During the COVID-19 pandemic, most businesses have opted to find a digital strategy for their business. This has been driven by customers moving online as a way of staying safe, leading to a shift in transactions to online channels. Some businesses might never go back to their physical operations as online has worked very well for them while some will still need to have a physical location. In the July edition of Unthinkable Masterclass, we hosted Wandia Gichuru, CEO at Vivo Active wear to share with us her experience creating and executing a digital strategy. 

‘Offline will not go away anytime soon, it just has to redefine itself’, says Wandia. With access to digital, the customer is now more informed and more demanding. Now when a customer wants something they expect it to be accessible, affordable, convenient and instant. So the business person has to fill in those gaps with either online or offline or both.

According to Wandia, having both offline and online presence makes a brand stronger. Each has its strengths. In the online space it’s a convenience play, as it enables you to serve customer when they want and anywhere they are. The store however, will allow you to deliver an experience. A customer will go there to experience the product first hand. You can try it on if its clothes, you can have a stylist advice you on what looks good on you and you get to see the texture or material of the product before purchasing it. So the offline for the customer has to be more about the experience while the online space has to be more about convenience. At Vivo, balancing both has proven to be a winning strategy.

Wandia Gichuru, Founder of Vivo Active Wear was a guest at Unthinkable Masterclass in July 2020. Click here to apply for membership in Un.thinkable.