The COVID-19 virus has rapidly spread out globally since the initial break out in China back in December,2019. The sudden increase in the rise of infections all around the world has compelled public & private hospitals and to act decisively. In addition, the pandemic has forced governments all around the world to pause all economic activities. However, this abrupt stop has had a negative impact on all the economies. Many countries are losing billions of dollars on a daily basis. Unemployment has reached unprecedented levels.
It was reported that a vaccine would be not be able until early January 2021. All of the consequences mentioned above and given that it would take a year for a vaccine to be released, it is clear to us that shutting down economic activities cannot be long term- strategy. Therefore, companies must plan for the future during the COVID-19 crisis not just to combat the virus for the time being but also how to bounce back and protect themselves against these types of disruption in future if such viruses were to break out again.
Perhaps the most important thing we have learned during this pandemic is the importance of having an online presence so that we can be found by our consumers and also since our consumers are online and we are not personally interacting with the during the selling process .Therefore, it is also important to use AI to create buying patterns for our and to personalize our offerings towards them to maximize ROI
Listed below are two ways AI can help us in our long-term strategies that should be integrated in future planning
- Sales Prioritization
- Back-office tasks
Sales Prioritization
We are currently experiencing a new industrial revolution which is know as the revolution of artificial intelligence the one positive thing theCOIVD-19 pandemic as shown us is that AI should be integrated in the workforce to do complete variety of tasks. For instance, sales and businesses can used AI technology for sales performance solutions. AI can help employees build models to predict which customers have a higher chance of buying the a product or service from a company. These AI based prediction models can help employees increase their productivity by prioritizing which customers are most likely to buy a product from you. Now a days it has become important for both large companies & medium-size enterprises to understand the behavior & the COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear to us that companies need to invest more on technology & AI based sales solutions to meet consumer demands since most people now a days complete transaction with a click of a button & consumers have shifted from personal interaction to digital interactions. They use these digital platform to provide direct feedback to businesses. When businesses integrate AI in their systems, the AI robots can create buying patterns and show businesses the characteristics and the buying behavior the consumers for a particular product. Businesses can personalize their messages towards those consumers. Without a doubt, AI will be costly but it will generate a higher amount of ROE and is a great investment in the long term
Tasks at the Back-office
It can be said with confidence that back-office tasks such as ordering new credit cards, refunds & order cancellations should also be done by completed using AI powered assistants so that people working at these areas can be trained to work with other decision making teams. AI should be integrated wherever it can because it will assisting the workforce in all sorts of back-office tasks & service operations while employees can focus more on the core business operations.
Proactive response strategies that can be used to combat coronavirus
It was reported that a vaccine will not be found until early 2021 & we all not that economies & businesses cannot be shut of for an entire year. Therefore, this section of the report discusses the strategies for businesses to combat the coronavirus outbreak
Listed below are 6 strategies to for 6 areas for a balanced response
- Employee needs
- Communications
- Remote work
- Business forecasting
- CSR
Employee needs
It is important for company management to create a platform for the internal team so that information related specifically to their residing area, education, health care and other new guideline can be shared in the hub for them to be stay updated.
Communications
Communication is one critical factor. It alone determines the success of the team & the organization has a whole. It is important to understand that company employees have to collaborate with each other to work on project from a remote place. Therefore, businesses can use platforms like Microsoft teams and Google hangouts to communicate while working on a project during the COVID 19 pandemic
Policies for remotely working
Needless to say, companies are right now prioritizing the well-being of their employees and are allowing employees to work remotely. However, their should be some rules & guidelines to do this or else employees might slack off waste time all of which can affect the lead time to finish the project & deliver.
Business Forecasting
The COVID-19 pandemic has been creating unexpected fluctuations. Therefore, it is critical for companies to create frequent reporting cycles that consists industry updates, market updates & other information that directly or indirectly affects a business. Regular reporting about the current situation & new policies will help businesses to mitigate the risks associated with the business. In addition, being proactive in this crisis will show clients that it was on of their best decisions to work with you.
Corporate Social Responsibility
It is very important for established businesses to be involved in corporate social responsibility. Companies should consider how they can support their employees or the community as a whole by donating money to local hospitals all the essentials they need.
Conclusion
Companies should understand that the current pandemic will change how we conduct business. It will change society as a whole. We have seen an unprecedented levels online shopping. This trend will probably continue so companies need to analyze and figure out how they can have a greater online presence at the same time how they can be efficient using Artificial intelligence.