As we all know, technology has been fundamental to businesses in adapting to the COVID-19 outbreak. Government restrictions continue to disrupt normality and companies are rapidly embracing ways to digitalise their operations. At Polestar, we spend significantly more time now on MS Teams and Zoom. Thankfully, we moved to Microsoft 365 and SharePoint several years ago.
In this new world of social distancing, operational adaptation will pay a significant role to meet the rapidly evolving needs of employees and customers. During these unprecedented times we will no doubt see changes in working models, virtualisation of processes and methods to interact with stakeholders.
In this environment, we believe there is significant potential for Customer Care organisations to prosper. Pre-COVID, according to Reuters, the global Outsourcing Customer Care market was projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of c.6.2%. This growth will be fuelled by the need to improve customer engagement, the deployment of cloud-based solutions, use of data analytics and ever evolving technology. As the lock down continues and there is limited relaxation of social distancing measures, many of these drivers will heighten with businesses pursuing omnichannel communication with their customers to stimulate demand.
The attached McKinsey article regarding customer care organisations makes an interesting read as it highlights six imperatives spanning:
The matters covered clearly go beyond customer care and it is great to see how many of our clients have adapted terrifically to the pandemic. For instance, in the case of Plastico, using its expertise and experience to design, secure and distribute PPE rather than disposable pint pots and other out-of-home dining tableware. Polestar is no different; we too have had to adapt using skills learnt from previous recessions to support businesses with CBILS applications and other fund raising mandates. Now more than ever, communication with banks and shareholders may prove critical to survival. Being proactive with your bank will pay dividends and IBRs may be avoided.
The COVID-19 pandemic calls for a focus on six imperatives to rapidly adapt to this new environment.
