COVID 19, a time to embrace your Social Quotient

Crisis is a true test of human spirit and resilience. This holds true for brands and businesses too, as they cope with the unprecedented human, health, and economic cataclysm that Covid-19 pandemic is proving to be.

Just like each one of us, for businesses, it is important to listen intently. Watch and act to the changing or latent needs, requirements and address the pain points of consumer / audience. This becomes even more pertinent, since none of us has a playbook to go by as we readjust ourselves to tectonic shifts that are brought about with these uncertain times.

However, this period is also unravelling itself to be that of regeneration, reconciliation and redefinition. The new way of living is also bringing, its unknown challenges and need to look for new solutions to overcome them. Transformation, reinvention, innovation, creativity, shifting of business models are propelling the need to redefine, to stay relevant.
For me personally and professionally it’s like you are no longer just batting for yourself or making obvious choices. Living a comfortable life and creating wealth individually or as a business entity is no longer the end game. Empathy, authenticity, philanthropy are some virtues, which if we look around - some of the people, businesses and brands are exuding and it’s heartening to witness and acknowledge efforts they are putting to reinvent, which well is the need of hour too.

Look at young brands like Ola and Uber, which took the lead in ferrying doctors and health workers to hospitals the moment restrictions on the movement of app-based cab services were relaxed or removed by the government. The gesture did not go unnoticed and garnered a lot of goodwill for the brands from not just medical practitioners but also commoners. What’s more, the move helped Ola and Uber generate employment for some of their drivers who lost livelihood with cab services being discontinued during the Covid-19 lockdown.

That’s not all. A lot of businesses and brands have gone out of their way to leverage their technology expertise to support the government in its fight against coronavirus. Carmaker Maruti Suzuki pitched in by producing ventilators by partnering with AgVA Healthcare, a ventilator supplier. On the other hand cloud kitchen, InnerChef took it upon itself to feed needy during the lockdown even as it lost business with restaurants being closed down during the lockdown.

There is no denying that these brands made sure not to drop their ‘social quotient’ (SQ) while the world is practicing ‘social distancing’.

In his individual capacity celebrated Chef Vikas Khanna lead by example as he turned his passion for cooking to feed millions of people going hungry during the current crisis. Sending a message across loud & clear, that even in times of despair, if we deliberate enough, we can unfurl our potential and contribute by way of our work, profession, passion, potential and stay relevant and impactful.

Separated by distance but united by a common pain, Covid-19 is actually an opportunity for most of us to contribute to real problem solving. As marketers, consultants and communicators, this could also be the fortitude required to ensure competitive strength.
We can guide, help and support our clients to realign some of their immediate and long-term goals, with the needs of consumer by creating empathy and relevance and create fitment with their business first and then communication. It’s time to ‘walk the talk’, act decisively and be agile in reassessing focus and commitment towards goals such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) that can now be even more purposeful.
In a health and humanitarian crisis like this—empathy has to be backed by real action. This existential crisis can also, be our push to repurpose our brand or company objectives and put in more passion to reflect our corporate identity, that will resonate with a post-Covid-19 world, with more meaningfulness.
Let’s not forget, "There are decades when nothing happens and then there are weeks where decades happen” (Quote :Vladimir Lenin). It is important that we read and believe this both ways in context to our today. So, let’s use this time to embrace change and discover our ‘social quotient’ (SQ) , while we work together to make the dream of a world a better reality than what has been.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.