The new normals in a world where Covid-19 unfortunately is becoming a part of our life will bring about many changes in the way businesses will be conducted, and more importantly the way we live our life.
In a world post-lockdown where the rules of the game are set to change, or rather have already changed. The nation-wide lockdown is slowly being lifted across orange and green zones and life is slowly crawling back to a new-normalcy. Businesses and brands are now are making their way back into the business; planning their communication plans for a new world post the covid-19 lockdown.
In this story of Medianews4u’s super successful brand series, Back to Business, we spoke to Poulomi Roy, CMO, RSH Global.
Read on.
How are you coping with the impact of Covid-19 on RSH Global? How effectively have you used the lockdown period?
We have accepted that there has been a pause. That is the first thing we told each other as a company. We need to prepare ourselves and understand when we need to switch the play button. We told our colleagues and all the members of our team that they do not need to get into the rat race of being compulsively productive during lockdown at the cost of safety.
We have worked on adaptability, both on a personal front and an organisational front. We knew when to hit the pause button. We had to observe and adapt fast because the situation and rules of operations have been changing on an everyday basis so we knew we absolutely had to change as quickly as the situation was changing.
On a personal front, I have focused on personal health, stopped eating out, and haven’t been travelling anywhere. Maintaining healthy eating habits has been easy, given the scenario.
The quest for a solution to a particular crisis helps invent new business opportunities and sometimes leads to a revision of existing business models … What sort of innovation has the Covid-19 pandemic brought to your brand?
We are not re-inventing our business model; however we have planned some extensions in our product portfolio which we have had to expedite due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Automation of supply chain and optimising our sales and distribution is something we are working towards with great focus and e-commerce is definitely becoming more prominent as a channel of sales.
While some parts of the country have become Covid-19 free, cities like Maharashtra and Delhi are still in a lockdown situation. How are you planning to resume business across cities that are not in the Red?
In green zones we have started operation with a truncated workforce. The teams have been briefed and have been following all the recommended safety measures. The health and safety of the team is of highest priority.
What will be your communication strategy post the relaxation of the lockdown? What will be the objective of the communication/marketing strategy?
A communication strategy has four major components: communication goals, target audience, communication plan and channels. Considering the current scenario, there will definitely be some behavioural and habitual changes in the target audience lifestyles which have propelled us to recalibrate our communications and reconsider the choice of channels. There has been a minor change in the communication narrative with respect to health and safety of everyone involved. The bigger objective however, will always be to build brand awareness and drive consideration
How did you keep the morale of the employees during this lockdown period? On a personal note, what kept you positive?
The company did not lay off a single person. We were never overstaffed, especially considering team, my seniors and I myself do not believe in flaunting numbers in terms of a big team. We work with a small, efficient team and everyone has a very well defined and well-suited role, so people are secure and they are aware of their contributions and their value to the team.
On a personal note I keep going back to the school hymn, “Count your many blessings,name them one by one.” I am praying these days to keep myself happy but I let the supreme power decide what will be the source of that happiness; it could be spotting a humming bird on my terrace or coming up with an amazing communication strategy. Either ways, the end result is to feel happy and I hope every organization and individual develops empathy.
What are some of the post-lockdown business strategies that you will use to bring the business back on track or at least get it in the right direction and also create demand for yourself?
We are aggressively working on automation, on the sales and distribution front. We are a company that listens to our consumers, and we are dedicated to deliver products as per the demands of our consumers. We will continue with our marketing spends and focus more on e-commerce channels specifically for distribution.
