This week a colleague approached me regarding a recent video that was released regarding the concept of Mike Michalowicz’s Surge. He wanted to know in addition to the ideas that were mentioned in the video, (i.e. healthcare, grocery, commodity manufacturing, retooling and re-education of employees in the job market), what other opportunities might exist in this new and current Coronavirus economic environment.
I thought this was a good question, but unfortunately when a good question is asked sometimes it sticks with me longer than I would want.
So… I thought I’d share my thoughts.
There are some obvious industries that will be negatively impacted in the immediate term due to Coronavirus. These industries include travel, tourism, entertainment, auto, and some other industries that directly service these industries.
However, people are creatures of habit and habits “die hard”. For example, if prior to the world of coronavirus, I was not the best “at-home” culinary chef and I frequently dined out, after a brief wave of 2 weeks of getting re-acquainted with my new found kitchen, I am going to miss the convenience of restaurant food, and faithfully I will to return to my habit of dining out. Now in the current environment, perhaps, instead of eating out with my friends in a social environment, in the comfort of a restaurant; I will eat at home, alone with my family or I will veg out and eat with Netflix.
In the current environment of social distancing, the method in which I am allowed to consume will be different. There will be a decrease in demand for restaurant waitstaff, however at the same time, my demand for convenient food has remained, so now my demand has PIVOTED to an increase in usage of food delivery drivers ( i.e. Uber, Grubhub, etc.)
At the time of writing this article, schools across America are currently closed. My children are at home right now. Some schools in this country will be closed for months to come. The demand for educating my children has not changed. This demand has just pivoted to an online platform. So now instead of one computer shared at home, there is a need for 2; ideally 1 per child to get these children thru a complete school day. So now instead of demanding physical school facilities, this demand has pivoted towards “at-home” computer technology. Now there are increased opportunities for virtual computer sales persons, computer manufacturers and assemblers. Companies such as Dell, HP, Acer, Apple. etc may experience this surge in sales. (I guess the next question in a world of social distancing is, how can we get manufacturing and assembly remote? … Another topic for another day).
In addition, because physical classrooms have switched to virtual for an unforeseeable time, there is now an increase in demand for online education delivery systems. There may also be a surge in demand for online classroom instructors, as we will need to move through a period of transition as we get through this period of technology on-boarding.
Need I mention the need for more virtual customer support assistance?
In summary, although the way we do business may have changed, our demands remain the same. Under the current environment of social distancing, we will experience a PIVOT in how we will experience what we WANT.
These are just my thoughts.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the next Surge too.
