Singapore businesses cope with unusual times

Businesses have had to transform themselves to cope with lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Singapore, these companies went into uncharted territory to reinvent themselves:

Audio House

Source: Audio House. The Audio House showroom.

Audio House is known for selling TVs, washers, fridges, kitchen appliances, air-conditioning units and similar appliances. The company traditionally relies on its showroom and face-to-face interactions with customers to bring in revenues. When the showroom had to close during Singapore's circuit breaker (lockdown), Audio House was forced to find alternative ways to operate.

In order to keep their sales team employed and to help them to gain new job skills, Audio House launched:

 - An Online Concierge service to help their sales people to maintain salaries and commissions, regardless of the actual sales.

- New services like weekly Facebook Live sessions, where their sales team learned how to handle sessions, from admin to operations, and speaking in front of the camera.

Understanding that there are small businesses in Singapore that were forced to shut, and have no access to online sales, Audio House also opened its e-commerce platform to list these businesses' products as well, so that they can have quick access to online sales, and can stay in operations despite the current situation.

The company further offered other products for sale that were outside of their specialty, such as groceries.

YQueue Online

Source: YQueue. A YQueue kiosk in use.

As a queue management platform, YQueue's value proposition is managing long queues and mitigating manpower shortages. When restaurants were forced to shut, ordering and payment solutions provider's service and profits were significantly affected. To help its local food and beverage (F&B) merchants pull through, YQueue offered:

- A two-month fee waiver

- Additional marketing support such as menu photo-taking and video filming

YQueue also added support for merchants in their system during the COVID-19 period. They introduced proximity delivery to offer customers a cheaper delivery alternative. Proximity delivery refers to making deliveries within a specific radius for more predictable delivery costs. An islandwide delivery option in partnership with local delivery partners will be introduced for merchants who prefer it.

Sureclean Cleaning

Source: Sureclean Cleaning. The Germclean disinfectant spray
(left) and Sanihands hand sanitiser (right).

This disinfection company from Singapore had to deal with very volatile demand during the pandemic. Sureclean coped by being the first in Singapore to send its products for independent lab testing. An independent lab in the UK tested found that all of Sureclean's products, including its Sanihands sanitiser, kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

In support of their clients who needed to gain customers and staff confidence, Sureclean provided:

- Certificates and entrance stickers after each disinfection service.

- A complimentary video filming service for their clients on the disinfection that can be used for marketing.

- Sureclean also lowered the rates of their disinfection service.
 
ERA Realty Network 

ERA is a household name in Singapore’s real estate industry, with more than 7,200 salespersons. During the circuit breaker, no physical visits to showflats and units were allowed between ERA agents, buyers, and sellers. ERA's regular in-person trainings and seminars were also cancelled. ERA had to think of alternative ways to conduct their business.

ERA Singapore:

- Launched ERA iRobo Advisor, which provides automated and instant property investment advice. The platform also provides risk assessment analyses for investments.

- Worked closely with developers and provided tools such as the ERApro mobile app and ERA Projects Online Gallery to ensure its agents could continue working seamlessly and help developers to market their projects. With the help of these tools, agents conducted 360^o virtual tours instead of physical viewings.

Jobstreet 

According to a survey by online job board JobStreet during the circuit breaker period, one in four Singaporeans have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many job seekers, from retrenched workers to fresh graduates, are seeking jobs with immediate start dates; some are even taking up part-time work to make ends meet.

JobStreet launched #WorkNow in response to help expedite the job matching process. Job seekers can now indicate that they are immediately available to work. This feature also allows potential employers to identify candidates who are available for urgent employment.

JobStreet further created the COVID-19 Jobs & Resources Hub to feature companies that are hiring amid COVID-19, and to offer relevant hiring advice.