Category: Uncategorised

There is one question that everyone wants the answer to: what is the secret of success? Whether that’s writing a book, baking the perfect Black Forest Gateau or running a business. In the highly competitive B2B tech market, success has many different elements. As a PR agency that has worked with high performing tech businesses for the past 25 years we wanted to understand more about what success looks like, especially looking at sustained growth.

We spoke to a handful of CEOs and CMOs to get their views on success, the use of PR and marketing and the approaches they were taking to ensure sustained growth, and created the Secrets of Tech Growth ebook.

Interviewees Martin Philpott, CMO of Adatis, Alistair Mackenzie, CEO of Predatar, and Mark Paraskeva, from paiyroll, joined our most recent Team Talk Session to share their insights with us and some of our clients.

Many ingredients for success

Culture, business model, building the right team, and the use of PR and marketing all have a role to play in helping businesses sustain growth. But our focus for the session was on the way that PR and marketing helped these businesses.

The consensus among participants was that communications should be used early on in the growth journey — whether that is to create awareness or as part of a wider campaign. While it’s relatively quick to get started as a business, it is more challenging to stand out once established, and that’s where communications is important. Especially with the right core message and consistency across channels and touchpoints, which often ties in with co-ordination between sales and marketing.

Finding your niche

The interviewees in our session each took a different approach to the use of communications, because there is no one-size-fits-all approach. One company began its journey attending technical forums, presentations and networking events, before evolving into using its colleagues to generate knowledgeable content, and then formalising a defined marketing approach and team. Another relied on PR and marketing to frame its narrative and origin story as it transformed its business model and became a SaaS business — not just for external audiences, but getting buy-in from staff too. While another adapted its marketing approach as it went, with the result that marketing itself helped refine and influence its product development for new audiences that were not initially considered.

While each approach was different, the one common factor was that each organisation ensured its communication objectives were aligned to the wider business objectives. After all, a good idea is only a good idea if it forms part of the bigger picture.

Talking to many

Another point of discussion was around the challenges of addressing multiple audiences — refining different messages for different personas is essential and something that integrated marketing campaigns can help with. Not all audiences engage with content in the same way or on the same channel, but by developing tailored messaging across touchpoints companies can reach their desired audiences.

The biggest secret

In the quest for success, whether that’s achieving sustainable growth, launching a new product or changing business models, we can all agree that PR and marketing plays a starring role. That’s no secret.

So what is the secret to success? Simply put, there isn’t just one. There’s no single point that makes tech businesses successful. Instead, success is all about evaluating your business, your marketplace and the opportunities that exist, while evolving your approach as your business evolves, and making the most of the resources you have in the best way possible.

More secrets to tech growth are revealed in our eBook — download your copy today to find out what they are.

Or keep an eye out for our next Team Talk session. Keep an eye on your inbox and our social feeds to find out more.

We are living in a time that is full of innovative and disruptive technologies. This is supported by the vast number of companies that are receiving huge funding rounds each week, just so they can find the smallest competitive advantage in their market. But with the sheer number of tech companies that are operating in your market, how do you achieve sustainable growth?

This is an ongoing challenge for business leaders. How do you ensure your company is financially stable enough to stay in the market, while continuously investing in your technology to stay ahead of the competition? It’s a bit of a Catch-22 and one that many experts have tried to answer. A good example is Uber who has been operating for over 10 years and received $24.7 billion in funding to date but has never turned a profit. With increased pressure from its investors to prove that the business can be profitable, what are the next steps? What can fast-growth tech businesses like Uber do?

To answer those questions, we spoke to business leaders  who are currently and successfully managing their path to sustainable growth.

Introducing The Secrets of Tech growth — our research designed to answer these questions and shed some light on the experiences of those who are at the helm of successful, fast-growth companies. We interviewed a series of past, present and prospective clients, both CEOs and CMOs, to gather their insights on how their businesses are pushing forward, how they are using PR and marketing, and what advice they would give future market entrants.

The research covers multiple industries and the interviews reveal some shared views as well as differing opinion. For example, some focus their growth on providing customer value, whereas others prioritise company culture..

The views on when to deploy PR and marketing also differ between CMOs and CEOs but the use of it is considered vital in the growth of a company. Some companies opt to use purely digital platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn and others are focused on staff-generated content. The eBook reveals some reassuring and some surprising yet thought-provoking insights into the journeys, challenges and practices of a cross-section of fast-growth tech businesses.

With over 25 years as an established tech PR agency, that has worked with many fast-growth companies and played a part in their success, we recommend that any fast-growth firm considering PR investment first ask themselves how it can aid their growth plans. Our deliberately different approach ensures that you are getting the maximum out of your investment.

Gain insight into how to achieve sustainable growth in a competitive market by downloading The Secrets of Tech Growth.

 

There have always been very defined lines between PR and marketing — each camp clear on their role within the business, their relationship with the media and stakeholders and which activities they were responsible for. Then the new kid on the block arrived and obliterated those lines. The new kid on the block? I’m talking about social media. Although not the sole driver for a more integrated approach to communications, over the last decade all three disciplines have evolved in concert with one another, providing a new world of opportunity for brands to distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace.

Integrated marketing is certainly nothing new, but increasingly it is becoming more important for businesses to get right.

This sentiment was reflected in the findings of our recent research — The Secrets of Tech Growth — where we spoke to leaders from fast-growth tech firms about how they achieved that growth, what challenges they overcame (and continue to overcome) and what role tech PR and integrated marketing played in all of that.

Joined up for success

Unsurprisingly, both disciplines had crucial roles to play, at different times in a company’s journey to success, separately, and as part of integrated campaigns. With social media being a key ingredient too — something my colleague Emma Walker talks about in her article: Social media: not just the garnish in the sustainable business growth cocktail.

So apart from the fact that social media has changed the comms landscape, why is integrated marketing taking such a focus today, especially when it comes to building B2B businesses and sustaining growth?

There are three factors that make integrated marketing so attractive: budget, objectives and audiences.

Make the most out of your budget

Integrated campaigns help you get the most out of your budgets and maximise your return on investment. For growing companies this is especially important because not all of them have significant funding behind them. Overall, you can re-use and re-purpose your content and design assets across streams, and use PR or earned elements to set the stage for wider marketing efforts when it comes to aspects like nurturing leads. Optimising content across disciplines and channels makes this approach a much more cost-effective model.

Hit multiple targets

An integrated approach to campaigning also means that you can reach more than one goal. Why is this important? Because all businesses are different and have varied goals that communication assets will help them achieve. Just like the lines are blurred between disciplines, these goals often overlap and aren’t necessarily always effective when viewed in isolation. So whether you’re creating awareness, building trust, lead generation, general education or making your business look attractive for investors, combining PR, marketing and social elements enables you to hit those objectives through the use of targeted, audience-centric content and relevant, consistent messaging. From one central theme or idea, you can generate different content assets that can be leveraged across channels and fulfil your different objectives.

Reach all your audiences

This ties in to the third element, which is audiences. Just as your campaigns can have multiple objectives, your business is likely to want to reach multiple audiences. In addition, not all of your target audiences will engage with your brand and its content in the same way on the same platform.

Integrated campaigns ensure that you can reach not only your different audiences, but the right personas within them by providing comms through a channel (or combination of channels) that most appeals to them, be it thought leadership through media, infographics and videos delivered by social media, or whitepapers and blogs via email or content marketing efforts.

Where to start

Taking an integrated approach to your next campaign needn’t be challenging. Before you start make sure you’re clear on your objectives for the campaign. Then make sure these objectives are aligned to the wider goals of the business. This not only helps you create the right tone and messaging for maximum impact, but can also help secure budget and buy-in from senior management or the board when you’re looking to expand or start new projects. In addition, make sure you understand your audience so that you can develop personas to guide your content development and choose the right channels that will get the right message to the right audience. Finally, evaluate and measure your communications campaign throughout the lifecycle of the activity, not just at the end. This will help you make changes as you go in order to reach your objectives and will also help in demonstrating the efficacy of the campaign and ROI.

To find out more on our approach to integrated marketing and how we use our 360 Framework to shape the strategic, tactical and delivery elements of every campaign, get in touch with us.

10 seconds is all it takes. In that time, your prospect can reach into their pocket, pull out their smartphone, unlock it with face recognition, and then head to their favourite social media app to see what’s new and what’s happening. And wouldn’t it be great if your company’s latest social media post was at the top of their social media newsfeed?

Social media has come a long way over the last decade, with the mass adoption of smartphones and tablets driving force this growth. Having instant access to social media while on the move has made it an integral marketing channel. Now, social media is no longer something you should consider for supporting your business goals, but a necessity.

Following the launch of our Secrets of Tech Growth eBook, which reveals insights into the journeys and experiences of fast-growth tech businesses, it was pleasing to hear that some of the CEOs and CMOs interviewed called out social media as a vital tool for business success. In addition to their insights, three common goals emerged: make a splash in the market by generating brand awareness; sell, sell, sell; and, attract and retain top talent to secure further business growth. Social media plays a role a huge role in supporting and driving all three of these business goals. But how?

Generating brand awareness on Social Media

Although the average person has almost eight social media accounts¹, it doesn’t mean that a company should launch a social media strategy on every social media platform. Think about it logically and think about your target audience. What social media platform do they use, prefer, and spend the most time on? Putting a solid content strategy in place to capture and secure their attention will also put your company on their radar. If you’re looking to catapult your brand’s social media visibility, think beyond your corporate social media channels and identify key spokespeople to grow their online identity, consider introducing an influencer programme to bring further credibility to the brand and understand how paid social media tactics can ensure that your content is seen by the right target audiences. Awareness is, of course, a numbers game, but don’t lose sight of quality.

Driving new leads

There are simple organic social media tactics that you can implement to help secure leads, such as populating your social media bio correctly and providing a clear call-to-action so prospects can easily take the next step. But social media has also evolved into a sophisticated lead generation tool. On Facebook and LinkedIn, you can create paid social media adverts that offer content in exchange for their data. Seamlessly taking place in the social media newsfeed, when the data is exchanged, it also integrates with your lead generation platform. And when you couple this smooth data exchange with the ability to hyper target your desired audience or re-target website visitors, it’s a really powerful way to generate high quality leads and sales. In addition to using corporate social accounts, you can also train and mentor your sales team to understand and embrace social media selling – the art of an individual using their own social media channels as a way to enhance and grow their sales pipeline.

Acquiring top talent

Positioning your company as a desirable and credible employer is no longer just the role of your HR team. Social hiring can be achieved through showcasing a company’s culture, vision and values to potential recruits. This can then be taken one step further with an employee advocacy programme where the people from your company share and create authentic content about the business in a standardised way. Employees are arguably a company’s greatest asset, so by becoming a company ambassador, they can increase social media visibility, brand recognition and website traffic.

Social media can play a huge role in supporting ambitious fast-growth tech companies achieve their goals and objectives. And while the above gives you a flavour of what tactics can be used for specific goals, it’s important to note that solid measurements and metrics should always be used to showcase social media ROI.

10 seconds is all it takes to publish a social media post, and 10 seconds is all it takes for a prospect to find, engage and take action.

By Ross Walker, Head of Social & Digital Media

¹ https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts/

By Emily Fishburn, Account Manager

When it comes to rolling out global PR campaigns, you will be faced with a multitude of choices and challenges to navigate. For example, how to achieve consistent results across all regions, while also making sure work is shared among teams to avoid double effort and fee for the same results.

Local knowledge is always at the heart of achieving results. That’s why we always recommend rolling out global campaigns through a network of local agencies who can work cohesively as one account team.

As a lead agency with experience in executing global PR campaigns, we embrace the task of not only being the primary point of contact for our client, but also having the responsibility to ensure we get the most out of the other agencies we partner with regardless of what country they operate in.

We spoke to our partner agencies that we regularly work with to find out their views.

The secret of success

Two key factors to consider are to thoroughly listen to partners and build a strong open relationship, as highlighted by Robert Brownlie, Associate Account Executive at Los Angeles-based PR firm Bob Gold & Associates.

“When working with a lead agency on a global PR rollout, collaboration and fluid communication are key, building trust and operating as if we are a part of the same agency. In this regard, we want to mutually understand the goals behind success metrics and to be able to study and share what has worked and what hasn’t. This helps us go beyond simply checking in boxes to meet deliverables and enables us to work as a successful team that builds and promotes a powerful client narrative.

“What we don’t want is to operate in a siloed vacuum or to go long periods without touching base. Even if two agencies are operating on separate sides of the globe, it’s important to communicate often and use each other’s resources,” added Brownlie.

This open method of communication gives each agency a platform they can comfortably express which specific tactics will engage the end audience in their region.

Listen to the locals

When operating as a lead agency, understanding the core differences in region and listening to each agency’s requirements can be the difference between success and failure.

Alain Blaes, General Manager at Munich-based communications consultancy PR-COM said: “In our experience, openness to understanding a regional agency’s needs is paramount to a successful campaign, as media landscapes vary drastically between regions. From big picture topics such as media strategy, to individual by-line topics, what works in one region may not work in another, and no one knows these ins and outs like a local agency.

“The German media values a local touch. A common misconception is that out-of-town executives will be shoo-ins for interviews with the business press when they visit Germany, but that isn’t the case. German journalists want to hear experts comment on their strategy, and back their statements up with experience in the local market. They aren’t interested in the marketing-speech common in the US, for example.”

It’s also worth adding, that these regional nuances might not be what your client wants to hear, but it’s your responsibility to not just share this with the client, but actively work with the regional agency to establish what will work – and what techniques will be effective.

Don’t break the budget

When planning a PR campaign that will ‘take the globe by storm’, realistic budget planning is crucial, as highlighted by Lauren Brush, Associate Account Director at Dubai-based Active Digital Marketing Communications Agency.

“The most difficult thing for US or European companies to understand is how expansive the Middle East is. Organisations often believe that a similar budget that equates to one European country will suffice for the whole MENA region, which isn’t the case. The Middle East consists of very different countries and they all approach journalism and target audiences in different ways. For example, in Saudi Arabia there needs to be a focus on digital as the media landscape isn’t as vast, while the UAE has a wide media landscape that includes both English speaking and Arabic journalists, which often requires additional translation costs.

“When multiple agencies work together, collaboration is key and sometimes agencies can tend to try and compete with each other in front of the client. This is often counterproductive, so establishing respect and two-way communication from the outset is crucial. That’s why working with Whiteoaks is easy, because it’s clear that we work as a partnership which helps achieves stronger results for the client.”

Our approach

At Whiteoaks International, we believe that local insight is priceless and pride ourselves on being able to lead the deployment of global PR campaigns for clients by working with local PR agencies across the globe through the WIN PR Group, an instant international PR network that covers over 70 countries. Our approach allows clients to tap into a wealth of local knowledge while benefitting from consistent strategic planning and account management delivered by the Whiteoaks team. We develop the best option that will meet your needs for global PR, whether that’s working with agencies from our WIN PR Group, selecting your own local agencies and working within our IPM structure, a combination of these two approaches, or leveraging active relationships with your local network of PR agencies and adopting the Whiteoaks IPM approach.

What is the one piece of tech / software / device that you discovered you can’t live without during lockdown?

ZH: I’ve rediscovered my Xbox over lockdown. Of course, I’ve heavily relied on my phone and streaming services too, but I haven’t really played my Xbox for a couple of years, since I was in university. It’s helped to pass the time.

AC: Zoom’s been an essential during lock down — not just for work but also to attend live workout classes with studios I would attend prior to this. I’ve found that it’s hugely helped cement a routine into each week and has allowed me to check in with friends who have similar interests.

Spotify has also been key. Discovering new podcasts/ creating new playlists for running etc., has played a major role in giving me some time out.

 

What has been your favourite lockdown activity so far?

ZH: I’ve done a few virtual quizzes that have been lots of fun, but getting outside in the sun for daily walks and runs has made this lockdown bearable — thank goodness the ‘April showers’ never arrived! Whilst it may feel like the sunny weather has been wasted because we haven’t been able to go to the beach and have garden parties with friends and families, I think if we had all been trapped indoors because of rain, this lockdown would have been even more challenging.

AC: For me it’s being able to be at home. As a society, we spend so much time out of the house at work so despite the circumstances, I’m truly grateful that I’ve had time to enjoy the space we live in.

 

What is your favourite lockdown snack?

ZH: Percy Pigs. Lockdown or no lockdown, I feel very fortunate to live near enough to an M&S so I can pop in to restock. Over lockdown I’ve discovered the ‘phizzy pigtails’ variety too, which I’d highly recommend to any fellow Percy Pig lovers.

AC: OMG YES, great question! My sister dropped round some homemade rocky road the other week and it was incredible. It lasted all of 2 hours, with me indulging in all 4 slices in one sitting. The next day I texted her to request that she never brings any round again as I have zero control!

 

What are you currently watching / reading / listening to?

ZH: I’m in between Netflix shows at the moment, having recently finished both Ozark and Hollywood, both of which I really enjoyed. I’ve been listening to a few more podcasts on my longer runs too — Peter Crouch’s podcast is always funny and has somewhat helped the need for a football fix.

AC: Just finished binge watching White Lines on Netflix. Absolutely obsessed. It’s got everything a great series should have — action, mystery and romance. I can’t go into much detail but it’s a must-see!

At the moment I’m also reading The Tournament by Matthew Reilly. I read one of his books earlier this year and loved his style of writing so had to give this one a go. It’s set in the Tudor times which isn’t normally something I’d go for but after diving into a couple of chapters in the sunshine, I’m hooked!

 

Have you learnt or tried anything new?

ZH: I have something of a new running routine which has given me a goal to work towards. With no commute and more free time, I’ve been doing these 1-mile runs most days. It’s short enough that I can’t make any excuses not to go out on them, but not too long that I need to plan my evening around them. I’ve been timing myself too, so it’s been rewarding to see myself get quicker each week. I’m still just short of my goal which is sub-7 minutes, but hopefully by lockdown-end, I’ll get there. It’s also really improved my speed on longer runs too, which is a bonus.

AC: My partner and I have perfected the recipe for cinnamon buns — oh yes, we did shamefully jump on the bandwagon.

We’ve also discovered three nature reserves within walking distance of our house which is incredible considering we recently got a new puppy!

 

What’s the first thing you’ll do when lockdown is lifted?

ZH: It will probably involve seeing my family. Me and my mum have birthdays in June and July, so it would be nice if lockdown is lifted in time to celebrate those.

AC: I’d love to say something really exciting but in all honesty, I can’t wait to go to the hairdresser, my hair is crying out for some attention!

One of the most contentious topics in PR is measurement. What to measure, how to measure, and most importantly, do you need to measure.

The answer to the last question is: absolutely. Whether it’s to report back on the success of a PR programme, adapt and improve future efforts, secure funding for the next campaign, or to justify the importance of PR to the senior management team or board, measurement is vital.

We’ve come a long way from AVE (advertising equivalent value) and while measurement in PR is fluid, controversial and challenging at times, it can be done. But how?

This was the focus of our most recent Team Talk Session, attended by a selection of our clients who shared their own experiences and insights.

PR measurement is possible

We believe there are three key ingredients needed for successful measurement:

1. Support from your client in gaining access to the right tools and data
2. Clear objectives on what you’re measuring
3. Including measurement throughout the campaign lifecycle

But what does that look like in practice?

When working with our clients we focus on audience-centric measurement; that’s looking at audience visibility (how the campaign reached the right audience, with the right message via the right channel), engagement (response and reaction of those audiences), and impact (the effect of the campaign and how it contributes to the business’ overall goals).

Different approaches

For some clients in the session, they use measurement to both track awareness of their brand and demonstrate to management and investors that PR has a role to play in lead generation. This includes looking at web traffic, referral traffic, SEO, conversion ratios and the quality of leads that PR has a hand in influencing.

For other clients, it’s more about looking at the volume of coverage and share of voice generated from thought leadership campaigns. While it is possible to determine the link between leads generated from a specific piece of content, it can be expensive and places additional strain on budgets.

Blurring lines

This began a discussion around the merging of PR and marketing, and the rise of integrated campaigns. It is becoming increasingly difficult to pick out the PR or earned element from a campaign. Looking at a research project, for example, that starts off as a PR campaign with the creation of an idea, report and press release and ends with marketing developing MQLs off the back of that idea. While the assets have been provided by PR, it is marketing that gets the credit for lead generation even though it is the earned element that provided the platform. This is why it’s so vital that PR and marketing work closely together and complement (instead of competing with) each other.

The data challenge (and opportunity)

One of the challenges highlighted in the discussion was data. With the use of different platforms (HubSpot, Google Analytics, etc) there’s often a disconnect between them resulting in varying metrics, with varying interpretations. And that’s not to mention metrics from other areas of the business, such as sales, that also needs to be taken into account.

One significant opportunity that measurement data represents, however, especially for social media, is that there is a lot you can tap in to in terms of channel performance, content performance, campaign data and so on. Importantly, the discussions highlighted that measurement should just be about more than the numbers; for example, looking at who is engaging with what content, and what the quality is of your followers versus just the amount.

Regardless of whether it’s social media, PR or an integrated campaign, the key takeaway was that you need to understand which metrics to report on and consistently bring them back to your overall business objectives to ensure you’re seeing the bigger picture. This sentiment also means getting buy-in from senior management or the board to ensure the proper alignment with those business goals.

To find out more about the Whiteoaks approach to measurement, read our COO Hayley Goff’s blog.

In our next Team Talk session on 29 May we’ll be talking about our latest research into the Secrets of Tech Growth. Keep an eye on your inbox and our social feeds to find out more.

Two months into lockdown and the carpet is starting to wear thin from virtual Zumba classes and on-the-spot marching.

Sure, it’s not the same as throwing yourself around a dance studio. But for me at least, maintaining some form of daily exercise is a little oasis in the storm of this situation – and if my flooring bears the brunt, then so be it.

Because this is the new normal – for now, at least. And in this unprecedented time of social restrictions and remote working, we’ve all got to find ways of keeping calm, carving out some ‘me’ time and focusing on our mental and physical health. Whether that’s running a marathon on the balcony, baking brownies with a housemate or keeping in touch with loved ones via video chat (Zoom quiz, anyone?) it’s important to identify the things that keep us going in times of crisis.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and I for one think the timing is impeccable. While a lot of people have taken lockdown in their stride, others have found it harder. Being separated from friends, family and loved ones, as well as being restricted from the activities of normal life, can have a major bearing on mental health. In such an unusual and uncertain situation, it’s no surprise that feelings of isolation and anxiety have hit an all-time high across the nation. However, despite ever-increasing awareness of mental health conditions and a collective understanding of the difficulty of the current situation, a lot of Brits feel duty-bound to maintain the ‘stiff upper lip’ stereotype that defined our nation in years gone by.

No more.

This year, the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week is kindness. Research shows that kindness and mental health are deeply connected, and this makes a lot of sense. Whether it’s sending a text to a friend in need or making a cup of tea for a family member who’s having a bad day, random acts of kindness make the world a better place. But while being kind to others is important, being kind to yourself is essential.

So, if you’re struggling to concentrate, don’t be hard on yourself. If you think you should be running 5k every day, but you can’t quite bring yourself to put your trainers on, put the kettle on instead. And if you need some extra support, the NHS has released a number of fantastic apps and online courses to help deal with the emotional impact of the current situation:

• Big White Wall – round-the clock support from therapists to help you deal with stress and anxiety
• Catch it – support to manage negative thoughts and look at problems differently
• SilverCloud – an eight-week course to help you manage stress, anxiety and depression at your own pace
• Ieso – an instant messaging app to quickly and confidentially connect you to mental health professionals

Being kind – to yourself, and to others – costs nothing. So, indulge in some self-care, download an app (or two), and remember that help is never far away – even if it is socially distanced for the time being.

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

#BeKind

As the UK nears the end of week seven in lockdown, attention turns to Number 10 and an anticipated announcement this weekend outlining the framework of the country’s exit plan. In particular, the nation’s retailers will be hoping for guidance to enable them to reopen their doors, with 69% of non-food retailers “significantly” impact by the virus.

However, with scientists warning that social distancing measures of some kind are looking likely to remain in place for the next few months at least, how will the high street need to adapt, and what kind of changes can we expect to see?

Maintaining employee and consumer trust will be paramount to ensuring brand loyalty and custom on the high street, especially with competition from the comparative convenience and safety of online shopping higher than ever before. Retailers that are seen to have robust procedures and policies in place to ensure the safety of all, and those who offer a customer-centric experience focusing on the personal touches that online retail therapy cannot deliver, will be viewed most favourably.

In the first instance, it’s likely that we’ll see many following supermarkets’ lead, with strict social distancing measures and limits on the number of customers in-store at any one time. In the US, we have seen many big retailers ban customers from inside shops altogether, opting for a ‘click and collect’ style system, where the customer parks up while a retail worker brings their order out to them. While some shops in the UK were beginning to introduce these measures prior to the pandemic, it’s likely that we’ll see a scaling up of this beyond supermarket and DIY stores.

For retailers, this opens a Pandora’s Box of new considerations, with stores fulfilling the role of an end-of-supply-chain distribution centre in this scenario, rather than offering the immersive retail experience that has been the focus of recent years. The role of a retail worker will become more labour intensive, so more employees may be needed with a different set of skills.

Beyond this, we’ll see retailers amending their policies and procedures to consider the practicalities of operating in a pandemic. Robust health and safety has always been an important consideration for shops, but never before has it been so critical. To build and maintain trust, retailers will need to ensure they have measures in place which not only safeguard their employees, but also their customers. For example, increasing time allocated to deep cleaning – and perhaps closing mid-shift to do so – and tracking which employees work together for potential contact tracing, in tandem with reconsidering their sick policies to encourage workers to remain home if they feel unwell, will all be important considerations.

Communication will be key, and retailers need to be confident in the technology and channels they have in place in order to be able to deliver clear and concise information to employees as and when guidance is released, enabling them to comply with any new rules.

With so much still uncertain, looking to the future, what is clear is that the COVID-19 pandemic and its undeniable fallout will leave long-lasting marks on the retail industry. For brands currently without any online channels – such as fast fashion favourite Primark – the pressure is sure to be on to review their digital transformation strategies and attitudes by way of necessity.

What is the one piece of tech/software/device that you discovered you can’t live without during lockdown?

SG: It’s a tough one.  My phone continues to be a vital additional limb but without my Garmin watch I’d be lost.

JK: Zoom (closely followed by Microsoft Teams).

 

What has been your favourite lockdown activity so far?

SG: Family quizzes have been great but I’ve been taking part in a virtual running challenge which has been a great distraction!

JK: A Cavapoo puppy (Dave) joined our family just before lockdown began.  I try to take him for a lunchtime walk every day.

 

What is your favourite lockdown snack?

SG: The demand for crisps in our house is out of control!

JK: I’ve recently discovered Malteser Mint Buttons (best if kept in the fridge) – they’re very good.

 

What are you currently watching/reading/listening to?

SG: Ozark on Netflix is taking up all my spare time!

JK: I usually have a chill-out playlist on in the background during the day.  We also recently binge-watched the second season of After Life.

 

Have you learnt or tried anything new?

SG: Homeschooling.  Not for me.  No career change imminent!

JK: I’m definitely doing a lot more cooking, usually with my 12-year-old son as ‘assistant chef’. The results are ‘varied’.

 

What’s the first thing you’ll do when lockdown is lifted?

SG: Visit family for much needed hugs and catch-ups.

JK: Take Dave to see my parents. I might stop for a pint on the way home too 😊.