4 METHODS TO IMPROVE QUICKLY DURING THE CORONAVIRUS

Before the pandemic, organizations who dodged making challenging strategic decisions were able to hobble along. Covid-19 has forced decision-makers to make strategic determinations that were earlier avoided. Some cannot adapt to rivals and/or did not prepare for a rainy day.

We recently interviewed an endurance-based race promoter in the Southeast to learn of their challenges during 2020 and how they are coping. Sed on the conversation, we realized if you want to improve quickly during this pandemic, you must focus your operation by keeping four essential facts top of mind.

Athletes hesitating to register for events and make deposits on travel has become a current truth during the pandemic.

The primary way to conquer this fear is to consistently provide information. Creating an easy to activate system of communication to your database, will ease fears, and encourage athletes to committ to your event.

Our interviewed race promoter took time to educate their athletes on the communication channels they would use for updates, and has worked hard to keep those channels consistent and easy to understand.

Making host hotel refund policies, local COVID phase information and cancelled event options easy to find and understand will turn anxious athletes into appreciative longterm fans of your organization.

Don't take your foot off the gas.

Travel and competition address and fill an emotional need that can be powerful. So powerful that the coronavirus has only made the need to travel and compete stronger.

Case in point, we in the industry are passionate about sports, and certainly so are athletes. When the same endurance-based race promoter in the Southeast had to cancel

events this past Spring and Summer that athletes had been training for, people were understandably upset after so much training. With no competition throughout the Spring and Summer months, athletes were over-training and therefore getting injured. But when the promoter launched a new late Summer and Fall schedule, athletes rushed to register to meet their emotional needs to travel and compete.

Shift revenue from event touchpoints to digital opportunities.

As events are slow to come back to some regions, organizations must discover new ways to engage and create revenue opportunities. We have seen a digital transformation occurring for some time, as organizations focus more on online customer interaction. It is common to hear that the pandemic has been the most influential accelerant of digital transformation.

The same thing happened to our endurancebased race promoter. For years they old event merchandise on-site at events only. Up until this Spring, they resisted creating an on-line merchandise store on their website, having to create accounts for payment processing, building new webpages, and more. However, social distancing forced the organization to make significant cutbacks.

This, of course, forced their hand. Their digital transformation took place over a few weeks, when most take several months at best, depending on complexities. By June, the organization had built a virtual store so their clientele could see its merchandise options and buy them online. Enhancing their digital advertising, fast delivery, and discounted prices, they received enough online orders to keep payroll at its current level.

Produce new offerings to build your customer base.

An additional approach to grow during the pandemic is to design new offerings that meet your customers’ ever-changing needs.

This, too, worked for our Southeast endurance sports event director. Having hosted individual triathlons and running events for decades, they decided to add event offerings to the mix. By adding relay divisions to their events, they have been able to gain interest from beginner triathletes to increase their database.

They also offered non-traditional events such as an AquaBike (swimming & biking) and a Splash n Dash (swimming & running) for athletes who are not yet comfortable with all three triathlon disciplines. They also created relay categories for these non-traditional events, allowing for multi-sport exposure to athletes focused on only one sport.

In summary, see the market need and adapt to it.