediately visible was the shift to remote working, which became much more prevalent in every organization. Every business began to use the Work From Home model out of necessity to get through the crisis. Then many employers began to see the efficiency of this model, and many decided to change their work patterns to offer not only Work From Home options but also Work From Anywhere options for their employees.

Many organizations realized there were benefits to remote working. First, it allowed workers to save a great deal of time and money traveling to and from the work place. Also, employers could save costs associated with providing office space. So, it was a win-win option for both sides. However, there are also some down sides and limitations to the Work From Home model. Firstly, there can be problems with communication. Even though the technology we have today is far better than in the past, sometimes nuances and understanding are lost when people cannot communicate face-to-face. Often the flow of teamwork is disrupted. The key to success in remote working is thus finding the right technological tools to promote the best communication among people in the organization.

An online conferencing system is widely used to facilitate remote work, but in addition to that there are other tools that can be very useful. For instance, if an organization is worried that the Work From Home setup will make it difficult for customers or other people outside the organization to contact them easily, this problem can be solved easily thanks to a new service called SME SMART MPBX (powered by iSoftel). This will release you from the limitations of conventional office telephone systems. One mobile phone number will be the central number for contacting your company and you will never lose calls from your customers or trade partners, because when someone dials the central number they will be automatically answered by an interactive voice response (IVR) system, which can transfer the call to up to 5 different mobile numbers. There is also a voice mailbox for taking messages. People within the organization can call each other for free, to help save on expenses.

Remote working can proceed smoothly with the help of another useful tool that enables cooperative online work. Office 365 allows everyone to easily access the full suite of Microsoft Office tools at any time from anywhere, on almost every kind of device. Your employees can work on the same files no matter if they are using a desktop computer, notebook, or a mobile phone – both iOS and Android are supported. Your employees can create and edit Word documents, PowerPoint files and Excel file with edits possible in real time. Office 365 also includes an corporate email system with personal Cloud data storage of 1TB and a high-definition video conferencing system.

These are only some of the tools that make remote working easy, convenient, and fast. Most importantly, your work can get done at least as efficiently as in an office, or sometimes more so. You may get very good results.

Adapt your business to match the behavior of customers in the digital age

Changing work patterns are only one part of the digital transformation in the New Normal. If you look at the big picture, you can see that consumers are changing their lifestyles to spend more time online. This is reflected in the upward trend of online shopping all over the world. Online shopping grew to record highs during the COVID-19 crisis. The situation is different from in the past when there were only short-term peaks in online sales during the Christmas-New Years holiday period.

A survey by ETDA in March 2020 showed that 35% of Thai consumers had started to purchase more food and drink products online. This was especially true of consumers in the Gen Y (19-38 years old) and Gen Z (younger than 19) segments. Priceza.com also reported that online sales rose 80% in March 2020, mainly due to sales of consumer and household goods. Other segments with fast sales growth were books, mother and baby products, and stationery and office supplies.

This major shift in consumer behavior during the crisis required businesses to disrupt their ordinary ways of doing things. They had to cross over into the online world along with their customers by adding new online sales channels and various services that would make their customers’ lives easier and safer.

There are many ways enterprises can introduce online sales channels. One popular option is social media channels like Facebook and Instagram. Another is e-commerce platforms like Lazada and Shopee. Some enterprises choose to create their own website to facilitate sales, communicate with customers and build greater credibility. Today it is easy and not too costly to set up a website. because there are instant websites and programs to help you personalize them. You can do it all yourself without the help of a programmer.

For example, Website D.I.Y. is a service that lets entrepreneurs set up an online store themselves on www.yellow.co.th, a central clearinghouse of online stores and vendors that have been verified as extant. They can post photos and descriptions of their merchandise and make catalogues of up to 6 items. The site is mobile-responsive so it can be accessed and used compatibly with mobile phones and tablets. It uses search engine optimization (SEO) so customers in the digital world can easily find your store.

Another useful service is JongSabuy, an online tool that addresses the necessity of social distancing. It helps enterprises manage their customer queuing to be more systematic and efficient. Enterprises can save costs on personnel, equipment and materials because they can more accurately predict how many customers they expect to serve, and then prepare accordingly. JongSabuy also makes daily records of sales. Customers do not need to wait in line outside the store; they just make an advance reservation through a link on the website or QR code from anywhere at any time, and they can be sure of being served. This is a digital service that fits with customers’ lifestyles in the New Normal era, and it can create more opportunities for businesses.

Change your marketing methods to reach your customers directly

Since customer behavior has changed, enterprises need to change their marketing methods to reach their customers. The crucial thing is, you first have to know who your target customer groups are, and where they are. The clearer you are on your exact target customer groups, the easier it will be to do effective marketing. At present, there are digital marketing tools that can help you reach your target groups directly and efficiently, such as through ads on Facebook or Google.

Many entrepreneurs and SMEs are inexperienced and not yet knowledgeable or expert at online marketing, so they are not very effective at reaching their target groups. This will no longer be a big problem, because we have the Growbiz service, a tool that can overcome the weaknesses of entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of Facebook advertising to market directly at their target customer groups. Growbiz makes it easy to purchase online advertising media and create a campaign with an automatic question and answer service to give advice and explain the purchasing process. You can choose the goal of your advertising, whether you want to get more likes on your Facebook page, or if you want to attract more visitors to your website.

In addition to Facebook marketing, there is another tool to help you reach your customers directly. That is SME SMART MESSAGING, a way you can send advertisements or public relations messages directly to your target customers quickly. You may want to send news updates, information about special activities or promotions, discounts, hot deals, or chances to win prizes.

Now you can see more clearly how things are changing. If you want your business to survive and thrive, simply select the tools that are right for you to help you adapt to change. Just like that, you can transform your business and adapt to the New Normal.

Published 1 July 2020