The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the global economy, shuttering businesses worldwide. However, many entrepreneurs and organizations have also risen to the occasion to alter their strategies, products, and services to meet new demands and solve rising problems.
Here are five global businesses that have successfully changed their strategies to survive:
Core 57
Atlanta-based gym Core 57 takes a member-focused approach to fitness, working closely with individual clients to help them meet their health and wellness goals.
Thus, when COVID-19 restrictions forced owner Kolleen Riddick-Losch to close her gyms temporarily, she turned to Zoom to keep her members engaged with live workout classes.
Even though gyms have reopened, Riddick-Losch says virtual meetings will remain part of the business, and she hopes to grow her online audience.
“Our members love having the option,” she stated.
Immensa
Dubai-based 3D printing start-up Immensa, which specializes in manufacturing spare parts used in the oil and gas industry, switched gears to produce medical face shields to help slow the spread of the virus. The company’s engineers took about six hours to adapt the hardware to produce the shields, and the firm dedicated approximately 40% of its capacity to the production.
The company, whose clients are spread across the Middle East and Europe, saw the outbreak as an opportunity to localize industrial spare parts production.
Fine Diner
Sami Elayan, the founder of the mobile app Fine Diner, also considered COVID-19 an opportunity to be resilient and fill gaps created by the pandemic.
Elayan was initially running a food-delivery business in the UAE, supplying surplus food from hotel buffets to consumers. However, the venture was scrapped in February last year as the pandemic raised concerns about food safety. Elayan then quickly changed the business model and launched Fine Diner, an application that lets customers order a three-course meal from high-end hotels at affordable rates.
Artly Working
In-person interaction may seem like a necessary part of improv team-building workshops, but for David Klasko, founder of Artly Working, the transition to Zoom was a natural fit. He used improv and acting techniques to help organizations build better teams through virtual workshops, events, and training experiences.
While Klasko’s team primarily works directly with employers to customize workshops, Artly Working uses OnZoom to offer improv classes to individuals.
TOV Furniture
Lastly, TOV Furniture grew its business by almost 200% annually by mid-April last year as the business took off again after a substantial drop during the first couple of weeks of the global lockdown.
According to TOV’s president and founder, Bruce Krinsky, “after the initial slowdown, the first thing people did was take care of their kids and buy trampolines and other things for the kids to do outside.”
Though TOV didn’t invest in new marketing channels, it focused more on its marketing programs, which are all digital and social media related.
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