Covid-19 has brought about a lot of change in how we all do business. Those changes were necessary for our businesses to weather the storm. But how much of this change will stick around when restrictions relax, businesses re-open and we start finding ourselves closer to each other’s personal space? To get a grip on that, rather than starting with the business, or the tactical emergency measures all our businesses have put in place, we wanted to start with how customers’ expectations have shifted, and what people expect of brands as restrictions start to thaw.
CallisonRTKL recently conducted in-depth interviews with 25 business leaders around the world, from luxury jewelers in New Jersey to creative types in Beijing. We started by asking about how their personal expectations have changed during this period and what they expect to see from brands as time moves forward. We also asked them about their business, and what it’s doing to meet their customers’ expectations. Together with Traub consulting, we articulated how the insights from the study fit into Pre and Post COVID attitudes across retail, urban spaces, architecture and digital. This document uses the research and deep industry expertise of both companies and their clients to provide guidance for strategic planning in a new business landscape.
Several key themes bubbled up in our conversations:
- Accelerated digital engagement raises customer standards for service and transparency
- A shift from global to local, from monolithic to diverse, from centralized to distributed
- Many changes brands need to make are not new – but are coming to a head now because of rapidly shifting customer expectations due to the crisis
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