This document provides a summary of how businesses in Greece can adjust to changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines several key changes like increased online shopping, people working from home, and concerns about health and safety. It then discusses opportunities for businesses, such as providing more delivery options, improving ecommerce infrastructure, and addressing needs for mental health support and hygiene products. The document advocates for fearless leadership that focuses on the long term, accelerates change, leverages data, prioritizes employees, and uses advertising to gain competitive advantages during the economic recovery.

1. A quick guide to help businesses adjust in the near future.
Contactless Greece

2. Greece after the lockdown
The fight against Covid-19 is not over.
However, after 50 days of lockdown, we are about to experience an affected and
changed society.
In this report, we will try to understand the Covid-19 effects in Greece from a
marketing and business perspective.
Of course we don’t underestimate the impact on health which is of course the
most important one, but it’s out of the scope of this project.

3. Our Ecosystem is Changing.

4. Change Drivers
Top-down triggers
of change (e.g. the
enforcement of
wearing masks, the
limit in the number
of people working
in companies,
waiting outside the
store for haircuts,
limits on people
eating at
restaurants etc.)
Bottom-up triggers
of change (e.g.
fear for health
issues, fear for
economic
uncertainty, need
to protect friends
and family etc.)
that start from
companies and
people
themselves.
Another key trigger
of change is digital
transformation.
Both government
(e.g. gov.gr),
businesses (e.g.
remote working)
and people (e.g.
online shopping)
embraced digital
and the impact of
this change seems
to be here to stay.

5. Behavior is Changing
• Fear drives decisions
• More anxiousness
• Economic uncertainty
• Loneliness
• Fear for own health
• Even more fear for health of
close people and relatives
• More people working from
home, but lacking facilities
(equipment, platforms, etc)
• More available time for other
activities by avoiding
commuting to work
• Better work-life balance but
obscure limits
• No willingness to return soon
• More time at home
• Usage of masks outside
• Distance & no handshaking
• More private vehicle usage
• More travelling restrictions
• Fewer public events

6. Sentiment is Changing
Ιncrease in trust for
• government
• local institutions
• traditional media
• scientists
Decrease in trust for
• the church
• political parties
• European Union
• families
People believe more now in
• the healthcare system
• social solidarity
• private initiative
• Greece

7. Media Consumption is Changing
• Television
• Websites
• Social Media
• Streaming Services
• Radio
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Out of home
• New ways for item
discovery
• Need for digital sampling
• Content marketing
opportunities

8. Shopping is Changing
• Growth on online shopping
• Customer care goes online
• Home/Contactless Delivery
• Customers search for hygiene
• Easier to compare prices
• More online research for high involvement products
• Less Retail & Restaurant visits
• Less frequency, larger baskets
• Limit on people in physical locations

9. Businesses Face New Challenges.

10. Challenges as Opportunities
In the following segment, we are going to see how some
business challenges of the post-Covid-19 era can be re-
evaluated as opportunities for potential operational
adjustments or the development of new products.

11. Home is the new black.
People are staying more at home, avoiding
going out that often.
They work from home, they consume home
entertainment, they order food at home,
they do their shopping from home.
Everything @
Home
CHALLENGE

12. The Everything @ Home trend, creates
opportunities for home entertainment
services (eg. streaming services), for new
types of products or bundles for delivery on
restaurants, for home experience product
bundles (e.g. work from home products or
services bundles), for home equipment
bundles and home improvement in general.
Everything @
Home
OPPORTUNITIES

13. During the lockdown we have experienced
enormous growth rates on ecommerce
sales, yet it was very hard to support
demand in terms of logistics, delivery etc.
Ecommerce
Growth
CHALLENGE

14. Those that will adapt fast, automate their
processes and supply chain, will have more
happy customers and less pressure on
customer support.
There is also an opportunity to convert new
users to loyal users, by using online
advertising and loyalty tools.
Ecommerce
Growth
OPPORTUNITIES

15. As we saw earlier, people are more anxious,
feeling lonely and depressed. And not only
for adult people, but kids, who are also
going through a very stressful experience.
Mental Health
CHALLENGE

16. People are seeking more mental health
support and seminars for mental health
online, while HR managers should also
have it in mind.
Mental Health
OPPORTUNITIES

17. People are wiping down and cleaning
everything they get at home, from
groceries to electronics, because they are
seeking for hygiene and want to feel safe.
Safety & Hygiene
CHALLENGE

18. This creates opportunities for repackaging
or product bundles, for building trust by
claiming and communicating the safety
measures that each company takes and last
but not least, there is also an opportunity
for branded masks and special add-on
products.
Safety & Hygiene
OPPORTUNITIES

19. Both for regulatory and for safety reasons,
fewer people should be in the same
available spaces. Also, people need to feel
safe in our space.
Same space, fewer
people
CHALLENGE

20. Compliance can be very creative. From
protective plexiglass with creative designs,
to completely new configurations.
Same space, fewer
people
OPPORTUNITIES

21. The Covid-19 pandemic has made clear that the
near future has a special space for automation
and digitization, in order to avoid human
interception and enhance resilience.
Moreover, we experienced how white-collar
workers just switched their location from their
offices to their homes, while blue-collar and gig
economy workers either couldn’t work or were
at higher risk.
Educational Needs
CHALLENGE

22. With those in mind, we can predict a rise in
search for online educational programs,
from people looking either for upskilling on
digital, or reskilling on a different industry.
Also, there are people that will turn to and
try creating diy products, so there is also
space for content marketing.
Educational Needs
OPPORTUNITIES

23. Recovery needs FEARLESS leaders.

24. Greece as part of the World
Reopening stores brings optimism, but it doesn’t mean that by doing so the economy
immediately recovers. We don’t know how consumers will react, and we don’t know how
competitors in each market will react also. What we know though, is that it is very difficult to
draw conclusions about Greece, because during the pandemic, there was a better reaction
in terms of healthcare, measures and impact on human lives.
With that in mind, we chose to focus our research more in times of economic recession and
less in times of pandemics, in order to create a guide that will be useful for business and
marketing leaders, to get the most out of this momentum by acting local but thinking global.

25. The Shapes of Economic Recovery
Τhere are 3+1 general patterns of economic recovery, represented by
alphabet letters.
The first 3 patterns of recovery shape the LUV acronym, described as followed:
• L for immediate drop and very slow recovery,
• U for immediate drop and slow recovery and
• V for immediate drop and immediate recovery.

26. While we hope for the opposite, there are health
scientists who expect the virus to come back (the Spanish
Flu had 3 rounds of spikes). Also, WHO recommends that
governments are very slow to remove lockdowns and
social distancing measures to avoid new spikes.
In case of new pandemic spikes though, it is possible for
economies to experience something like W-shaped
recoveries and with that in mind, we suggest taking
immediate precautionary measures to flatten the
potential negative spikes.
Unexpected W’s
THE FOURTH LETTER

27. The need for Fearless Leaders
Recovery needs fearless leadership. Leaders that are decisive enough to take action while others hesitate, to find opportunities
where others see risks and to focus on creating long-term strategies instead of short-term tactical reactions.
• Focus on what’s important
• Effectuate operations
• Accelerate change
• R&D makes innovation the key to success
• Leverage available data
• Employees first
• Surpass competition with advertising
• Start-up or marketer mindset

28. First and foremost, as a leader you have to think
clearly. Till now, you were driven by circumstances
and you were primarily reacting (by being in the
“manage” quadrant). Now is the ideal time for more
careful planning and more stable next steps (by
moving to the “focus” quadrant).
Focus on strategy and after accepting that this will be
a difficult year, try to move your thinking out of
economic quarters and fiscal years and more towards
the long-term.
Focus on the long
term
FROM REACTING TO PLANNING

29. What the Covid-19 crisis proved, is the need for resilient and
adaptable operations. Even the most cost-cutting oriented CFOs
agree that efficient operations can reduce costs and bring
growth, especially after viewing the results of digitization and
automation during the pandemic. A research done only on US
CFOs showed that
• 49% will make remote working a permanent option for
specific roles
• 40% will accelerate automation and new ways of working and
• 26% will reduce real estate footprint (eg. partial opening of
offices, retail locations)
Effectuate
operations
DIGITIZATION AND AUTOMATION CREATE EFFICIENCY

30. A study on 4,700 companies regarding 3 global recessions,
found that there are four company types:
• Prevention-focused, that make primarily defensive moves
and focus at avoiding losses and minimizing downside risks.
• Promotion-focused, that invest more in offensive moves.
• Pragmatic, that combine defensive and offensive moves.
• Progressive, that make the optimal combination of defence
and offence.
The first two aren’t the ones that win the crises.
Accelerate change
COMPANIES CAN BE CLASSIFIED INTO 4 TYPES
Source: Harvard Business Review, Roaring Out Of Recession

31. The outcomes of the previous research came to
similar conclusions as the outcomes from Gartner,
that claim that winners push innovation, change
strategy and take risks, while the ones that focus
on conservatism and cost-cutting are eaten away.
It is worth mentioning though, that innovation
isn’t only radical, but it can be incremental as
well, and not only on products or services, but
also on processes.
R&D makes innovation
the key to success
IT’S TIME TO INNOVATE

32. In order to make the most out of communication,
you have to get in the shoes of your customers and
better understand their needs. To find them, you can
use on-top of owned data, digital and tech analytics.
In that way, you can be both purpose-driven, but
also customer centric. Companies who know what
their customers value, can adjust their
communication, develop new use cases and tailored
experiences based on those insights.
Leverage available
data
USE DIGITAL TO COLLECT DATA FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS

33. A research made from Gartner regarding the 10-year after
winners of 2008 recession, points out an issue on talent
management, suggesting 3 steps:
• Identify critical talent competitors (and maybe consider
contacting the some of them).
• Reorient talent programs and services towards future needs.
• Build and nurture engagement among leaders.
What is also worth mentioning, is that internal communication
is very important, in order to make employees feel safe,
connected and empowered.
Employees first
COMMUNICATE, PROTECT AND EXPAND

34. Based on historical data, after the last recession in
2008, ad spending in the U.S. dropped by 13%, with
newspaper ad spend dropping the most at 27%,
radio by 22%, magazines by 18%, out-of-home by
11%, television by 5% and online by 2%.
However, there are big opportunities for marketers
that choose to spend wisely, as competitors may cut
ad-spending, media costs fall and there is good
reason for marketing both for brand equity, as well as
for sales.
Surpass competition
with advertising
SPEND WISELY BUT PROTECT SOV

35. Some studies mention that business
leaders should think as “marketers”, but we
prefer the term “start-up mindset”. This
favors immediate decision making instead
of waiting, action over research, and testing
over analysis. In a world where agility is the
new growth, start-up minded CxOs can
lead the way to recovery.
Start-up or
marketer mindset
INNOVATE, TEST, LEARN

36. Data Sources
• Greek Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity
• Research of the COVID-19 impact on Tourism in Greece, University of Piraeus, April 2020
• KPMG Report, COVID-19 Employment Conditions Greek Barometer
• Dianeosis, How Do Greeks Live During the Covid-19 Crisis, April 2020
• GRECA, COVID-19 Ecommerce Research
• World Economic Forum, Covid-19, Mental Health for Children
• Avio Interiors
• World Economic Forum, Future of Work
• Gartner, Opening is not recovery
• The Economist, LUV Actually
• JP Kantor, The Eisenhower Decision Matrix
• PWC, COVID-19 CFOs Survey, April 2020
• Gartner, Act Now To Fund Innovation And Growth
• McKinsey, From Surviving To Thriving post Covid-19
• Gartner, Improving Psychological Safety
• Forbes, When a Recession Comes Don't Stop Advertising

37. We would be glad to help.

38. About adjust.
We are a digital-at-heart agency and our mission is to help brands
grow, through useful communication. For the market & for the people.
To achieve that, we have a team of more than 30 professionals that
combines critical thinking & creativity, leveraged by tech & data.
Our vision is to break new ground every day with data-informed
creative thinking, and to help our clients grow together with us.

39. You can count on us
We can support you with
• Creative & Performance Marketing
• Business & Digital Operations Consulting
• Business & Digital Analytics
• Digital Transformation Consulting

40. Let’s videotalk!