We will define the new normal with one word – remote.
And, there will be an acceleration of remote trends that began long before Covid 19. Gasoline is being poured on change and igniting what was already beginning in the economy.
The economy is NOT a light switch you can turn on and off. It is more like a dimmer, and will slowly come back.
A new normal will now occur at 10X the speed with more rapid change due to the pandemic. Here are a few more observations beyond my post two weeks ago about what’s next.
Education
Hybrid colleges will appear, while traditional smaller to mid-sized colleges will lose relevance and not worth the exorbitant fees. Professor Scott Galloway from The Stern School of Business at NYU says that Google/MIT or Facebook/Princeton will be the new next thing.
Say goodbye to the small, liberal arts colleges trying to get $80K out of parents. Colleges will leverage remote learning to bring more value to the masses. Lower cost for tuition is a positive trend and will dramatically democratize learning. What will parents think who send their kids to private school? Is it worth the fees for poor, distance learning?
Galloway said that he can’t imagine in-person classes this August, where 175 students sit side by side to hear lectures on marketing. Distance learning will accelerate. Think remote and a hybrid of in-person coupled with distance learning. Smart software firms will pivot to deliver better educational experiences.
Food
From Ghost Kitchen to your sofa will become a new reality. We will eat out less often and bring food in more frequently. Grocery shopping delivery will be on steroids. No shop stores will occur, and you’ll see retailers from Kroger to Whole Foods accelerate their reimagination of shopping as hybrid remote shopping experiences.
Farmer’s markets will re-emerge along with a new emphasis on consumer brands selling direct to the consumer, in part through subscriptions. Restaurants will be selling top grocery products to add to revenue, just like pharmacies and convenience stores did two decades ago.
Instead of food trucks, grocery store or farmer’s market trucks will start visiting neighborhoods just like the Good Humor trucks from my childhood.
Care for toilet paper with those fries? Watch McDonald’s offer staples as leverage their stores as outlets selling beyond burgers and fries.
The DTC (direct to the economy) will grow like crazy as more manufacturers and distributors want to sell to consumers at home, and not just through Amazon or Wal-Mart.com
Healthcare
Can you say telemedicine?
Therapy, urgent care, and many doctor’s visits will move to a new platform (Zoom meets HIPPA). Secure and remote healthcare delivery will change quickly. From home testing, counseling, and beyond, we will go to see the doctor less often and rely on teleconferencing for treatment.
Telemedicine will be cheaper, more efficient, and let’s hope, accurate. Even lower-tech phone consults will ensure patients get help at a distance. Seeing a doctor in person will be rare. Apple will focus on Health Tech by partnering with several of the most extensive healthcare delivery systems. Apple/Mayo Clinic, for example. I’d love to see Apple help the VA become more efficient and effective.
Entertainment
Where 9/11 made us go through security screening, concerts and movie theatres are going to be making you go through temperature or health screenings. Think healthcare TSA, instead of security TSA.
This new barrier will reduce the number of people attending live events and create remote experiences in higher demand. Watch LG and Sony find ways to bring music, theatre to life at home. Audio and visuals will leap forward to bring these experiences home from remote locations.
The true cognoscenti will go to live events, but their experience will shift. YouTube and Live Nation or similar companies will combine to reimagine concerts creatively. Who wants to be in a crowded room filled with still infected fans screaming at the top of their lungs. Not me.
Travel
I remember not getting on a plane for at least ten months after 9/11. Fear is powerful, and our desire to travel will take a long time to get back to where it was just a few months ago.
I will get on a plane to Hawaii to visit our grandson Bodhi Kai, daughter and son-in-law. But those experiences will all be filtered by a new fear of the spread of Covid to loved ones.
Hotels and Airbnb will start promoting their cleanliness and sanitation, more than their special rates. Like the seals put on Tylenol after the scare from decades ago, rooms will come with the Clorox or Lysol seal that you break when you enter the place to build confidence that it’s fresh and clean. Brands like Clorox or Lysol will be co-branding with hotel chains quickly.
Post-Covid
It has only been three weeks in isolation, and for some, it feels like an eternity. We all have friends or family who has been affected by the disease. My prayers are with their challenges and struggles.
With sixteen million Americans filing for unemployment, the pain and struggle are unimaginable. Of course, the economic pandemic hits those who can least afford the interruption and illness it will cause.
As Betty Davis said playing Margo Channing in All About Eve, “fasten your seatbelt. It is going to be a bumpy night.”
Need help reading the tea leaves for your business? What’s coming next?
I can help. You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com Let’s explore working together today.
Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash
