When people think about the COVID-19 pandemic, the word unprecedented comes to mind most often. While this certainly is an unprecedented time we’re living in, a word we should be using more is adaptability. If we take a step back right now, it’s quite impressive to see how quickly health care providers, governments, businesses, and consumers have adapted to this new and challenging landscape we are facing. We’ve been quick to adapt to the changes caused by our social distancing efforts and consumer habits have changed drastically. Some experts are estimating consumer habits will remain forever changed. Let’s dive deeper into these predictions.
Some Industries are Thriving
Some industries are taking a huge hit right now, such as travel and in-person entertainment, but others are thriving. Many of the businesses that were on the rise before are the ones that are holding strong during the pandemic. Food delivery services, online shopping, and streaming entertainment platforms are continuing to provide their convenient services right now. If someone didn’t appreciate these businesses in the past, they are likely to see the appeal now. Nielsen found that staying home can lead to an almost 60% increase in how much content consumers watch, which in theory will increase the demand for access to more content with consumers taking advantage of different streaming services.
Businesses that rely on subscription models, particularly entertainment services, will likely see the largest impact post-pandemic as they may retain their subscribers even once life goes back to normal. Gaining a new customer is typically five times more expensive than retaining a current customer, which means that subscription model based businesses that fill toiletry, video game, television, or food needs may see a strong business boost from social distancing.
Why Customer Experience Matters More Than Ever
While some businesses may be profiting off our current predicament, others are struggling alongside their consumers. How brands treat their customers during this difficult time will likely have a lasting impact on how consumers interact with them in the future. Airlines for one are suffering massive financial losses right now, but so are their customers. Air travel is notorious for having limited cancellation policies and poor customer service, which consumers are tolerating less and less when they feel their health and financial wellbeing is at risk. The airlines that have a compassionate customer experience right now will be more likely to build trust with their customers and have them willing to come back once normal travel resumes.
A Global Shift
One way to ensure a positive customer experience, is by making connecting with consumers easier on a global scale. The sharing of information is more important than ever before and through the use of proper translation and localization efforts, you can build trust with your consumers as well as service them in the best possible way.
From a user experience perspective, the entertainment and tech industries in particular could benefit from increased efforts to translate and localize movie and television subtitles, video games, and apps. Many people are turning to self-improvement efforts to pass the time right now, so e-learning course creators may find that adapting their courses to serve multiple languages can increase their potential customer base.
Many businesses can benefit from professional translation services, whether they make their manuals, instructions for use, or webinars more widely available. No matter what industry you work in, we can all agree that bringing more people closer together sounds pretty good right about now.
