In the midst of a global pandemic, international horizons seem to shift every day. But now that New Zealand has COVID-19 under control, we're in the enviable position of asking ourselves, "where to next?".
In this episode of the Spark Lab Pivot Reports, Russell Brown speaks to the following experts:
So what did we learn from our discussions with these experts in the export sector?
King of Kiwi founder Glenn Elliot spoke about taking a moment to plan your next steps. Reassess your product, packaging, or systems – if you feel like there's a lull, take some time to focus on planning. For King of Kiwi in particular, they took some time to explore the export potential of a promising new product.
If you’ve built your business or brand on something that resonates with consumers, they will come back. So rather than deviating from its purpose in the face of COVID-19, True Honey stayed focused on its goal. Founder Jim McMillan described how The True Honey Co continues to deliver high-quality mānuka honey.
Film isn’t done in isolation. So for Libertine Pictures, health & safety (H&S) guidelines were sorted quickly. Managing director Richard Fletcher explains that as NZ has come out on the other side of COVID-19, we're at a great advantage moving forward. This is due largely to robust H&S processes that were in place before coronavirus.
But while health & safety in NZ is sorted, the film industry is still reeling from the loss of big international projects. Going forward, Richard suggests, we need to look to supplement with local projects and products. That way, if the tide goes out again like it has with COVID-19, we won't be left stranded.
The way New Zealand has handled the COVID-19 crisis has actually put us on the radar of other countries. We’re now known as a "safe place" to source products, projects and produce. Let's embrace that.
You'll have heard this before, but having a digital connection to your customers is essential. If you don't already have an e-commerce footprint, consider building this into the future of your business. This is true whether you're dealing in local or international markets.
We've learned a lot about collaboration and problem-sovling through this crisis – business to business, and also alongside our customers. It works in everyone’s favour to look at problems from many angles.
In our next episode of the Pivot Reports, we speak with people working on building a more sustainable future as part of post-COVID outcomes.