Digital strategies: supporting companies during the crisis

The GetDigital@IHK congress provides support for digital marketing strategies. The ongoing lockdown poses major challenges for many companies. On 18 March 2021, the IHK Karlsruhe therefore organized a free virtual congress on the topic of the future and digitalization, especially for the target group of trade, services and tourism.

The retail and service sectors must see the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity and prepare for a change in consumer behavior after the crisis with digital concepts. This was the view of Managing Director Andreas Steinle from Zukunftsinstitut Workshop GmbH at the GetDigital@IHK virtual conference organized by the Karlsruhe Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK).

“Small stores in particular need to make themselves more interesting. This can be achieved through advertising, videos and a logistics network for the delivery of goods,” Andreas Steinle continues. According to the communications manager, city centers will change dramatically in the coming years. Larger corporations will increasingly shift their offerings to the Internet and abandon flagship stores in central shopping areas. According to Andreas Steinle, however, there is no reason to panic, because even without such crowd-pullers, smaller stores would not have to fear for their existence. “Perhaps the pure shopping city will die. But city centers will continue to be used for customer loyalty and can be revitalized with new business models,” says Andreas Steinle. The combination of stores and restaurants is just as promising a concept for the future as targeting customers via social media.

GetDigital@IHK is not a flash in the pan

“This congress is not a flash in the pan. After all, we also offer long-term advice on digital strategies,” emphasizes Guido Glania, Managing Director of the Karlsruhe Chamber of Industry and Commerce. There is no way around digitization in the future, even for smaller companies. The corona crisis is therefore at most an accelerator in the transition from analogue to digital concepts.

Retail and gastronomy have been hit particularly hard by the crisis, emphasizes IHK President Wolfgang Grenke. This is why these sectors need to pull together in order to emerge stronger after the end of the pandemic. Functioning concepts to strengthen the retail sector can only be developed together, Grenke continued.

Networking with other experts is an important building block for the Karlsruhe Chamber of Industry and Commerce on its way into the digital age. The IHK is a member of the steering committee of the karlsruhe.digital initiative. Through regular exchange with experts from business, science, culture and administration, innovative concepts can be implemented quickly and unbureaucratically according to the “Karlsruhe principle”.

Industries need digital concepts

According to tourism expert Catharina Fischer, companies in the tourism industry and the hospitality industry must also adapt to people’s changing living conditions and break new ground in terms of customer loyalty. “Working from home is now a reality. People are also much more digitally active than a few years ago,” emphasizes the expert from Tourismuszukunft Realizing Progress GmbH. There will no longer be a “back to normal” because consumers are changing their consumer behavior. “But corona is just one of many factors,” emphasizes Catharina Fischer. Simply waiting for the crisis to end and then carrying on as before is therefore the wrong approach.

Even before the crisis, certain areas of the catering and tourism sectors were increasingly digitized . Ordering food online or booking trips online is convenient and sometimes even saves time. “Social media is also becoming increasingly important,” emphasizes Catharina Fischer. Young people are now finding out more about via Instagram. Hotels and restaurants also need to be found quickly via Google. This also requires functioning digital concepts.