Business from offline to online - how to move it?

If you’re not yet operating online, it might be high time to take the first step into the digital world, even if you run a traditional business. Let’s examine examples of companies that have gone through this transition. What can we learn from them? Read on to find out more.

Moving from online to offline - table of contents

Is online right for me?

Firstly, it’s worth realizing that not every business is predisposed to go online, at least not in the primary sense. Restaurants, medical facilities, cultural events – these are just examples. They thrive best offline, in the real world, in direct contact with the customer. It is largely this personal contact that determines their value – we will come back to that.

In any case, online activity doesn’t have to be the core of traditional companies. It can successfully be their additional channel through which they generate revenue. This is, in fact, a safe approach. Let’s take a look at a few examples of companies that transitioned from offline to online and see what insights we can draw for our own businesses from their stories.

Three success stories from offline to online. They made it

The following examples share a common denominator-the COVID-19 pandemic. While for companies that have always operated online, lockdowns were not a subversive moment in their lives, for companies that had little to do with the Internet, lockdowns either buried them or forced a shift to more digital operations.

Jean Louis David

Among the main “beneficiaries” of this change were restaurants and beauty salons. Restaurants saved themselves with deliveries and apps like Pyszne.pl or Uber Eats. In this way, they were able to survive the hard times when their premises were closed. It was worse for hairdressers, for example. Of course, it is impossible to provide this service remotely.

It was precisely in this situation, during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, that the network of hair salons, Jean Louis David, found itself. The crisis caused fewer people to visit the outlets bearing the JLD signature than before. This, in turn, resulted in a decline in revenues, which, depending on the month, were lower by even 20-30%. During that time, Jean Louis David was forced to close 3 out of its 75 locations.

The management had to react somehow to save the company. As a result, they decided to launch an online store with a range of hair care products. How long did it take? Just five days – that’s how much time the software house Fast White Cat needed to set up the online store, which could then minimize the losses caused by lockdowns.

Virtual Poland

For Virtual Poland, the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were not as severe as for Jean Louis David, but they did make a difference. At the beginning of 2020, the media group opened a new office in Warsaw with a modern TV studio. So we are talking about a significant investment. But soon after, we were locked out of our homes.

This change caused Virtual Poland’s employees to start working remotely. At the same time, the management of Virtual Poland realized that sooner or later people would return to the offices. Not necessarily on a full-time basis. Therefore, they began thinking about implementing hybrid work. In a conversation with EY, representatives of Virtual Poland revealed that the startup Zonifero supported them in preparing for this change.

Namely, this startup helped manage desk occupancy. It provided employees with an application that allowed them to request to come into the office, check the availability of workspaces, and reserve a desk. This helped WP’s management reduce office space in favor of interview and meeting rooms.

The Talkers

The Talkers, one of the English language schools from Tricity also found itself in a difficult situation. Before the pandemic, the school served 650 students, 70% of whom attended classes on-site. Then COVID-19 came along and forced a complete transition to online. In an interview with Rebiznes.pl, Wiktor Jodłowski, CEO of the Talkers, recalls that the company lost about one-sixth of its customers during the lockdown.

Soon after, the situation normalized. The Talkers returned to the offices, but students started to prefer online classes. This got Viktor Yodlovsky’s team thinking. What about going completely online? After calculating all the costs, the school’s management concluded that this would be the right move.

Despite that, they didn’t close their physical locations right away; they did so only after a year. Why? Partly to see if the shift in consumer behavior was indeed lasting – it didn’t necessarily have to be, as people talked about returning to offices. Secondly, the Talkers’ CEO wanted to give customers time to reflect. They could decide whether they wanted to continue learning at the school, but remotely or perhaps prefer to find another place. The majority of them stayed. And the Talkers grew to 1500 students. Today, they offer online language lessons exclusively through the Internet.

Offline to online, it is revolution or evolution?

Wiktor Jodłowski told us that he once sought revolutionary solutions in business. Today, however, he opts for evolution, meaning a slow change, carried out step by step. Therefore, before making a complete transition from offline to online or simply adding this channel to your business, it’s worth looking at your business as a whole.

This is where a tool like the Business Model Canvas comes in handy. It is a template consisting of nine fields representing the most important areas in a company. By filling them out, you can conduct a business analysis of an existing enterprise or formulate hypotheses regarding a new business or, as in this case, a change.

The areas in question are:

Customer segments
Value propositions
Channels
Customer relationships
Revenue streams
Key resources
Key activities
Key partnerships
Cost structure

We mentioned earlier that for businesses embedded in the offline world, the value is in the direct contact with the customer. A customer can walk into a restaurant, choose a table, and order a meal. Knowing this, and with the Business Model Canvas in mind, we can ask ourselves how our business will change in each of the nine areas once we enter the online world. This will make it easier for us to plan the change.

For example, the change regarding “meal deliveries” can be implemented in two ways: through marketplaces like Pyszne.pl and Uber Eats or independently.

In the first case, you need to integrate with a service provider, and in the second, create a system, such as a website, hire drivers, and acquire vehicles. In the first case, you have to share revenue with the service provider, and in the second, take everything but also bear higher investment costs. Which is better? Everyone must decide for themselves, taking into account the current situation and other areas in the company.

Four conclusions

And what can we learn about the transition from offline to online from the stories of the three mentioned firms? Below, we’ve gathered a few conclusions that might be helpful.

Look for business partners

Don’t go through digital transformation alone. Virtual Poland and Jean Louis David didn’t go alone; they sought business partners who helped them change their previous way of operating. As you can see, startups can also be good partners.

Use simple technology

Jean Louis David demonstrated that in a crisis, such as a pandemic, quick action is essential. The company’s online store was up and running in just five days. It’s not a complicated store, but its basic, minimal version was designed to minimize losses during the crisis.”

Communicate with customers individually

Every customer wants to feel special and to be treated individually. When informing 41 customers that they were moving from an offline to an online model, the Talkers acknowledged that they might lose all of their customers. To counteract this, they talked to them individually and offered a better price than before. As a result, out of 41 customers, only one did not want to join online lessons.

Go hybrid

You don’t have to go 100% online. At least not in every dimension. You may want to meet with your employees. You can consider adopting a hybrid work model, as Virtual Poland does. Even in such a large organization you can manage available workspaces efficiently.

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Author: Adam Sawicki
Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Rebiznes.pl, a website with news, interviews, and guides for solo entrepreneurs and online creators. In media since 2014.
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