COMMERCIAL RESILIENCE
During the peak of the COVID-19 crisis demand for products and services changed materially.
Many product lines saw dramatic falls while others, along with key services, experienced rapid growth. At the same time demand for substitute products and services, and new products and services aimed at helping customers, has grown. These changes in demand could last well into the future, and we could see businesses being forced to pivot their focus.
Product and service directors need to develop a mix of strategies that are resilient to market changes, and take advantage of new growth opportunities. They will need to consider the optimal distribution footprints going forward, as customer preferences and behaviours shift from physical (eg bricks and mortar store, bank branch, medical centre) to digital (eg ecommerce, call centre, tele-consultation). This may involve simplifying product portfolios (front- and back-book) to reflect current customer needs and introduce end-to-end digital operating models – or developing new service offerings that address unmet customer needs and open up new fee revenue streams.
