The pandemic has destroyed industries, shuttered businesses, and left millions unemployed. But there is a silver lining. It will end. And the pent-up demand will provide an opportunity for many organizations to come back better than before. Will your organization be ready?

We are about to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity for brands to build significant stickiness with customers. Only few will capitalize.

This pandemic changed lives. The Spanish Flu also changed lives during a pandemic in 1918. In 1919 baseball attendance spiked 37% over 1917 levels. Imagine a world where foot traffic in stores spikes up to over 40% of 2019 levels. Airline travel, hotels, theme parks, sporting events, cruises, amusement parks, restaurants could all experience something similar in the coming months. As a major brand, in 2019, if you asked yourself what would you do with a spike in volume of 40%, what would you say?

Hopefully 2020 provided your brand ample time to plan because that time is coming. With our digital, social, connected economy, the spike will likely be much higher than 40% this time around. Customers you never saw before will be knocking down your door. Will you be ready? Will you turn some away?

We helped clients in 2020 and continue helping clients in 2021 in the travel and hospitality space in several areas but some of the most critical are:

  1. Data – Refocus all efforts with a data lens. No metrics to measure? Find some. Build out the data capability as if it was the most important product you were going to sell your customers. Data will help predict where investment must go.
  2. Get digital and try things – Many brands pivoted to leaner labor models at the start of the pandemic as a means of staying alive. Shutdowns provided an opportunity invest time and resources in these digital experiences. Try things never tried before and see what happens. They may not work. You are doing your job if some do not. You are not doing your job if you do nothing.
  3. Move fast – If the aforementioned digital experiences have not been a focus for your brand, it’s not too late. Start now. Move fast.
  4. Do Something – Do it now.