10 things that will be different after COVID-19
This article was first publish in our Spanish blog on June 02, 2020.
Faced with the possibility of returning to what they call the New Normality, many companies try to project what will work the same, similar or what will really change in a significant way, as a result of the experience with the coronavirus pandemic. Although it is impossible to predict the future, two things are certain: life will be seen through the eyes of what it was before and after the pandemic, and, indeed, it will no longer be the same. Let’s look at 10 of the things that will unequivocally change:
- The consumer has unlearned to consume. Confinement has pushed the consumer into a life of austerity. Lifestyles have changed, and many consumers are aware that many of the products they bought before are no longer relevant in their lives. Products and brands that offer goods supported by elements of value and lifestyle will have to make an effort to re-educate their customers if they want to be relevant again.
- The shoal press the big fish. A natural union effect will be generated between small businesses of different types (restaurant, retail, services, etc.). The purpose is to bring together small entrepreneurs based on their similarities and to put aside the idea that they are competitors, to make their operation more efficient, save on expenses and compete with the big fish. Small and local business sectors that generate natural shoals will have a better chance of survival.
- The most daring will take advantage to get ahead after the pandemic. The situation of an altered daily life makes the positions of both conservative and visionary companies more evident. Conservative oriented companies will seek ways to make things work as closely as they were before the pandemic, while other companies will try to support their offer on the idea of a total paradigm shift in life. There will be companies that make a quantitative and qualitative leap in their markets.
- There will be more substantial pressure on wages. Under the premise of a world with shrinking markets and a rising unemployment rate, existing jobs will be highly valued at low wages. The internal areas of HR and Talent, among others, will have a lot to innovate to maintain a high spirit among their collaborators.
- The economic metabolism will slow down and enter a recession of high impact. Most economies show negative growth levels, and many will find it difficult to recover because a consumption-based activation process supports them. Societies with a high level of poverty and unemployment will not generate the consumption necessary for the reactivation, which will translate into an almost paralyzed market dynamic. This phenomenon requires a more cooperative than competitive strategy, more savings than less spending if you want to overcome the situation within a reasonable time.
- The local market will become more relevant. The consumer will revalue the local neighborhood offer that gives him familiarity, security and a sense of collaboration. This will make the idea of the global chain less relevant and affect restaurant chains, department stores, and other business areas. The national and local markets will be revalued. The consumer will show solidarity with the trade of his entity.
- There will be more confusion and misinformation. The uneven return of the different production sectors and the informative management based on the various positions (conservative and daring) will make the consumer feel disoriented and unprotected. While industries such as the industrial and food return to work and others like tourism and restaurants do not, the feeling will be that normality is half-brewing. There will be a reasonable sense of fear of being exposed to new infections. The responsibility in the messages of the brands will be of great importance so that they appear as allies or not of the consumer.
- There will be an increase in non-credibility in information and leaders in general. Since most political and media leaders have maintained a stance based on their pre-COVID-19 ideas and strategies, they will emerge from this with a significant level of disgrace. The average citizen will conclude that no one has been right, that everyone has sought to bring water to their well, and that they do not genuinely support the population. Collateral damage here will be in the statistic, which will be flagged as a disinformation or manipulation tool.
- Inequality and violence will increase as poles that feed each other. The concentration of wealth will be higher, and the dispossessed, without opportunities, will increasingly resort to schemes of protest and sabotage of traditional models of social stability. Governments will be required to develop new plans to rebuild social and economic confidence or to resort to old schemes of repression.
- Human beings’ social nature will be altered and will live only through a close but unreachable memory. People have learned in these months to distrust each other. The “healthy distance” has managed to break the social and emotional fabric of closeness and recognition of oneself through the other. This vision, which seems to emanate from French psychoanalysis, has a more significant impact when the reaction is not only one of distancing and caution, but fear of a being in the presence of someone else. Considering the other as someone not part of our community and even dangerous or perhaps deadly. Daily life and interpersonal relationships, work, entertainment, building the social fabric and couples will be different.
Proyecto Noesis Int 
No trackbacks yet.