#BackToBusiness: Eatfit’s Ankit Nagori on the strategy that needs to be followed to bounce back

Ankit Nagori, co-founder, Eatfit

As brands try to find a sign of semblance post a period of uncertainty, it has become more important than ever to understand and evolve as per changing consumer expectations. From selling goods online to incorporating consumer feedback are some of the ways brands are trying to remain relevant. Ankit Nagori, co-founder, Eatfit, talks about how brands and agencies can engage with their consumers–

On the playbook, brands and agencies need to adopt in the new normal

In the current times, brands need to keep in mind that customer behaviour and preferences have changed a lot in the last one year. In most cases, customers have been primarily indoors with very little outbound travel. In such cases, it is important to talk about at home-experiences and showcase smaller groups in all visual content. Also, a lot of out-of-home entertainment is replaced by at-home entertainment. Hence, product solutions also have to be designed keeping that in mind.

On the gradual return of the business – how much of its restored and the new trends which can be spotted compared to pre-Covid times

For businesses that are in-person, by Feb-March, 50-60% recovery was being noticed. With the onset of the second wave, which is even larger than the last one, numbers have again dropped to 35-40% recovery. Brands will have to plan to move a lot of revenue to at-home services and experiences for the next few quarters to make their business more robust.

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On how brands can create at-home meaningful experiences for consumers

For different categories, different strategies are being deployed. Products which are e-commerce friendly are moving to home deliveries as a primary model. This applies to food and grocery as well. Businesses that were more interactive in nature have now shifted to video-based learning, examples would be fitness training, extra curricular coaching, K12 coaching among others. Many services are now being offered at home – salon, physiotherapy, medical consultations as well as others. There are businesses which may not be able to offer any of the above and will have a tough time during these Covid peaks.

On the contribution of online versus offline outlets and how brands can make the most of the shift towards digital

Brands which have business model synergies with digital or at-home fulfilment should adopt a digital first approach. All communications have to be tailored to drive digital business. Social media content plays a big role in driving digital adoption and storytelling. Even with brands that have lower synergies with digital, the first approach has to be an omni-channel approach. Post- pandemic too, a lot of these changes will be permanent. It is best for brands to start moving business models in that direction, through adoption of tech and use of social media channels for storytelling.

On how your category has evolved and the steps to be undertaken by brands to connect within tier 2, tier 3, markets and beyond

Our food business had an online delivery part of it and a dine-in part to it. In the last 12 months, our dine-in part has become almost zero and we are focussed on getting online delivery only. Even online deliveries are at 50% of pre-Covid numbers since a lot of people have moved out of metro cities to their respective hometowns. But, we are seeing a steady improvement in online delivery numbers. In 12 months, we should be at 70-75% of pre-covid numbers. The key here is to create a top experience for customers who are ordering in, across dishes.

Read Also: #BackToBusiness: ABND’s Maulik Chandarana on the strategy that needs to be followed to bounce back

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