1. Catering Industry
Catering industry is facing serious challenges now. Many companies react fast. For example, Starbucks is offering “CONTACTLESS” service for both online and offline orders.
a. For offline orders Customers are encouraged to order from Starbucks APP or WeChat mini program first. When the orders are ready for pick up, they can go to the store directly, show the order number and take it away. There is no need to communicate with the staff or wait in the store. Also each customer has to be taken the temperature when they go into the store.
b. For online orders Starbucks promise all delivery boxes are disinfected every 1 hour. Customers can ask the delivery man to leave it in a specific place and pick it up later. In addition, all delivery packages include a card with records of temperature of each staff in each step. Besides, Starbucks also improved the packaging so that the food will be safe and clean.
Starbucks reacted fast and post this special arrangement on their WeChat official account on 23 Jan. They even add a “CONTACTLESS” tab on WeChat menu to explain this.
I’ve also seen similar arrangements by McDonalds, KFC and HEY TEA etc.
Like Starbucks, HEYTEA also has “CONTACTLESS” delivery for customers during Coronavirus crisis. However, what’s more interesting is HEYTEA is also doing something different for RED audiences.
RED is full of female millennial and GenZ who love milk tea and dessert. Yet under this circumstance, no one wants to go out or even order it online. So HEYTEA starts to post about how to DIY your own milk tea at home. They even name it “affordable alternative (平替)”.
Some recipes include tea bags sold by HEYTEA, but you can also use others for replacement. Some followers even comment “OMG! This is so nice! The secret recipe from HEYTEA officially!” “Don’t share too much, I’m afraid you are out of recipes soon!” Some also say “I just want to buy one from HEYTEA store!”
Each recipe post has received thousands of likes and collects averagely. One post of teaching creme brulee even got 42k+ engagements.
I think this is a really creative way to communicate with young customers in this special situation. Although it’s not the real recipe and won’t taste like in the store, it shows how well the brand understands its customers, how fast they react, and how confident they are about the product.
2. Sports industry
Online exercise course is becoming a trend. Gyms are in a tough situation. On the other side, SWITCH RING FIT, a video game that you can do exercise at home, is becoming super popular.
SuperMonkey is a gym with chain stores covering 9 major cities in China. Unlike traditional gyms, customers just need to register and pay for each class instead of paying annual fee. Now because of Coronavirus outbreak, Super Monkey is starting to provide online course.
Users can register for online course on their WeChat mini program and then join the livestreaming. There are different courses lasting for 14 days and the coach will not only teach classes but also supervise your diet, which is like a long-distance personal trainer. Each class is limited to 30 persons and sells at RMB 399. And because the courses are so popular, it is hard to get one.
Other sports brands like lululemon and NIKE are also doing the same thing. Scan the QR code then you can enter the live streaming page and exercise at home, providing more value to customers - not only selling sports equipment.