About 10 million daily meeting participants: that is what Zoom reported in December 2019. By April, the company was citing 300 million, before clarifying that these were participants and not unique users, so the same person in three meetings was counted three times. The figure remains telling, and it confirms what everyone observed this spring.
The phrase "you're on mute" is now universally understood, and grandparents know how to share a screen. Last week, DoorDash and Airbnb both went public, a day apart. The first is benefiting from the delivery boom; the second is betting on the return of travel. On Monday, the first vaccines were administered in Quebec and Ontario.
These events summarize the year well: one half devoted to staying home, the other focused on the day that will no longer be necessary.
Have video calls and remote work become the norm?
Yes. We have worked far from any head office for about ten years: in Thailand, Bali, Nusa Ceningan and, this year, Montreal. For anyone who has worked remotely that long, video calls, shared documents and time zones are not new. What was new this year is that everyone had to adopt these practices at the same time, mostly without choosing to.
The tools were not ready. In the spring, Zoom experienced the "Zoombombing" problem, with strangers entering open meetings, and on April 1 the company announced a 90-day freeze on new features to address security and privacy. Google made Meet free for anyone with a Google account. Microsoft strongly promoted Teams. Every provider had to adapt quickly, and most users learned what a virtual waiting room is.
The Wikipedia article on Zoom details the company's year, which is remarkable: a mid-sized business tool in 2019 became a verb in 2020.
What is the future of remote work?
Based on observed trends, remote work will not disappear, nor will it replace everything. Many large employers will want their staff back in the office as soon as possible, and many employees will not want to return five days a week. A hybrid arrangement seems likely for office jobs. Some people have also realized they can do their job from a smaller town near a lake, and the regions are likely to feel the effects.
For small businesses, the change is simpler. A video call is now an accepted way to meet a client, conduct a consultation, present a quote or deliver a short training session. It saves a drive across town, or two hours on the highway. This benefit is real, and the change is likely to be lasting.
A practical recommendation, since many owners now meet clients this way: treat a video call like a meeting room. Provide good lighting from the front, a headset or a proper microphone instead of the laptop's, and a link sent in advance in a calendar invitation. No one expects studio quality, but clients notice when they cannot hear you clearly.
What role do delivery apps and online booking play?
If Zoom was this year's office, delivery apps were its kitchen. Restaurants that had resisted them for years signed up within a week, for lack of any other option.
Their record is mixed. This year, they provided essential support. In the long term, they represent a costly habit. Commissions are high, the customer relationship belongs to the app, and a restaurant can be busier than ever while earning a minimal margin on those orders. For a small establishment, the sound strategy is to use the apps for visibility and gradually encourage regular customers to order directly.
Online booking is the change expected to be most lasting, and it is a positive development. Booking a table, a haircut, a campsite, a massage, a dive or a canoe rental: everything is done online. Customers became accustomed to it this year, and a return to the old ways is unlikely. When a business still says "call us between 9 and 4", many customers simply book elsewhere. If you make only one change for next year, we recommend this one. A simple booking system on a small business website pays for itself quickly. Make sure the confirmation email is bilingual if your customers are, and that it clearly explains how to cancel or change a booking. This measure eliminates half of the phone calls.
What will be dropped, and what will people seek instead?
Some practices will clearly be abandoned as soon as possible, and this part is easy to anticipate:
- virtual happy hours;
- online events with two hundred cameras off;
- twelve Zoom calls a day;
- ordering every meal through an app, at those prices.
The more complex question is the strength of the opposite movement. Trends indicate it will be pronounced. When it is safe, people are unlikely to simply drift back to real places: they will actively seek them out. The outdoors was already busier this summer, with parks and campgrounds full of people who had never visited them. We anticipate an increase in this activity next year, not a decrease.
Our first trip into Algonquin dates back about thirty years, with a paper map and a compass. Today, most people carry their route on their phone, but they still go for the same reason. A phone can guide you to the lake; it does not replace the experience of the lake.
A year of screens is going to make people want real things more.
For small businesses outside the major centres, this is the key point to retain. The digital side (booking, a good listing, a site that works on a phone, a newsletter) only serves to bring people to your door. What they are actually paying for is the lake, the meal, the trail, the person who knows the place. We recommend spending as little time as possible on the digital side, while still doing it properly.
For help with your online presence before next season, get in touch.