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Often not. 20 of the 55 businesses I audited had to change their operating model because of Covid, and most of the emergency fixes they put in place in March 2020 were still running unchanged a year or two later. Emergency solutions are built for speed, with free tiers, bolted-on functions and workarounds. For each tool, ask whether you chose it or grabbed it, whether a paid tier would solve problems you are working around, and whether the business has changed since you set it up.
In a hurry, and out of survival rather than strategy. A translation service that delivered 90% of its work face to face suddenly could not, with hardware and files spread across three offices and nothing set up for remote working. A fitness and wellbeing company had just won two large corporate clients for in-person delivery; within weeks it was running sessions on Facebook Live and Google Meet. A clothing retailer went from 50% of sales through its website to over 70% practically overnight, on back-end systems not built for the volume. A training provider had to make online sessions interactive without ever having used Zoom. A theatre company saw a year of work cancelled in a single week and moved to digital performances funded by emergency grants.
Because once they worked, nobody went back. Nearly all of these businesses had adapted, messily and with no plan: Facebook Live became a delivery platform, Zoom a classroom, a basic online shop the main sales channel, WhatsApp the customer service desk. A year or two later those fixes were still running unchanged. The fitness company was still on Facebook Live when a proper platform would have cost less than a hundred pounds a month. The retailer's fulfilment still had manual steps that should have been automated. The training provider was still on free Zoom without the breakout rooms and recording it needed.
Because they were designed for speed. They use free tiers where paid versions would be better, bolt new functions onto platforms not built for them, and rely on workarounds everyone knows are clunky. None of that was wrong at the time: when a business model collapsed overnight, anything that kept revenue coming in was the right answer. It is just not a setup to run a business on indefinitely.
Ask three questions of each tool. Did you choose it, or grab it in a panic? Are you on a free tier when the paid tier would solve problems you are working around, since an upgrade can pay for itself in time saved within the first week? And has the business changed since you set it up: twice the volume, different clients, different delivery? Systems that were right for March 2020 may not be right now.
Related evidence: 55 digital audits. Here’s what I found.. Earlier in this journey: The company that was already winning.
No. When a business model collapsed overnight, anything that kept revenue coming in was the right answer. The problem is leaving the emergency tools in place once there is time to choose properly.
Often. Free tools have limits, and where a paid tier removes a workaround it can pay for itself in time saved within the first week.
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