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It’s Only Common Sense: The World Will Never Be the Same

Over the past few weeks, I have been writing about how to maintain business as usual in these unusual times, including how to market your company, make sales calls, and sell your products while you’re not able to physically meet with your customers. The D.B. Management team also put together a plan called “Business as Usual: Selling Without Visiting Customers,” which is available for anyone who wants one (see information at the end of this column).

One of the things we talk about in this plan is to prepare for the world as it will look once this pandemic has subsided. After doing some research and visioning, here are eight ways life will look different after the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.

1. More People Will Work From Home

The way we work will now be shaped and changed forever as people find that many of them can work at home much more easily and effectively than in a building with other people. This is something I found out years ago when we started the consulting business. It’s amazing how much you can get done on your own schedule. And a thank you to Zoom, GoToMeeting, and all the other available meeting services.

2. Shopping Habits Will Change

More people will convert to online shopping as many are now forced to do it, including novices who are learning how. This means that retail stores will have to become more engaging and valuable or die. My advice to retail stores is to visit an Apple store and see how you can make changes to thrive.

3. The Way We Watch Movies Will Change

This will change drastically. Even now, with movie theaters closed, studios are already offering first-run movies for streaming. For about $20, you can stream a brand-new movie in your home. Other streaming services are already taking off, as people turn to them for entertainment in their locked-down houses. This means the competition will increase, and we will benefit from being able to watch even better films in the future.

4. People Will Prioritize Universal Healthcare

Some people will want universal healthcare more now that they see what life can be like in a pandemic without it. Expect arguments against it to wane and universal healthcare to become a priority.

5. Stockpiling May Continue

As Americans, we are not used to not having what we want when we want something. Learning from the shortages we have faced, we can expect stockpiling to continue for everything from medical face masks to ventilators, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, soap, and water. Many people grew panicky about many toiletry items and everything else that they could not find when they wanted it in the grocery stores.

6. People Will Respect Medical Research

I hope that people will come to appreciate medical research and what it can do for us. The fact that hospitals can be erected in a matter of days, or that a vaccine for a virus can be discovered in a matter of months, amazes me and makes me respect these scientists more now than ever.

7. There Will Be More Onshoring

As U.S. companies realize they went too far in turning over entire industries to China—happily letting them build anything, as long as it was cheaper—we will see more onshoring. Many disregarded the damage to domestic infrastructures. Hopefully, U.S. companies learn a lesson that, although they live in a global economy, they still need to protect domestic companies, keeping them not only solvent but profitable for the long term.

This should ring loud and clear to the big OEMs—like Motorola, Cisco, Intel, Apple, and many others—who skipped over to Asia with their new products—developed in the U.S. —for the sake of their own bottom line. Let’s remember that when people complain about China, the Chinese did not come to the U.S. and take our technology and business; U.S. companies handed it over to them so that we could buy a DVD player for $29.99 instead of $69.99. Maybe now we’ll tend to ask ourselves if it’s worth it.

8. The U.S. Will Become a Better Country

I have no doubt about this. Americans believe that we will come out of this crisis. What history tells us is that this is something we can count on.

It’s only common sense.

An added note: For a free copy of D.B. Management’s plan titled “Business as Usual: Selling Without Visiting Customers and Thriving Through Adversity,” email me at danbbeaulieu@aol.com.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.