HOW EIGHT ENTREPRENEURS ARE PIVOTING TO STAY RELEVANT AND IN-DEMAND IN MIDST OF CRISIS

In last week’s article Part 1: Strategies to Help You Sustain and Grow Your Brand and Business in Uncertain Times, I shared the importance of companies shifting from a selling to a serving mentality. The article shared what many entrepreneurs were doing to support their customers, prospects, and communities in the midst of the chaos. 

If you missed it, please do take a few minutes to review. In these unprecedented times, the brands/businesses that can show empathy and have the capacity for authentic servant leadership when your community needs it most will leave lasting impressions for years to come.

Now, let’s talk through another important strategy for entrepreneurs to consider at this time: the art of a strategic pivot in the midst of crisis.

As the shelter-in-place mandates continue to unfold state-by-state, companies have had to shut their doors or quickly adapt to full virtual operations, supply chains have been completely disrupted due to lack of demand and/or supply, and the capital markets continue to be volatile with no real “concrete” end in sight. 

All of this resulting in limited sales, furloughs and/or layoffs and industries losing tremendous market share overnight--leaving some CEOs/entrepreneurs with many sleepless nights on deciding what to do next.

Although the federal government's COVID-19 stimulus package was just approved and there will be some relief for qualifying companies, the once well-thought-out annual strategies and growth plans are being thrown against the wall due to the new “stay-at-home” economy realities, habits shifting from discretionary to “essential” purchases for B2B and B2C, and just the overall public sentiment of fear and panic.

As the shock of the pandemic has started to settle and the impact is really starting to show it’s true colors on the business ecosystem, entrepreneurs/CEOs have some important choices to make. 

They could freak out and let it all play out and see where they land (which many do not have the luxury to do) or they can reframe the situation and look for opportunities to shift and/or pivot that could help their business stay relevant, help support their customers and prospects, and stay in-demand in these unprecedented times. The same sentiment was validated by a strategic partner, David Conklin, CEO of Conklin Media (a profit-centric digital agency).

He stated that “brands/ businesses who do not panic, who focus on a strategic pivot, have a huge opportunity to bring new ideas/products/services to market to help support their customers—many of which may actually stick and be part of their new world.”

Before we discuss the eight examples of brands and entrepreneurs who have made these strategic shifts, here are some important foundational questions to help frame a company's ability to reprioritize and implement pivot opportunities at this time.

• UNDERSTAND YOUR FINANCIALS: What is your current cash flow realities? How much runway can it afford you?  What are all of your sources of cash?
• REDUCE EXPENSES: Can you reduce or defer costs based on the current environment? Can you reprioritize current projects that may not yield short-term gains within this new environment? 
• COMMUNICATE: Are you consistently communicating with your key stakeholders during this time: employees, customers and the community? Are you adding value and showcasing empathy with your content?

Now, let’s move to more strategic questions. The answers to these questions should help stimulate ideas for new products, services, distribution channels, and partnerships either to help move the needle in these uncertain times or help plan for future opportunities as the crisis begins to subside. 

• UNDERSTAND YOUR CURRENT CUSTOMER MINDSET: Your customer's needs are changing day by day as the pandemic continues. Have you analyzed your customers? Have you asked them how the pandemic is impacting them and their business or them personally? Have you determined how their impacts will affect your business? 
• UNDERSTAND MARKET TRENDS: Have you been paying close attention to the market trends in your industry and specifically what customers/prospects needs that are not getting fulfilled today?
• PRODUCTS: Is there anything in your arsenal of products/services that are more relevant today than they were before the crisis occurred? If so, can you bring them to market sooner? If not, is there something you can create based on your customer insights? 
• NEW MARKETING CHANNELS: If you are used to providing your product /service in one channel, can virtual distribution, cloud, or physical delivery work instead (or in addition too)?
• PARTNERSHIPS: Are there any strategic partnerships to further explore right now for short- and long-term distribution, cross-marketing and/ or other JV opportunities.
• CUSTOMER SEGMENT:  With your strategic pivots or shifts in mind, is there a different customer segment you may be able to serve?
• CAPABILITIES & SHIFTS: If your current product/service is obsolete in the current environment, what opportunities can be explored that can really fill the gaps for your customers /prospects in this new environment? How can you move from “non- essential” to “essential” in a customer's perspective?
• OPERATIONAL UPGRADES: Can you take this time to work on workflows and upgrades to your current platforms, so as the crisis starts to mitigate you will have enhanced your overall service delivery or have new products ready to launch?

Below are eight examples of shifts/pivots that companies have made by reconciling current market trends, consumer insights, and company capabilities in the midst of the crisis.

Example 1: Time Out (An online and offline magazine that is the ultimate guide to the best art and entertainment, food and drink, attractions, hotels and things to do in the world's greatest cities.)

• Trend(s): Shelters-in-place continue to be mandated state after state and people have no choice but to entertain themselves as home.
• Consumer Insight(s): People are bored at home and need creative ideas to keep them and their families active and occupied. 
• Shift/Pivot: TimeOUT shifted to TimeIN and is now focused on relevant in-home virtual entertainment and content week over week. They even went as far as to change their logo temporarily. Talk about shifting with your current consumer in mind...brilliant! 

Example 2: Fiscal Note (A Washington D.C. based company that monitors all government policies and regulations at every level: local, state, US federal, and around the world and provides this information in a succinct way to key stakeholders like entrepreneurs, CEOs, COOs, CLOs, policymakers, etc. to support them in their strategic decision making. )

• Trend(s): COVID-19 pandemic was spreading and the federal and state policies in the US and the worlds were changing day over day. 
• Consumer Insight(s): These regulation/policy changes were impacting large corporations to SMBs—as well as national and state federal agencies on everyday pandemic driven decisions.
• Shift/Pivot: At a recent interview during a virtual CONNECTpreneur, Tim Hwang, CEO, Fiscal Note, stated that his company sprung into action at the forefront of COVID-19 and created a specific area on their website to aggregate all the pertinent real-time bills, regulations and policymakers names for clients (and others in need). Think about all the franchise clients/companies that needed to make decisions on opening, closing or going virtual state by state—as one simple example. 

This is a perfect example of knowing your customers and providing them value before they even knew they would need it.

Example 3: Curbio: (A Maryland-based real estate tech company that is reinventing pre-sale renovation by helping home sellers renovate now and pay later (after the sale)).

Trend: According to the CEO, Rick Rudman, during the pandemic, residential construction is still considered “essential” in the United States since some people have to sell their homes to gain access to their equity--amongst other factors including the market volatility that may decrease residential real estate values.

Consumer insight(s): Due to the importance of social distancing right now, homeowners do not want to open their homes for estimates during times. They also don’t know how to navigate their living situation if someone is renovating their home right now (especially in the midst of a pandemic). In addition, contractors are struggling to find work—and many are being laid off and seeking unemployment. 

Shift/Pivot: Curbio has shifted its messaging to emphasize that they are the first "no physical contact" pre-sale home renovation company and complying with all social distancing guidelines during the entire process from pre-sales and the renovation. All communications including walkthroughs, proposals, estimates, and daily project status will be relayed to the realtors, homeowners, and Curbio project managers through their app. 

In addition, they are now offering to cover free relocation costs through a service like AirBnB for the homeowner while they do the actual renovation. Lastly, they are ensuring all of the contractors that they use for the renovations are compliant with the new safety guidelines. Talk about making all the right shifts to serve their customer's needs in this unprecedented time.

Example 4: Full Stack Modular (A fully integrated modular solution for design, manufacturing, and construction.)

• Trend: Hospitals are being inundated by COVID-19 patients all around the country.
• Consumer Insight(s): Hospitals need additional compliant space to take care of patients on a temporary basis.
• Shift/Pivot: According to the CEO, Roger Krulak, FullStack Modular is now in the production of the M.I.U. (Mobile Isolation Units)-a mobile suite of 5 medical isolation rooms that can augment existing hospital facilities or stand on their own. They are designed as per hospital isolation specifications and are flexible and rapidly deployable solutions for infection control. Kudos to the FullStack Modular team for supporting us all so directly in combating the COVID-19 pandemic!

Example 5 : CAVA Restaurants: Fast-casual Mediterranean influenced food chain that started in Washington, DC and is now a fast-growing national brand.

• Trend: With restaurants having strict guidelines on inside seating and shelter-in-place orders being mandated, the hospitality industry had to make some hard decisions regarding their ongoing operations and safety of their workers and patrons. 
• Consumer Insight(s): Consumers are still looking for food options and wanted to support local chains, but want to ensure that they are compliant to the new social distancing guidelines.
• Shift/Pivot: CAVA now offers curbside pickups through their online app, have instituted further safety precautions for their staff, and have partnered with Uber Eats for a free delivery option.

Example 6: Walter’s (The Navy Yard’s neighborhood bar opened in April 2019 to service the locals 365 days a year. Jeremy Gifford is the owner and a well-known bar/restaurant enthusiast who is a partner in three other establishments in the metropolitan area: DC Reynolds, Pub & the People, and Present Company.)

Trend(s): The hospitality industry as a whole has been one of the heaviest hit during this whole pandemic. It’s caused bars/restaurants to fully close or have limited operations for pick up causing major layoffs in the service industry—especially in dense city areas. The lack of demand for food has caused major supply chain issues with distributors as a whole —which then trickles down to farmers and fishermen amongst other ecosystem partners.

Consumer Insight(s): Walter’s has quickly become a trusted neighborhood establishment and is probably cleaner than most of the grocery stores right now.

Shift/Pivot: According to owner Jeremy Gifford, Walter’s mission has always been to be the local watering hole for the community, so deciding to keep a limited menu for pick up including drinks-to-go was a given. However, Jeremy and his team didn't feel like that was enough. They wanted to do more for the overall food supply chain ecosystem and hire some of their service staff back that would not qualify for unemployment. After analyzing their customers and reviewing the capacity of the restaurant, they decided to pivot and create a “CSA-like” program where they are creating fresh grocery bundles for their neighborhood patrons to pick up on a weekly basis. Jeremy's other bar, DC Reynolds, is also being used as an alternative CSA pick up location. This shift in strategy has allowed Walter's to support the overall vendor ecosystem, their staff, and their customers--all stay true to their mission.

Example 7: Podtechs (A Washington-based full-service podcast production startup; think Geek Squads for podcasters.)

• Trend(s): Many events across the world have been getting canceled to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus. 
• Consumer Insight(s): Shifting live events to online platforms will give organizers an opportunity to expand their audiences. The online gatherings may, in fact, grow in interest as more people will have access to consume and share the insights of the event.
• Shift/ Pivot: In 2020 there are plenty of ways to adapt to the changing circumstances in the events landscape. Although the company primarily focuses on a full-service podcast production offering, the CEO of Podtechs, Dustin Canter shared with me that they are now fully prepared to facilitate the transition of onsite live event recording to online event production. Before a company decides to move forward to cancel a live event, they can now consider transitioning their live event to an online gathering produced by PodTechs. This is a great value-add for conference producers that have to make the hard call of canceling events due to our current realities.

Example 8: Airgility (An early-stage unmanned aerial systems company that leverages AI-assisted solutions to create drones that are more efficient, versatile, independent, control intuitive, and safe for commercial and government use.)

• Trend(s): Drones are still an emerging industry that have multiple uses in a cross-section of sectors including, but not limited to: aviation, public safety, smart cities, medicine, insurance, transportation, etc.
• Customer Insight(s): Due to the pandemic, the private sector is altering schedules for pilots and launches due to the unknown in the markets and the stay-at-home mandates disturbing everyday corporate operations. In addition, historically, in times of uncertainty where the markets are also influx, corporations are known to focus less on prioritizing innovative technologies, so they can focus their time on getting their own house in order.
• Shift/Pivot: Anticipating these trends, Pramod Raheja, CEO of Airgility shared that the company is committed to pushing all of their pilots and projects forward. However, they are working on altering their go-to-market strategy for a few products they had in line to launch in the second quarter for the commercial segment of the market due to COVID-19. They will alternatively spend the additional time continuing to support their government agency contracts and nurturing deeper relationships in the public safety/smart cities focused initiatives at the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies they have strategic relationships with.

This is a great example of leadership analyzing the market and making strategic decisions that will keep employees focused on moving their solutions forward in the ever-changing current environment. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, more and more businesses/entrepreneurs will have to consider creative ingenuity to add value, support their customers, and create revenue for their companies. It's important to focus on the evolving market trends, understand real-time customer insights, and make decisions based on your companies ability to shift/pivot to stay relevant, in-demand, and in-service in these unprecendented times of crisis.

About the Author: Seema Alexander is the CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of Disruptive.CEO. With over 20+ years of experience as a career-long Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Seema partners with entrepreneurs and companies to accelerate their growth by Rebranding-to-Scale. This process is far from a pure branding exercise. It streamlines years of learnings and pivots to optimize their business model, brand positioning and value proposition, overall customer experience, and targeted marketing and sales efforts to meet market demand—all of which has resulted in increased sales, enhanced market share, customer satisfaction, company evaluations, thought leadership, funding sources and partnerships in 200+ companies. Seema is also the founder of the CRE Connect Summit--focused on building a sustainable, resilient, and smart DMV.