It's already started. The research was easy to see. Businesses with established and matured digital platforms, workflows, and cultures underpinning their businesses are in a place where they can continue operating, profiting, and generally keeping the lights on. Those that have not cultured their digital platforms and teams are in a place many can relate these days: disrupted or non-existent sales and sales-fulfillment processes that are separated from main marketing initiatives.
In other words, those that were not digitally ready are in Never Never Land:
- incomplete inventory
- online product unrelated to real available warehouse stock
- limited amount of actually available product or service offerings online for propsects to find
- stale online customer service information
- old reporting requiring manual staff management
- customer service calls unable to transfer to active remote staff
- remote staff and stakeholders unable to access up-to-date customer reporting and information; they're stuck without human intervention
- platform not ready for remote staff getting bogged down
- limited access and security measures for staff to use information systems, and collaborate with each other (email doesn't count)
Those that continued to evolve, improve, and cultivate workflow and customer relationship measures through their digital platform continue to operate successfully with most, or all of their staff operating remotely:
- ongoing and accurate inventory
- up to date warehouse stock available online
- complete product lists and service offerings avialable online
- real-time online customer service information
- easily-managed or fully automated reporting and financials
- remote-ready cloud-based customer service calls
- remote staff and stakeholders managing customer reporting and information uninterrupted
- high-performing platforms fast and robust for remote staff
- security and communications measures in place for staff to access information systems, and collaborate with each other
