Toronto, Ontario — “The touchless economy isn’t coming, it’s here,” said Daniel Williams, a principal with Pariveda Solutions and digital strategy, implementation, and analytics specialist at the beginning of his presentation to Guild 21.
The online presentation Ready for the Touch-Less Economy: How will we do what we do in a different world? Williams provided Guild 21 members with advice on how to not just survive, but thrive, in an economy that has been moving away from face-to-face contact far longer than it has been social isolating.
“We’re all dealing with the coronavirus situation–and social isolation–around the globe. It is being called the touchless economy,” said Williams. “Regardless of whether the coronavirus hit our world or not, we were already moving toward a touchless, frictionless economy. Look at Alexa. Look at mobile devices that let you order food. It was all about moving toward touchless.”
According to Williams, industry professionals would be wise to look back at the Great Recession for clues on how to succeed.
“The businesses that did increase profits did so by improving corporate partnerships and accessing new technologies,” said Williams. “The lesson for today is to look at your current customer base and think about who you can serve.”
According to Williams, the collision sector is well-placed to succeed–if business owners find ways to broaden their customer base.
“Shops have a lot of skills available to them. Being able to take those skills and figuring out where you can offer more services and build more customers,” said Williams. “You can redefine what markets you are in, your clientele, and what services you do.”
Sponsored by Verifacts, Guild 21 Conference Calls are open to all members of the collision repair industry and the wider automotive claims economy.
The next Guild 21 meeting will be held on June 10.
