The Importance of Malleability During COVID-19 and Beyond

When COVID-19 forced businesses across the globe to temporarily close their doors with little to no warning, brands needed to find a way to pivot — and fast. While consumers are under orders to shelter in place and stay inside as much as possible, brands without delivery or virtual accessibility needed to shift their strategies in order to keep reaching their customers. 

The need to be flexible has the potential to make or break a business right now in the midst of the pandemic. According to Terri Bornhauser, franchise sales and development manager for Buffalo Wings & Rings, this is not something that’s going away once COVID-19 cases calm down.

“Everyone knows why being nimble is important right now, but as we travel through to the other side of COVID-19, it's important for companies to continue having a healthy balance of flexibility and adaptability,” said Bornhauser. “Not only will it help in the recovery process, but [it will] also help to continue a healthy future between the franchisor and franchisee.”

Lauren Wanamaker, senior director of development for Amazing Lash Studio®, agrees. Amazing Lash Studio® is one of three brands under the umbrella of WellBiz Brands, Inc., and all three brands have had to shift in different ways in order to support franchisees and members through this crisis. These innovations are going to be present across their brands moving forward, but the capacity in which they’ll be visible depends on each brand individually. 

“The level at which this crisis permanently alters the business depends on the model,” Wanamaker said. “For example, at Fitness Together, we’ve built a new business model overnight by offering a virtual training option. Having some of these more flexible consumer options across the board, especially in the fitness space, will continue to be expected as things return to normal.” 

When consumers go back into the marketplace and entrepreneurs consider business ownership opportunities, they’re going to be looking for brands that have stuck by their franchisees and members during this time. Wanamaker notes that this means franchisee support is more important than ever before.

“As our studios reopen across all three brands, we’re going to be flexible in terms of what membership platforms look like going forward,” said Wanamaker. “We need to be responsive to the changes in consumer demand. That’s why it’s more important than ever to have a franchisor with a solid support infrastructure in place to help franchisees be nimble, responsible and flexible. It’s difficult for small business owners to be able to do that on their own. Having that structure and the ability to offer innovations like alternative membership package options is going to be critical moving forward.”

Ultimately, a franchisor’s ability to adjust to any situation — even in a crisis — has the potential to make or break a brand. Wanamaker continued, “Malleability will look different in every business, but it’s definitely going to be key to coming out of this crisis with loyal customers.”