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Pivoting in a Pandemic

4/4/2020

5 Comments

 
Pivoting in a Pandemic

by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  Evaporating demand due to COVID-19 has caused many industries to sour, yet some innovative organizations continue to score in unexpected sweet spots.  Thanks to creative thinking and agile adjustments of their marketing plans, certain companies have rapidly repositioned themselves for productivity uninfected by the virus.
 
Serious fans of basketball are familiar with an offense skill, not often employed in the current era of three-point shooting: the pivot foot.  In order to move with the ball, a player must, of course, dribble.  Once he stops and holds the ball, he can’t dribble again; however, he can still move provided that one ‘pivot’ foot remains planted on the floor.
 
Few basketball players use their pivot foot to its full potential, but those who do can adeptly avoid defenders’ grasps by turning their bodies 180 degrees, or even in full circles.  Doing so, they can make what may have looked like a lost possession into an amazing pass or a spectacular shot.
 
The coronavirus has caused many organizations to ‘pick up their dribble,’ stopping them in their tracks.  Some companies, however, have realized that both feet don’t need to be bolted to the floor.  They can still pick up one foot and pivot, finding profitable new opportunities, sometimes in a direction opposite the one they were facing.
 
A few firms that have made very ‘hard pivots’ are those that have decided to manufacture products they never made before, including ones crucial for lessening the pandemic’s impact:
  • 3M, Ford, and GE are partnering to produce respirators desperately needed by those suffering from the harshest effects of COVID-19.  The companies are “repurposing existing parts and hundreds of workers in a wartime-like battle against the outbreak.”   
  • Leveraging its 3D printing capabilities, Ford is also expecting to produce 100,000 face shields per week, which frontline healthcare workers need to protect themselves from the dangerous droplets that coughing and sneezing patients propel.
  • Many companies have started manufacturing for the first time the smaller, lighter face masks that people increasing wear to avoid spreading the virus if  sick, or to avoid contracting it if healthy.  Some of the mask producers include Carhartt, Eclipse International, and Gap.  Even high-end fashion brands like Burberry, Dior, and Giorgio Armani have promised some of their production capacity. 
  • With Purell and its competitors unable to meet demand, several companies we wouldn’t expect also are now bottling hand sanitizer, including distilleries of Anheuser-Busch and Pernod Ricard, the maker of Absolut Vodka.  According to FoodDive, “Drinking alcohol and rubbing alcohol are not identical substances, but they can be used as substitutes for each other.”
 
The preceding pivots are in the spirit of President Trump’s invocation of the Defense Production Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to divert civilian manufacturing capacity and resources to the production of goods that promote national defense.
 
Meanwhile, other organizations have seen market disruption in their own industries and moved decisively to capitalize on the resulting opportunities.  Those pivots have often involved emphasizing specific goods and services that complement the ways many of us have been forced to adapt our daily lives, for instance:
  • Groupon is promoting cooking at home items like cookbooks, meal starter kits, and cookware.  
  • Giant Food Stores is highlighting “contactless ways to shop.”  
  • Best Buy is running sales on technology that helps people stay connected digitally.
  • Bed Bath and Beyond is promoting trash cans with voice- and motion-controlled lids. 
  • Warner Bros. is speeding up the release of movies to streaming services. 
 
All of the above are prudent pivots; however, one of the most significant ones I’ve seen comes from an organization you may not know, unless you have a child between the ages of two and eight who likes soccer.
 
“Driven by the belief that a positive experience with sports can make a lasting impact on a child’s life,” Soccer Shots teaches soccer skills and life skills in affirmational ways to the youngest of athletes.  Since opening its first franchises in 1997 in Charlotte, NC and Harrisburg, PA, the company has grown to nearly a half million enrollments in 37 states and Canada.
 
As one might expect, Soccer Shots’ business model is based on face-to-face interactions between coaches and kids in physical spaces.  So, how does an in-person organization respond when social distancing directives don’t just spread the field, they end the game?  The player pivots.
 
Soccer Shots on the Go

The company has swiftly created “Soccer Shots on the Go,” a virtual sports education program that allows young people to learn soccer skills with Soccer Shot coaches, in the safety of their homes.  Soccer Shots Franchising (SSF) describes the program:
 
Soccer Shots On The Go uses our expert-approved curriculum to help families get moving and have some fun…at home! Each week, you’ll receive an age-appropriate video packed with soccer skills, character development and creative ways to stay active. Soccer Shots On The Go also includes activities and resources for the entire family delivered directly to your email.
 
The notion that learning soccer ‘online’ can’t be quite the same as learning it on the field is not lost on Steve King, executive director of the company’s Harrisburg-York, PA region.  He readily acknowledges the difference and puts in perspective:
 
“Certainly there are some different or missing components compared to being in-person, including the child-coach interaction for which we are so well- known, but the quality of the video sessions is terrific, and our longtime experience with child development and curriculum-based programming is seen in both how the videos are produced and how the child is engaged with the coach who is on-screen.”
 
Helping others survive the devastating health and economic impacts of coronavirus comes first, then individuals and organizations should think how they can thrive amid the challenges.  In the face of unprecedented disruption, Soccer Shots co-founder Jason Webb cheers his team for making just that kind of “impressive pivot,” skillfully creating “a quality, professional-produced program alternative” for all those Soccer Shots serves.
 
Sometimes anguish is unavoidable, but pivoting in the face of pain is “Mindful Marketing.”


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5 Comments
Hannah
4/30/2020 12:56:05 pm

I love seeing this! Even though the companies may not be producing regular product or what they usually sell, they are still promoting their brand in a very positive and socially responsible way. There is effort shown in being aware of the situation, responding well to it, and still being profitable. A great lesson to learn from this is that business plans can be changed based on the situation at hand and being set in your ways as a business with no open mind to change is a sure way to fail.

Reply
Jordan Holman
5/1/2020 02:51:58 pm

This blog uses a great analogy to describe what companies are doing during the coronavirus pandemic. Companies are pivoting like you would in basketball. Instead of companies just not doing anything because they are out of work right now they are working to help during the pandemic. Companies like 3M, Ford, and GE are coming together to make respirators because they were heavily needed. Also companies like Warner Bros. are releasing movies early on streaming services so people have things to watch during this pandemic. Bed Bath and Beyond are trying to promote voice motion trash can lids to make things more safe for people to not come in contact with viruses. These companies were not thinking of themselves but they were thinking about their consumers. This is what makes a good company when they can do things to help the community.

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Nick Nunez
5/4/2020 11:00:31 pm

It is interesting to see each and every company doing sometime different and out of their comfort zone to make use of this pandemic situation that we are all in currently. This is best explain by how companies are making prudent pivots and hard pivots which help them find profitable new opportunities for them. An example of the hard pivots the stood to me was how the three nation’s largest companies (Ford, 3M, and GE) will team up to mass produce medical equipment to fight the novel coronavirus, repurposing existing parts and hundreds of workers in a wartime-like battle against the outbreak. An prudent pivot that stood out to me was the “Soccer Shots on the Go”. This is where Soccer Shot expert-approved curriculum to help families get moving and have some fun at home. This is different for them because they are based on face-to-face interactions between coaches and kids in physical spaces. Those this is perfect for them under the circumstances that they are in currently. I agree that this is very mindful when it comes to the mindful marketing matrix. Each company explain in their article upholds societal values by taking advantage of the situation and creating and marketing stuff that is beneficial for those who are struggling through these rough times. It also creates stakeholder value because maximize their net profits or cash flows.

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Clayton Andrews
5/5/2020 10:10:14 am

Great idea! Businesses are becoming more and more versatile, which in turn will appeal to the consumers. When the consumers are happy, and can continue to trust businesses in how they meet the needs of the people, good things will happen!

Reply
garbage can link
5/13/2020 06:00:05 pm

good

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