The Post-Pandemic Business

Playbook: Customer-Centric Solutions

to Help Your Firm Grow Ofer Mintz
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 — Learn the Tactics that Helped Hundreds
of Executives Worldwide —

POST-
THE
PANDEMIC
BUSINESS
PLAYBOOK
C US T OM ER- C EN T R IC SOLU T IONS
T O H ELP YOU R F I R M G ROW

BY OFER MINTZ, PHD

The Post-Pandemic Business Playbook
 Ofer Mintz

The Post-Pandemic
Business Playbook
Customer-Centric Solutions to Help
Your Firm Grow
Ofer Mintz
UTS Business School
University of Technology Sydney
Sydney, NSW, Australia

ISBN 978-981-16-5867-9    ISBN 978-981-16-5868-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5868-6

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--- To all those seeking advice on how to get their businesses to succeed in the
pandemic and post-pandemic new normal
 Acknowledgments

This is a book I wish I did not have to write. In addition, this is a book I
never would have predicted that I would write. However, once it became
apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic was causing tragic health effects
that also resulted in devastating economic effects, I really wanted to help
out in the best way I could. Since I do not possess any medical or epide-
miologist experience or training, I quickly realized that I could not help
lessen COVID-19’s health ramifications. Instead, based on my back-
ground as a business school professor, I believed that I could provide firms
business strategy advice by providing recommendations for how to pro-
ceed through the pandemic and succeed post-pandemic.
Thus, in March 2020, I reached out to Rohit Deshpande and Imran
Currim, co-authors of mine from Harvard Business School and the
University of California, Irvine, respectively, to write a short article based
on research we had been conducting on customer-centric efforts around
the world. Rohit, rightfully, suggested we re-focus this research article to
more directly address how and which customer-centric efforts will help
businesses get through the pandemic. We then collectively presented this
research to more than 350 C-Level executives (primarily chief executive
officers [CEOs]) from around the world and published a short article in
Forbes and Harvard Business School Working Knowledge Series. The reac-
tion to this research actually stunned us. Executives truly appreciated and
thanked us for this work unlike what we had encountered in previous
research. The main reason expressed to us was our research offered a
“hopeful” specific path forward based on the fundamental

vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

customer-centric principles that help explain the why, what, and how firms
should move forward.
We considered writing a book at that point in April 2020 based on the
accumulated research, analyses, and examples we had collected. However,
we, like most others, assumed that the world would recover from the pan-
demic quickly. Unfortunately, as we all now know, this did not occur, and
the pandemic spread, persisted, and then started to wane in some coun-
tries. As a result, a “new reality” of customer behavior had emerged and it
became evident that firms were unclear on how to best proceed and adjust
to the new reality.
Based on strong encouragement from business contacts of mine, in
addition to family and friends, I decided to write this book focusing on the
customer-centric principles firms should employ for the COVID-19 new
customer and economic normal. The book was written between June
2020 and May 2021, so I apologize in advance if the global health, finan-
cial, and political environment has unexpectedly changed after the book
was written. The book’s initial foundation is the research conducted in
collaboration with Imran Currim and Rohit Deshpande, which I consider-
ably extended by adding managerial and consumer interviews, aca-
demic research, industry examples, and analyses.
Finally, I want to acknowledge my sincerest appreciation to Imran
Currim and Rohit Deshpande who encouraged me to expand our initial
short article into a detailed book. Further, I thank my amazing research
assistant Eldrin Hermoso, who did such great work that I could not have
written the book without him. I also thank the many other friends, family,
and colleagues that encouraged me to write the book and provided great
support throughout the book writing process. In addition, I thank all
those firms and customers who were so generous with their time
and allowed me to interview them to help provide “scene setting” exam-
ples for the book. And, of course, I must thank my wife Melanie, as this
book would not have been written without her literally doing everything
she could to help out, and my kids, Ari, Dylan, and Isaac (and dog Zoey),
who provided endless entertainment and support regardless of my own
progress on the book.
 Abstract

COVID-19 forced a dramatic change to customer behavior unlike what most

people and firms have ever experienced in their lifetimes. This has created a major
opportunity for firms to acquire new customers and establish better relationships
with current customers. To capitalize on this opportunity, The Post-Pandemic
Business Playbook provides readers easy-to-employ actionable recommendations
based on fundamentals from academic research and best practice examples from
around the world. As validated by hundreds of top-level executives, The Post-
Pandemic Business Playbook enables readers to employ the author’s customer-
centric growth solutions and COUNTER COVID framework to help firms
succeed during and after the pandemic.

ix
 Contents

1 Introduction  1
References  13

2 Section One Introduction: How and Why the COVID-19

Economic Crisis Occurred? A Customer Behavior-based
Perspective 15
References  18

3 Five Phases for How Customer Behavior Changed in

Response to COVID-19 19
Phase One: Panic!  21
Phase Two: Adjustment to Lockdown  25
Phase Three: The Re-opening  30
Phase Four: Persistence  34
Phase Five: New Normal  39
Summary  42
References  44

4 Psychological and Economic Explanations for Why the

COVID-19 Economic Crisis Occurred 49
Psychological Explanation  49
Economic Explanation  53
Summary and the Path Forward  60
References  61

xi
xii Contents

5 Section Two Introduction: Customer-centric Growth

Strategies 63
Reference  66

6 An Opportunity Unlike Ever Before 67

Why Your Business Needs to Employ a Customer-centric Strategy  72
Customer-centric Growth Strategies: An Overview  74
References  75

7 First Quadrant: Status Quo Growth Strategy

(It’s Obsolete) 79
Summary  79
Reference  80

8 Second Quadrant: New Customer Markets 81

Customer-centric Growth Strategies to Expand Current
Customer Markets  83
Customer-centric Growth Strategies to Shift to New
Customer Markets  86
Summary  89
References  91

9 Third Quadrant: New Products 93

Customer-centric New Product Strategies for Businesses to
Sustain in the Short Term  95
Customer-centric New Product Strategies for Businesses to
Create Sustained Advantages in the Long Term  98
Summary 102
References 103

10 Fourth Quadrant: Diversify Simultaneously into New

Markets with New or Modified Products107
Opportunity-Forced Customer-centric Growth Strategies 108
Opportunity-Sensing Customer-centric Strategies 111
Opportunity-Collaboration Customer-centric Growth Strategies 113
Summary 116
References 116
 Contents  xiii

11 Section Three Introduction: The COUNTER COVID

Customer-centric Framework Your Firm Needs to
Employ NOW119
Reference 122

12 Create Emotional Connections to CREATES Loyalty123

Connections 127
Reassurance 133
Training 136
Ensure Safety 139
Summary 143
References 145

13 Demonstrate Product Value151

Offer Financial Value 154
Induce Trial 160
Employ Payment Options 164
Introduce Product Versioning 168
Summary 173
References 174

14 Extend Digital Footprint179

Simplify the Digital Experience 183
Engage in Meaningful Digital Relationships 188
Proactively Go to Customers via Digital Marketing 195
Summary 199
References 201

15 Conclusion207
The Starting Point: Understanding Your Customers 208
The Big-Picture: Growth Strategies to Take Advantage
of an Opportunity Unlike Ever Before 209
The Everyday: The COUNTER COVID Framework to
Guide your Customer Interactions 211
Final Words 213

Index215
 List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 US unemployment claims from 01/01/1950–04/01/2021.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021), Unemployment
Level [UNEMPLOY], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve
Bank of St. Louis 2
Fig. 1.2 British GDP from 01/1997–06/2020. Source: UK Office of
National Statistics, GDP monthly estimate (2020), Licensed
under the Open Government License v.1.0 3
Fig. 1.3 Year-over-year industry growth in the US between the end of
2019 and the end of 2020. Source: US Bureau of Economic
Analysis (2021) 4
Fig. 1.4 Year-over-year GDP change between the end of 2019 and the
end of 2020. Source: OECD (2021), Quarterly GDP
(indicator), doi: 10.1787/b86d1fc8-en 7
Fig. 2.1 Total consumer spending year-over-year. Source: Earnest
Research and Fable Data (2021) 17
Fig. 2.2 Customer behavior changes observed by US Chief Marketing
Officers. Source: The CMO Survey Highlights and Insights
Report (June-2020): https://cmosurvey.org/ 17
Fig. 3.1 The five phases of changes in customer behavior due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Source: Author 20
Fig. 3.2 Percent change in US small business revenue during panic
phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Womply (2021) 22
Fig. 3.3 Year-over-year US sales growth by vertical during pre-
pandemic and panic phases. Source: Earnest Research (2021) 24
Fig. 3.4 Percent change in number of US small businesses open during
lockdown phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Womply
(2020)26

xv
xvi List of Figures

Fig. 3.5 Year-over-year US sales growth by subsector during panic and

lockdown phases. Source: Earnest Research (2020) 28
Fig. 3.6 Slower growth in digital advertisements during lockdown
phase. Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia
(2021)28
Fig. 3.7 Year-over-year US sales growth by vertical through re-opening
phase. Source: Earnest Research (2020) 31
Fig. 3.8 Percent change in job postings in the US through the
re-opening phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Burning
Glass (2020) 32
Fig. 3.9 Percent change in US consumer spending through the
re-opening phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Affinity
Solutions (2020) 32
Fig. 3.10 Economic impact of COVID-19 through re-opening phase.
Sources: Visual Capitalist, US Bureau of Economic Analysis,
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, University of Michigan,
and US Department of the Treasury (2020) 34
Fig. 3.11 Percent change in time spent outside the home in the US
through the persistence phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights
and Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports (2021) 35
Fig. 3.12 COVID-19’s K-shaped financial impact. Sources: Visual
Capitalist and Opportunity Insights (2020) 36
Fig. 3.13 Percent change in US small business revenue through the
persistence phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Womply
(2021)38
Fig. 3.14 Percent change in US employment through the persistence
phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Kronos (2021) 38
Fig. 3.15 Percent change in US small business revenue in new normal
phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Womply (2021) 40
Fig. 3.16 Percent change in US consumer spending in new normal
phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Affinity Solutions
(2021)41
Fig. 4.1 Customer hierarchy of needs focus pre- and during
COVID. Source: Author modified Maslow’s (1954) Hierarchy
of Needs Pyramid 50
Fig. 4.2 Australian household saving ratio over time. Sources:
foreseechange and Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021) 51
Fig. 4.3 Australian consumers AUD $1000 disposable income
allocation in November 2020. Source: foreseechange (2021) 51
Fig. 4.4 Supply and demand pre-COVID-19. Source: Author 54
Fig. 4.5 Reduction in demand for non-essential products during panic
and lockdown phases. Source: Author 54
 List of Figures  xvii

Fig. 4.6 Supply and demand for non-essential products during panic
and lockdown phases. Source: Author 55
Fig. 4.7 Supply and demand for non-essential products during
re-opening and persistence phases. Source: Author 55
Fig. 4.8 Supply and demand for non-essential products during
post-pandemic new normal phase. Source: Author 57
Fig. 4.9 Supply and demand for essential products during panic phase.
Source: Author 58
Fig. 4.10 Supply and demand for essential products during re-opening
and persistence phases. Source: Author 59
Fig. 4.11 Supply and demand for essential products during post-
pandemic new normal phase. Source: Author 59
Fig. 6.1 Global marketing budgets through June 2020. Source: WARC
Global Marketing Index Report (2020) 69
Fig. 6.2 Marketing budgets through June 2020 by region. Source:
WARC Global Marketing Index Report (2020) 69
Fig. 6.3 Global ad market purchasing power parity in 2020 (nominal
values). Source: WARC Global Marketing Index Report (2021) 70
Fig. 6.4 Global marketing budgets through December 2020. Source:
WARC Global Marketing Index Report (2021) 70
Fig. 6.5 Global marketing budgets by medium. Source: WARC Global
Marketing Index Report (2021) 71
Fig. 6.6 Level of improvisation vs. experimentation by marketers.
Source: The CMO Survey Highlights and Insights Report
(June-2020): https://cmosurvey.org/ 71
Fig. 6.7 Growth strategies to adjust to a new directional reality. Source:
Author; see also Deshpandé et al. (2020) 74
Fig. 8.1 Balancing customer markets based on customer demand.
Source: Author 83
Fig. 8.2 Expand current customer market growth strategy.
Source: Author 84
Fig. 8.3 Expand to new customer market growth strategy.
Source: Author 87
Fig. 11.1 How customer behavior changed by sector according to US
CMOs. Source: The CMO Survey Highlights and Insights
Report (June-2020): https://cmosurvey.org/ 120
Fig. 11.2 Customer’s top three priorities according to US CMOs.
Source: The CMO Survey Highlights and Insights Report
(June-2020): https://cmosurvey.org/ 120
Fig. 11.3 The COUNTER COVID Framework. Source: Author 121
Fig. 12.1 The CREATES Loyalty Framework. Source: Author 126
xviii List of Figures

Fig. 12.2 Weekly US foot traffic growth compared to two years prior
(pre-­pandemic). Source: Earnest Research (2021) 140
Fig. 13.1 Pandemic’s effect on personal finances. Sources: Visual
Capitalist and doxoINSIGHTS Bills Pay Impact Report (2020) 153
Fig. 13.2 Demonstrate product value tactics. Source: Author 154
Fig. 13.3 Household saving rates in four countries. Sources: Visual
Capitalist, Eurostat, US Federal Reserve Bank, UK Office
for National Statistics (2021) 156
Fig. 13.4 Number of dwellings financed—first home buyers for owner
occupation. Sources: foreseechange and Australian Bureau of
Statistics (2021) 157
Fig. 14.1 Retail online and in-store year-over-year spending in the UK,
Germany, and the US. Sources: Earnest Research and Fable
Data (2021) 182
Fig. 14.2 Expand digital footprint tactics. Source: Author 183
Fig. 14.3 Global digital and mobile marketing budgets. Source: WARC
Global Marketing Index Report (2021) 196
Fig. 14.4 Australian online advertising expenditures, by category.
Source: IAB Australia (2021) 196
Fig. 14.5 Cost-per-mille (thousand impressions) on Facebook. Source:
Gupta Media (2021) 197
Fig. 15.1 Summary of The Post-Pandemic Playbook. Source: Author 213
 List of Images

Image 8.1 Destination New South Wales promotional material 88

Image 9.1 Funrise Toys’ trolley 97
Image 9.2 Camilla retail store in Sydney, Australia 99
Image 10.1 Cover-More’s new app (called Freely) 113
Image 12.1 Your Food Collective’s emotionally connecting packaging 129
Image 13.1 Riff Raff’s referral program communications 159
Image 13.2 Kinu Coaching Masterclass example 162
Image 13.3 Cover-More’s cancel for any reason offer 167
Image 13.4 Your Food Collective’s Almost Perfect Box 172
Image 14.1 Easy Signs’ homepage 184
Image 14.2 Riff Raff’s Meet the Team webpage 190

xix
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

“The scope and speed of this downturn are without modern precedent,
significantly worse than any recession since World War II. We’re seeing a
severe decline in economic activity and employment, and already the job
gains from the last decade have been reversed. Well more than 20 million
people have lost their jobs and recent Fed research shows that what others
have also found, that people earning less are the ones being hardest hit. This
reversal of economic fortune has caused a level of pain that is hard to capture
in words, as lives are upended amid great uncertainty about the future.”
– Jerome Powell, chair, US Federal Reserve1

The COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for the world. Millions
of people have been infected and countless tragic deaths have occurred. Its
effect on public health and customer behavior cannot be overstated.
Customers’ desire to be safe resulted in a volatility in purchases and pro-
ductivity across an idiosyncratic number of product categories. Government
imposed quarantines, isolation periods, and closures of physical stores and
offices further forced changes to customer behaviors and, hence, business
behaviors. This initially resulted not in a traditional recession but in a
“deaccession”: supply existed, demand existed, but customers’ ACCESS
no longer existed as before, and this made customers less ABLE to spend.
Over time, customers were also forced to deal with the financial impact of
an uncertain economic situation, which created monetary budget con-
straints (real or perceived) and made customers less WILLING to spend.
Consequently, in contrast to past economic crises that were financially

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
O. Mintz, The Post-Pandemic Business Playbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5868-6_1
2 O. MINTZ

driven (e.g., the Global Financial Crisis, the Savings and Loans Crisis, the
Middle East Oil Crisis, and the Great Depression), the fundamental driver
of the COVID-19 economic crisis has been health and safety concerns
and, hence, changes to customer behavior.
The pandemic resulted in a type of economic crisis not witnessed by
anyone alive. The seismic shift in customer behavior and the economy
forced organizations of all sizes across nearly all industries to struggle with
how to adapt to the new economic and customer-based reality. Businesses,
the public, and governments were confused and lacked direction. The
result was the UK suffered its worst drop in economic productivity in a
year since 1709 (Nelson 2021), with a drop by 20% in April 2020 alone
(Office for National Statistics 2020). Australia entered its first recession in
more than 29 years (Janda 2020). Five million Chinese lost their jobs in
January and February 2020 (Cheng 2020). Moreover, 36 million
Americans filed for unemployment benefits between March and May 2020
(Cohen and Hsu 2020). The unemployment rates of Italy (Reuters 2020),
Israel (The Times of Israel 2020), South Africa (Charles 2020), Brazil
(McGeever 2020), India (The Hindu 2020), and many other countries
quickly topped 10% and often eclipsed 25% (Figs. 1.1 and 1.2).
To add to this, despite initial hopes for a quick return to normal, the
pandemic persisted and the COVID-forced economic and customer real-
ity created a new normal. The positive effects of government programs
such as stimulus payments, business assistance loan packages, job keeper
programs, and unemployment benefits all waned as time went on and
governments became less able and willing to fund such programs. This

Fig. 1.1 US unemployment claims from 01/01/1950–04/01/2021. Source:

US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021), Unemployment Level [UNEMPLOY],
retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
 1 INTRODUCTION 3

Fig. 1.2 British GDP from 01/1997–06/2020. Source: UK Office of National

Statistics, GDP monthly estimate (2020), Licensed under the Open Government
License v.1.0

created a drastic overall shift in customer behavior resulting from custom-

ers’ psychologically based concerns about their safety in addition to
economic-­based financial constraints on their spending. So what started as
a shorter-termed, customer-based deaccession became a longer-termed,
customer-based financial recession.
Further, the pandemic’s financial impact on businesses appeared to be
K-shaped. On the one hand, customers’ fears made them reluctant to pur-
chase many types of services, such as in the entertainment, travel, and
restaurant industries, and resulted in a considerable drop in sales for the
majority of these services. On the other hand, many customers were stuck
at home and possessed greater disposable incomes from not spending as
much on services, so the sales of many durable goods, such as in the hous-
ing, automobile, and information systems industries, skyrocketed. The
overall effect was that customers became price sensitive for a number of
product categories, while they became price insensitive about others, and
some industries and product categories experienced decreasing demand,
while other industries and product categories experienced increased
demand (Fig. 1.3).
Now, with COVID vaccines starting to be distributed world-wide, we
are entering a post-pandemic environment. Thus, firms and customers are
dreaming of leaving the pandemic behind. Many of the services firms that
experienced decreased demand are hoping for a boom in customer expen-
ditures. However, it will not be that simple. Customers have established
new shopping habits. New products have been developed. Competitors
have adjusted. And battle scars will remain.
4 O. MINTZ

Fig. 1.3 Year-over-year industry growth in the US between the end of 2019 and
the end of 2020. Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis (2021)

In contrast, many of the firms selling goods that experienced increased

product demand possess considerable anxiety about their customers’ willing-
ness to purchase at the same rate going forward. In addition, all firms need to
cope with continually disrupted supply chains and staffing shortages that are
hindering firms’ ability to match supply with increased customer demand.
Hence, the post-­pandemic competitive environment is unlikely to directly
resemble either the pre-pandemic environment or the pandemic environment.
Taken together, it is evident that great uncertainty exists for firms in the
post-pandemic economic environment. For example, Box 1.1 located at
the end of the chapter provides four cases from firms around the world,
which characterize scenarios that resemble what many firms are experienc-
ing. And based on these four case examples, and the many related exam-
ples that are occurring around the world, it is not surprising that many
firms have expressed uncertainty and a feeling of helplessness about what
to do next. They are seeking help and seeking this help quickly.
This book provides that help by proposing customer-centric recommen-
dations and guidance. It provides a strategic framework that firms need to
employ for the post-­pandemic new reality, which was developed by (i) ana-
lyzing hundreds of best (and worst) practices from before, during, and after
the pandemic, (ii) reviewing over a thousand academic research papers, and
(iii) interviewing over a hundred customers and managers from around the
world. The book also expands on research I conducted with Rohit
Deshpande from Harvard Business School and Imran Currim from the
Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, that
 1 INTRODUCTION 5

was published in Forbes, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge Series,

and Smart Company. That initial research was collectively presented by my
co-author team to hundreds of C-Level executives (primarily chief execu-
tive officers) from around the world, and the level extent of gratitude and
appreciation was greater than for almost practically any other research we
had conducted. According to the executives, the main reason for their
appreciation was the specific nature of the advice for how their firms should
move forward based on academically grounded customer-centric recom-
mendations. This feedback, in addition to feedback from others in industry
and government, inspired me to write this book.
My primary objective in writing this book is to provide specific, detailed
guidance to the many firms that are seeking assistance in navigating
through the pandemic and post-pandemic new economic and customer
reality. Hence, the book provides easy takeaways that readers can immedi-
ately employ to help guide their firm’s everyday practices and overall strat-
egies. To enable an easier understanding of the book’s core contents, I
make heavy use of narratives from both a business and customer point of
view, examples from businesses across the globe, and recommendations
derived from years of academic research. Further, the book enables readers
to develop a greater understanding of fundamental principles of customer
behavior and customer-centric solutions for growth.
The book’s proposed framework is presented in three interconnected
sections. The first section begins by examining how COVID-19 forced
customer behavior to change from pre-pandemic norms, with an empha-
sis on how COVID forced such changes through five different phases
(i.e., panic, lockdown, re-opening, persistence, and the new normal). The
section then describes the psychology behind why the shift in customer
behavior occurred, in particular by detailing why the majority of custom-
ers switched their shopping strategies from a hedonic, enjoyment-focused
strategy to a utilitarian, goals-based strategy. The section concludes by
providing an economic-analysis for why the shift in customer behavior has
affected customer demand and industry supply, and what this economic
shift means for firms going forward.
The second section builds on the first section by detailing the unique
growth opportunities available to businesses. It accomplishes this by
describing the new post-pandemic directional reality firms must employ,
which are based on growth strategies that overcome customers’ lack of
demand and financial constraints. Further, the second section describes
6 O. MINTZ

the importance for firms to adjust to this post-pandemic new directional

reality by employing a customer-centric approach based on fundamentals
of customer behavior, experimentation, and fast-failing, rather than a “bad
hoc” improvisational approach. The section concludes by detailing in indi-
vidual chapters how growth can be achieved: firms must target under-
served new customer markets with their existing products, target current
markets but with modified or new products, or target underserved new
customer markets with modified or new products.
The third section details my proposed COUNTER COVID frame-
work that firms should immediately employ to better navigate their every-
day interactions with their customers’ new behavior. The COUNTER
COVID framework focuses on three customer-centric tactics. The first
details how firms need to create emotional connections with their cus-
tomers. The second discusses the importance for firms to demonstrate
their value to their customers. The third describes how firms should
expand their digital footprints to better reach their customers. Together,
the C[ount]E[r] CO + V[i] + D based three customer-centric tactics cre-
ate the COUNTER COVID framework. The third section also pro-
vides firms actionable recommendations within individual chapters on the
COUNTER COVID framework. For example, the book describes strate-
gies for how and why firms should provide reassurance, training, and
safety, increase customer trial and retention, and employ more efficient
digital strategies.
Overall, the book’s three sections emphasize that because the pandemic-­
based economic crisis was largely driven by changes in customer behavior,
firms cannot operate in the post-pandemic environment as they did pre-­
pandemic or even as they did during the pandemic. Instead, times have
changed and a new normal for customer behavior has emerged.
Consequently, the post-pandemic new normal requires firms to go to their
customers to win them back; and to win their customers back requires
developing customer-centric strategies adapted to the post-pandemic eco-
nomic and customer-based reality. Hence, readers of this book should gain
a better understanding of the interconnected customer-­centric framework
firms should employ post-pandemic. Readers of the book should also
learn how to make their own firms enact better everyday customer-centric
firm practices and big-picture overall customer-centric firm strategies tai-
lored to the post-pandemic new customer normal.
 1 INTRODUCTION 7

4.0%
2.3%
1.8%
2.0%

0.0%

-1.0%
-2.0%
-2.1%
-2.5%
-4.0% -3.5% -3.3%
-4.1% -4.1%
-4.8% -4.7% -4.7%
-6.0% -5.4%
-6.1%
-6.6%
-7.0% -6.9%
-8.0%
-8.2% -8.1%
-8.9%
-10.0%
-9.8%

Fig. 1.4 Year-over-year GDP change between the end of 2019 and the end of
2020. Source: OECD (2021), Quarterly GDP (indicator), doi: 10.1787/
b86d1fc8-en

Finally, prior to proceeding to the next chapter, I must include one

important caveat. I am a business school professor whose research, teach-
ing, and engagement with industry focuses on marketing, strategy, and
technology. I am not a medical professional, so I do not try to predict how
COVID-19 will continue to affect the world’s health. I also do not intend
to trivialize the health ramifications experienced by people all over the
world; it is tragic and words cannot express the terrible personal loss of
those affected by COVID-19. Instead, I focus this book on my areas of
expertise to provide specific, actionable, and usable customer-centric strat-
egies to help businesses navigate through and past the economic crisis. We
all hope for a speedy recovery and yearn for a healthy and economically
strong post-pandemic era.
8 O. MINTZ

Box 1.1 Case Studies for the Introduction

1) Head for the Cure:

Head for the Cure, a US-based non-profit organization dedicated

to increasing brain cancer awareness and providing hope for those
that are involved in the brain cancer community, had come off a
record-breaking fundraising year in 2019. Its beginning of 2020 had
also started off quite strong and the non-profit was enthusiastic
about its expected growth for the rest of 2020. The reason was Head
for the Cure’s 5k races held across the country were increasingly suc-
cessful and expected to deliver continuous growth in donations for
the non-profit.
In February 2020, Head for the Cure was gearing up for one of
their biggest fundraising activities, the Central Texas 5k Race held
annually in late March in Austin. About COVID, Jenna Heilman,
Head for the Cure’s executive director, told me that at that time: “It
was unknown. We thought it was going to be something similar to
SARS where it stayed in China primarily and maybe some cases in some
communities…but we never predicted that it was going to cross the
coasts [of] and across the United States.” Ms. Heilman then stated that
once COVID started affecting US communities, all of a sudden “within
a couple of days everything started shutting down all around us.” This,
according to Ms. Heilman, affected Head for the Cure because the
non-profit had to “deal with brain cancer patients, so we have a very
immune comprised group of people who are fighting for their lives,
and how do we do this safely, but also knowing that the lifeline of Head
for the Cure is through these donations.” As a result, Ms. Heilman said
Head for the Cure was “struggling for how to continue to serve the
population but also knowing how to continue the organization as a
whole, knowing that roughly 80-85% of our funds raised come from
5k [races].”
Hence, similar to many firms around the world, Head for the
Cure was trying to assess how the pandemic would impact its firm,
with Ms. Heilman stating: “What does this mean for our foundation,
our donors’ capacity as people are getting laid off. It was really hec-
tic, and it was a lot of unknowns. You don’t know what you don’t

(continued)
 1 INTRODUCTION 9

Box 1.1 (continued)

know until you don’t know it, but no one knew anything so there
was no end in sight, no easy fix, no easy solution.”
In response, Ms. Heilman described Head for the Cure felt forced to
push forward through this difficult time because “people will still be
getting diagnosed with brain tumors…and that won’t stop.” To get
through the initial phase of COVID, Head for the Cure created a modi-
fied minimal viable type product: a virtual race that featured one of their
founders running through Austin with narration provided by the Head
for the Cure team.
But Head for the Cure knew more was needed to adapt to their
customers’ new behaviors. First, it conducted in-depth research
involving customers from all over the US to figure out how to best
adjust its operations. Then, as the pandemic persisted, Head for the
Cure continued to improve and tailor its products based on those
customer driven insights. The resulting customer-centric based
changes were extremely successful for Head for the Cure: the non-
profit was able to achieve its third highest overall gross fundraising
year in its history and provide greater net funding to its local benefi-
ciaries than ever before!
However, Head for the Cure, like many firms around the world, is
now asking what to do next? As vaccines became readily available in
the US, should the firm continue with the strategies it employed
throughout the COVID period? Or should Head for the Cure revert
back to their pre-­pandemic strategies? In addition, Head for the Cure
faced a worker exhaustion problem similar to many firms around the
world, which would also limit how much the non-profit could con-
tinue with the exact same strategies as employed during COVID. For
example, Ms. Heilman described how much “fatigue has hit” the
non-profit’s employees and she resigned from Head for the Cure in
June 2021 shortly after our the conclusion of our interviews.
Further, while many employees at the Head for the Cure and many
of its customers were excited about the prospect of resuming live in-
person races, the firm also understood its customers had changed
their behaviors and expectations, and Head for the Cure had success-
fully modified its products to match those changes. Thus, it is evident
that Head for the Cure, like many other firms, needs to commit to

(continued)
10 O. MINTZ

Box 1.1 (continued)

some kind of hybrid model, but what strategic framework should they
employ to create this model? This book provides a customer-centric
based framework to help guide firms such as Head for the Cure make
their strategic and everyday tactical decisions.

2) Cover-More Group:

In April 2020, Cara Morton was appointed CEO of the Cover-

More Group, which is a Zurich Insurance subsidiary and a global
leader in the travel insurance industry with brands such as Cover-
More, Travelex, Halo, Blue, and Universal Assistance. Despite Ms.
Morton’s noteworthy experience in leading business transformation,
digital innovation, and customer-centric business design, which led
to her appointment as Group CEO, she took over the position at a
precarious time for the travel industry that no one’s experience could
have provided sufficient experience. Demand for travel and travel
insurance were nearly halted, so the firm was not earning almost any
revenue. Customers were asking for refunds for trip cancellations,
which would require significant outward expenses, although Cover-
More was not liable to provide such refunds. And, no one in the
industry was quite certain about how the travel industry would
evolve once the pandemic subsided.
Thus, Cover-More knew its customers’ travel purchase decisions
would be very different than what they were pre-pandemic, and this
required the firm to consider a major re-design for the products,
services, and customer markets served. Consequently, Ms. Morton
described the situation as: “There’s nothing like a once-in-a-century
pandemic to test your resolve and capability as a leader. Especially, if
you are leading a global travel insurance and assistance group—when
no one can actually travel!”
Hence, Ms. Morton described to me the importance of creating
a business strategy for Cover-More, which similar to many firms
around the world, needed to “focus on two core things, and do
them incredibly well.” First, Ms. Morton stated that Cover-More
had to “take action to ensure our business could sustain the worst of
the pandemic.” This required Cover-­ More to make difficult

(continued)
 1 INTRODUCTION 11

Box 1.1 (continued)

decisions about how to manage its costs and expenditures, with a
major focus on how to invest in building its relationship with its
customers. For example, Ms. Morton told me that Cover-More
decided to provide full refunds to its customers “to invest in future
customer goodwill, especially when there was widespread dissatisfac-
tion with travel insurance.” Second, Ms. Morton, stated: “In tan-
dem, we had to prepare for what global travel would look like, and
what real value we could offer to customers as the world began to
emerge from the global pandemic.” Thus, Ms. Morton added that
the firm “concentrated on customer-­ centric product design and
development, and distribution, including an acceleration into digital
and direct [marketing].”
To accomplish this, Ms. Morton stated that Cover-More engaged in
months of research on pre-pandemic claims processes, examined cus-
tomer feedback on various aspects of the business, and used social
media analytics to identify future trends and better understand past
decision pain points that often stopped customers from purchasing
travel insurance. The outcome of these efforts, Ms. Morton explained,
were intended to provide Cover-­More a competitive advantage in the
post-pandemic economy by offering “a new benchmark of traveler care
and protection—when travel started to resume.”
Of course, the difficulty for Cover-More, and the many similar
firms around the world expecting a surge in demand post-pandemic
but were experiencing decreased demand during the pandemic, is to
establish a well-thought out framework to guide their post-pandemic
business strategies and everyday tactical decisions; topics this book
address.

3) Funrise Toys

Funrise Toys is a US-based multinational toy manufacturer that

sells popular kids toys such as Gazillion Bubbles, Hero Drive, Fart
Ninjas, and Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, in addition to manu-
facturing a number of licensed toys such as Caterpillar-branded con-
struction vehicles. Ami Shapiro, Funrise’s director of global design
and development, described to me that COVID “was on the radar as

(continued)
12 O. MINTZ

Box 1.1 (continued)

a company” and the firm “saw it coming [to the US and the rest of
the world]” since a significant portion of Funrise’s workforce resided
in China and Southeast Asia, and also because many of Funrise’s
executives had directly experienced SARS while residing in Hong
Kong. This led Funrise to be better prepared for the transition to
when its employees would be forced to work from home.
In addition, Funrise was fortunate to be part of an industry that
experienced an unprecedented boom in sales as customers repeat-
edly purchased and stockpiled toys during the pandemic. Mr.
Shapiro, explained the industry’s success as: “People were stuck at
home. The kids were stuck at home and they needed more activity
while they were stuck at home. So parents spent more money on
buying toys.” Yet, Mr. Shapiro described the overall boom in toy
purchases during the pandemic as something that most people in his
industry did not expect, in particular because of lagging sales in the
first couple months of the pandemic. Mr. Shapiro also added that toy
sales success were a “big surprise” that led to industry’s “best season
on record”, with retailer customers all “wanting product” since most
toys were selling out.
However, according to Mr. Shapiro, despite the success of the toy
industry during the pandemic, the primary question asked by Funrise
and the entire toy industry was: what will happen to demand for toys
once the pandemic subsides and people are not staying at home to
the same extent? Further, Mr. Shapiro also stressed a secondary
question that lingered about the post-pandemic future: how to best
tailor Funrise’s products to cater to customers’ now online domi-
nant shopping behavior, which created different preferred price points
and required different product differentiation than traditional in-
store shopping? The answer, as discussed throughout the book, lies
in developing and implementing customer-centric strategies that
generate customer loyalty to the firm.

4) Colour Tech Coatings

Colour Tech Coatings, an Indian-based paints manufacturer,

confronted a different type of dilemma. Abhisheik Maddeti, Colour

(continued)
 1 INTRODUCTION 13

Box 1.1 (continued)

Tech’s managing director, told me that once India emerged from
lockdown “the prices of the raw materials were rock bottom.” This
initially enabled his firm to capitalize on those low costs to earn
better overall profit margins per customer from its paint sales.
However, Mr. Maddeti also told me that the firm had been experi-
encing slower product demand since many of its regular customers
were now facing financial constraints. This led Colour Tech to face a
situation for much of the second half of 2020 that Mr. Maddeti
described as “high supply but low demand.” Further, Colour Tech
faced an additional challenge: COVID had flared back up signifi-
cantly in India and the virus was expected to persist there for a num-
ber of years due to the logistical and manufacturing challenge of
vaccinating such a large population.
Thus, while much of the developed world focused on how busi-
nesses should proceed in a largely vaccinated post-pandemic society,
Colour Tech faced a set of problems many firms in the developing
world were also facing. The book describes two key paths forward.
First, firms need to decide on a customer-centric strategy that enables
them to grow beyond relying on its current customers. Second,
firms need to adapt their interactions with customers continually
concerned by safety fears and financial constraints caused by the
pandemic.

Note
1. (Rev 2020)

References
Charles, Marvin. 2020. “South Africa’s Unemployment Rate Expected to Reach
50%.” Independent Online, May 27, 2020. https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/
news/south-­africas-­unemployment-­rate-­expected-­to-­reach-­50-­48565641.
Cheng, Evelyn. 2020. “Roughly 5 Million People in China Lost Their Jobs in the
First 2 Months of 2020.” CNBC. March 16, 2020. https://www.cnbc.
c o m / 2 0 2 0 / 0 3 / 1 6 / c h i n a -­e c o n o m y -­m i l l i o n s -­l o s e -­t h e i r-­j o b s -­a s -­
unemployment-­spikes.html.
14 O. MINTZ

Cohen, Patricia, and Tiffany Hsu. 2020. “‘Rolling Shock’ as Job Losses Mount
Even With Reopenings.” The New York Times, May 14, 2020, sec. Business.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/business/economy/coronavirus-­
unemployment-­claims.html.
Janda, Michael. 2020. “Australia Is in First Recession in 29 Years after
Avoiding ‘Economic Armageddon.’” ABC News. June 3, 2020. https://
www.abc.net.au/news/2020-­0 6-­0 3/australian-­e conomy-­g dp-­r ecession-
­march-­quarter-­2020/12315140.
McGeever, Jamie. 2020. “Brazil Unemployment Rises to 12.6%, Record 4.9
Million People Leave Workforce.” Reuters, May 28, 2020. https://www.
reuters.com/article/us-­brazil-­economy-­unemployment-­idUSKBN23422O.
Nelson, Eshe. 2021. “Britain’s Economy Shrank by Nearly 10 Percent in 2020,
the Most in 300 Years.” New York Times, February 12, 2021, sec. Business.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/12/business/stock-­m arket-­
today/britains-­e conomy-­s hrank-­b y-­n early-­1 0-­p ercent-­i n-­2 020-­t he-­m ost-­
in-­300-­years.
Office for National Statistics. 2020. “GDP Monthly Estimate, UK: April 2020.”
United Kingdom Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/
economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/gdpmonthlyestimateuk/
april2020#gdp-­fell-­by-­204-­in-­april-­2020.
Reuters. 2020. “Italy GDP to Fall 9.2% This Year, Says Central Bank,” June 5,
2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/italy-­economy-­cenbank-­forecasts-­
idUSR1N2C900N.
Rev. 2020. Quarterly Hearings on CARES Act. Washington D.C.: Rev. https://
www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/jerome-­powell-­steve-­mnuchin-­testimony-
­transcript-­on-­covid-­19-­stimulus.
The Hindu. 2020. “Today’s Top Business News: Unemployment Rate in May
Rose to 23.48%, Stocks Soar as India Begins to Unlock, Businesses Run out of
Cash, and More.” The Hindu, June 1, 2020, sec. Business. https://www.the-
hindu.com/business/businesslive-­1-­june-­2020/article31719506.ece.
The Times of Israel. 2020. “Israel’s Unemployment Rate Tops 21 Percent.” The
Times of Israel, March 26, 2020. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-­
unemployment-­rate-­tops-­21-­percent/.
 CHAPTER 2

Section One Introduction: How and Why

the COVID-19 Economic Crisis Occurred?
A Customer Behavior-based Perspective

“Customer expectations and customer habits have changed significantly… I

think these things are going to be permanent.”
–Suresh Kumar, chief technology officer and chief development officer,
Walmart Inc.1

COVID-19 caused customers to drastically shift their shopping behav-

ior. For example, when asked by me to reflect on how their customer
behavior changed in response to the pandemic:

• Ronnie Lilien, from the US, stated: “I’m not interested in going to
malls. I was not a fan of online shopping. Now I purchase items
online that I used to enjoy the shopping experience of buying.”
• Antonio Nikolakopoulos, from San Marino, said: “I assess more
carefully whether I need a product or not, I make more considered
purchasing choices.”
• Todd Pezzuti, from Chile, said: “The range of products I purchase
has definitely decreased, mostly because I leave the house less and
engage in fewer activities... I don’t need the same assortment of
clothing, especially more formal clothing.”
• Kiron R., from Spain, stated: “My purchasing decisions have changed
largely due to different priorities that the pandemic and new work
norms have brought in. Discretionary spending on rent, electronics,

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 15

Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
O. Mintz, The Post-Pandemic Business Playbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5868-6_2
16 O. MINTZ

clothes, etc. have shifted to good food, experiences, hobbies and

definitely more attention to savings.”
• Henrie James R., from the Philippines, said: “Due to the pandemic,
I usually spend more time and work at home. I found myself com-
forted when buying home appliances that will provide convenience
while I am working.”
• Lethabo L., from South Africa, stated: “I'm still limiting the number
of visits I make to supermarkets, pharmacists, etc. to one visit a week,
and I try to purchase most items I need all at once if possible. I’m
also still purchasing food items to cook at home for the large major-
ity of my meals, and still visit restaurants very rarely.”

The result of those pandemic-forced changes, and many

other pandemic-­ forced customer behavior changes created a cus-
tomer driven economic recession. Summarizing an industry point of
view, Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust, told the New
York Times: “This is the sharpest decline in consumer spending that we
have ever seen” (Leatherby and Gelles 2020). Daniel Agostinelli, chief
executive officer (CEO) of the Accent Group, provided a managerial
perspective by telling News.com Australia: “The only word we can find
for this shift is seismic and we’re concerned it could have a prolonged
effect on how customers shop. That will have an impact on how many
stores the business will require” (Brook 2020). Sharon White, chair of
John Lewis Retailers, told The Guardian that the pandemic caused “an
economic earthquake” that led to “decades-­worth of change in the
space of one year” and “shopping habits have changed irreversibly”
(Wood 2021). Natasha Kennedy, senior partner at FleishmanHillard, a
global public relations firm, provided a consultant perspective by pre-
dicting to the Los Angeles Times that “consumer behavior has changed
and, for many, those changes will persist past the pandemic” (Lazarus
2020) (Fig. 2.1).
Consequently, is it is clear that COVID-19 caused customers to adjust
from their previously established purchasing behavior. New habits were
created, with many inevitably that will persist in the future (see Fig. 2.2 for
behavior observed by US Chief Marketing Officers). Firms that do not
realize, comprehend, or adapt to this change in customer behavior risk
 2 SECTION ONE INTRODUCTION: HOW AND WHY THE COVID-19… 17

Fig. 2.1 Total consumer spending year-over-year. Source: Earnest Research and
Fable Data (2021)

Focusing on your largest revenue market, what types of customer behaviors have you observed during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Lower in person marketing engagement (e.g., sales/store visits, tradeshows) 97.0%

Increased openness to new digital offerings introduced during the pandemic 84.8%

Increased value placed on digital experiences 83.8%

Greater acknowledgement of companies’ attempts to "do good” 79.1%

Lower likelihood to buy 67.2%

New customers have been attracted to our products and services 65.4%

More reviews/blogging/posting about brands online 59.5%

More online research before purchasing 58.8%

Unwillingness to pay full price 43.3%

Weaker loyalty levels 24.9%

Lower likelihood to purchase online 24.0%

Weaker concerns about privacy 23.8%

Fig. 2.2 Customer behavior changes observed by US Chief Marketing Officers.

Source: The CMO Survey Highlights and Insights Report (June-2020): https://
cmosurvey.org/

being left behind by such customers. Hence, as a first step to guide firms
on how to employ customer-centric strategies to adapt to these pandemic-­
forced customer changes, I detail in the next two chapters how and why
the pandemic caused changes in customer behavior that resulted in a
customer-­based deaccession and financial-based recession.
18 O. MINTZ

Note
1. (Loftus 2020)

References
Brook, Benedict. 2020. “Coronavirus Australia: Some Retailers Likely to Close All
Stores, Go Purely Online.” News.Com.Au. May 1, 2020. https://www.news.
com.au/finance/business/retail/coronavirus-­australia-­some-­retailers-­likely-­
to-­c lose-­a ll-­s tores-­g o-­p urely-­o nline/news-­s tory/0b41b728c7a33e1223
3ab6c97064b872.
Lazarus, David. 2020. “Nothing Will Be the Same? Yes, It Will.” Los Angeles
Times, April 13, 2020, sec. Business Columnist. https://www.latimes.com/
business/newsletter/2020-­04-­13/coronavirus-­consumer-­behavior-­business.
Leatherby, Lauren, and David Gelles. 2020. “How the Virus Transformed the
Way Americans Spend Their Money.” The New York Times, April 11, 2020, sec.
Business. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/11/business/
economy/coronavirus-­us-­economy-­spending.html.
Loftus, Tom. 2020. “Digitally Transformed: CIOs Take Stock of Covid-19 Era.”
Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2020, sec. C Suite. https://www.wsj.com/
articles/digitally-­transformed-­cios-­take-­stock-­of-­covid-­19-­era-­11602763549.
Wood, Zoe. 2021. “A Hill to Climb? Oxford Street ‘Mound’ Aims to Lure Back
Shoppers.” The Guardian, March 13, 2021. https://amp.theguardian.com/
business/2021/mar/13/a-­hill-­to-­climb-­oxford-­street-­mound-­aims-­to-­lure-­
back-­shoppers?__twitter_impression=true.
 CHAPTER 3

Five Phases for How Customer Behavior

Changed in Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 resulted in five phases of change to customer behavior, as

illustrated in Fig. 3.1, with each phase influencing behavior in the subse-
quent phase. The first phase was shock and panic (in March 2020 for most
of the developed world), when it became apparent that the pandemic
would soon cause a major disruption to everyone’s daily life. The second
phase was the lockdown (between the end of March and May 2020 for
most of the developed world), when a large proportion of the population
were forced to stay in their homes and the majority of offices, factories,
and stores were closed. The third phase was the re-opening (between May
and July 2020 for most of the developed world), when lockdowns were
gradually lifted and stores began to re-open. The fourth phase was persis-
tence (from July 2020 through 2021 for most of the developed world), as
the pandemic continued to impact people and vaccines started to be deliv-
ered. The fifth phase is the “new normal” (from 2021 to the current time
period), when larger portions of the population became/become vacci-
nated, and their behavior started slowly adapting to a new customer- and
economic-based reality.
Throughout the chapter, the reader should think about how your
behavior changed during each of the five phases. Did you purchase differ-
ent products and product categories or make different types of purchases
as compared to pre-pandemic? Did the location you made purchases and

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 19

Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
O. Mintz, The Post-Pandemic Business Playbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5868-6_3
20 O. MINTZ

Pre-Pandemic

New Normal
Panic Phase

Persistence
Re-opening
Lockdown
Phase

Phase

Phase

Phase
Pre-Pandemic Spending Line

Fig. 3.1 The five phases of changes in customer behavior due to the COVID-19
pandemic. Source: Author

the way you made such purchases differ? Did the frequency of your prod-
uct purchases change? What about how you interacted with firms?
Then, as a manager, consider how each of your firm’s customer seg-
ments adjusted their behavior through the five phases, using similar ques-
tions as noted above as guidance.
 3 FIVE PHASES FOR HOW CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR CHANGED IN RESPONSE… 21

Phase One: Panic!

“Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities. It
has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a
distressing void that stops everything as it passes by; we feel it in the air ...
We find ourselves afraid and lost.”
– Pope Francis1

In January and February 2020, an increase in COVID-19 cases caused

China to enter a significant shutdown. In late February, Iran and South
Korea started reporting a large number of cases, which forced the two coun-
tries to also enter into a lockdown. In early March, Italy suffered a consid-
erable rise in cases, forcing it to lockdown. However, in mid-March, much
of the world was still not expecting what would happen next: COVID-19
was about to radically shock and transform customer behavior throughout
the world, with a devastating effect on the global economy.
Garrett Graff, reporting for Wired.com on “An Oral History of the
Day Everything Changed,” summarized it as:

“Wednesday, March 11, the 71st day of 2020, proved to be unlike any other
in American history– the pivot point on which weeks of winter unease about
the looming novel coronavirus turned in a matter of hours into a sudden,
wrenching, nation-altering halt to daily life and routine. Just a day earlier,
Americans across much of the country were still going into the office, meet-
ing friends for drinks, and shaking hands in meetings. That morning, the
number of coronavirus cases in the US crossed the 1,000 mark, up 10-fold
from the prior week. Only 29 Americans had died.”
“But on that Wednesday, the World Health Organization [WHO], which
had only begun referring to the virus as Covid-19 a month earlier, declared
the disease a global pandemic. Every hour seemed to bring major new devel-
opments: On Wall Street, after days of huge up-and-down gyrations, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,465 points and officially entered bear
territory; Capitol Hill faced its first confirmed Covid-19 case; the NCAA
announced it would play its basketball tournament without fans; and then,
in rapid-fire succession that evening, President [Donald] Trump gave an
Oval Office address, announcing a travel ban from Europe, the NBA sus-
pended its season after player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, and
Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita, posted on Instagram that they too had been
diagnosed while in Australia and were recuperating.”
22 O. MINTZ

“By Thursday, the national landscape had been undeniably altered, and
Americans were panic-buying toilet paper.”

The instant effect on customers was shock and panic. Grocery store
shelves were emptied. Customers stockpiled toilet paper, hand sanitizer,
and enough disinfectant wipes to last for months. Uncertainty lingered.
Travel plans were cancelled. Few people wanted to go to shops. Purchases
dropped overall (Fig. 3.2).

Fig. 3.2 Percent change in US small business revenue during panic phase.
Sources: Opportunity Insights and Womply (2021)
 3 FIVE PHASES FOR HOW CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR CHANGED IN RESPONSE… 23

Hence, when I asked various people from around the world about their
recollections from that time period:

• Jose Gunawarman, described how people in his home country of

Indonesia hoarded “every kind of vitamin,” “every kind of canned
food,” and “basic ingredients such as rice, pasta, sugar and chili.”
Further, Mr. Gunawarman told me how his “family prepared for the
worst” and “ended up hoarding just enough to last probably a little
more than one month (mainly food), as that is how much space in
the fridge we had.”
• Olivier Rubel, from the US, described to me how he vividly remem-
bers “having to stay in line at 7 am to buy toilet paper!”
• Ronia Lunkhel, from Israel, said: “I thought people went crazy and
wanted that madness to end.”
• Beatriz R., from the Philippines, stated: “I was scared when I heard
about the first lockdown here in the Philippines. I was also afraid for
the safety of my family since the number of positive cases has been
growing rampantly. Furthermore, I felt devastated when I heard
about people raving for toilet papers and other things. Like, seri-
ously? There’s no need to scramble. The pandemic has shown how
wanton human beings are.”

As a result, organizations were hit by shock and paralysis. Fundamental

assumptions about long-standing customer buying habits, contracts, and pay-
ment terms were disrupted. Employees were unsure if they should go into
their workplace. Jenna Heilman, executive director for Head for The Cure, a
US-based non-profit organization dedicated to increasing brain cancer aware-
ness, described how her non-profit “had a pretty heated conversation about
what does it [their upcoming Central Texas 5k event] look like…and we came
up with a number of different scenarios of what this looked like, thinking at
first that people were just freaking out and this wasn’t going to be a big thing.
And then literally, the next day…all the cities were planning on shutting
down.” Ami Shapiro, director of global design and development for Funrise
Toys, a US-based multinational toy manufacturer, told me how his firm “right
away was offering masks, and sanitizers to everyone.” Further, Mr. Shapiro
explained that Funrise “adjusted very quickly within days to provide all the
equipment needed for people to be at home for the foreseeable future.” Cara
Morton, CEO of Cover-More Group, an Australian-based multinational
travel insurance firm, told me how her firm needed to figure out whether this
would be a temporary or longer-term halt to its travel insurance business.
24 O. MINTZ

Fig. 3.3 Year-over-year US sales growth by vertical during pre-pandemic and

panic phases. Source: Earnest Research (2021)

Underlying all this panic were customers’ escalated concerns for safety,
which, in turn, created an abrupt shift in what, where, how, and even
whether customers were buying. Supply and demand still existed for prod-
ucts, but customers’ access to them was affected. Hence, online orders
and delivery services increased, as did demand for medical supplies and
online telecommunication firms (Kats 2020). Purchases for essential
goods skyrocketed. In contrast, retailers and the travel industry, in particu-
lar, suffered; and purchases for non-essential goods and services plum-
meted (Fig. 3.3).
Organizations knew something had changed but questions were asked
about how long this effect would last. The general assumption was that
overall changes in customer behavior would be short term, with a quick
reversion to “normal” once the virus had dissipated and customers’ desire
for safety was satisfied.
Governments and public health officials tried to reinforce this assump-
tion in an effort to calm the global population and global economy. On
March 10, Donald Trump, the US President, proclaimed: “We’re pre-
pared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay
calm. It will go away” (Stevens and Tan 2020). Then, on March 11, when
declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic, Dr Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, the General-Director of the WHO, stated: “We have never
before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. This is the first
 3 FIVE PHASES FOR HOW CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR CHANGED IN RESPONSE… 25

pandemic caused by a coronavirus. And we have never before seen a pan-

demic that can be controlled, at the same time [emphasis added]” (World
Health Organization 2020a).
However, of course, as we now know, the panic phase in March 2020
was just the beginning of the pandemic and economic crisis. Soon,
COVID-19 caused most of the developed world to enter into a lockdown.

Phase Two: Adjustment to Lockdown

“We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is
how to bring people back to life.”
– Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana2

By the end of March 2020, an increase in COVID-19 cases led govern-

ments in most developed countries to impose stay-at-home lockdowns. As
a result, most offices, factories, and retail stores were shut. Their employ-
ees were forced to work from home and also juggle parental and other
household duties. Travel, more or less, halted. Live entertainment events
and in-person conventions that were mainstays of everyday life were also
cancelled for what seemed to be for the perceivable future.
The result was that the lockdown phase caused an immediate severe
drop in demand for most non-fundamental purchases around the world.
For example, in the UK, vehicle sales plummeted by 97% (Hillier 2020).
In Israel, tourism-related purchases dropped by 80% (Barkat 2020). In the
US, spending on fitness and beauty decreased by more than 50% (Leatherby
and Gelles 2020). In Spain, BBVA, one of the country’s large financial
services firm, reported that year-to-year credit card expenditures dropped
by 40–60% (Carvalho et al. 2020).
The effect on businesses was harsh. Furloughs and pay reductions were
instant. Layoffs and unemployment claims climbed quickly and in num-
bers that had never been seen before (e.g., see Fig. 3.4). Discretionary
expenditures and purchases were cut or halted. Supply chains were severely
disrupted. Agreements and contracts needed to be broken. Roberto M.,
who resides in the US, told me how for his insurance business: “The lock-
down completely altered how we do things and caused a heavy increase in
cancellations and prevented new customer growth. As the general public
was laid off or furloughed, it eventually caused cancellations due to non-­
payments or just voluntary cancellations.” Mary May Valenzuela, who
works in marketing for a Filipino printing service firm, told me that during
26 O. MINTZ

Fig. 3.4 Percent change in number of US small businesses open during lock-
down phase. Sources: Opportunity Insights and Womply (2020)

this time period “our clients from the education sector, food-and-drink
sector, and hospitality sector asked our office to cancel their orders, which
we can’t accommodate easily as some of the raw materials for the project
are already procured and some of the projects are ready for the delivery.”
Thus, Ms. Valenzuela added that her firm suffered great losses. D.V., from
Israel, stated their firm had “cancelled contracts plus around an 85%
decrease in activity.” Further, D.V. noted: “A whole segment of our busi-
ness which is directed at summer events was completely closed and missed
a full season with zero purchases. We had to lay off 50% of the staff, plus
narrowed the marketing spend to zero.”
Even companies well positioned to take advantage of COVID-forced
changes to customer behavior instantly faced a new reality. EvaxSoft, a
Russian programming and software development firm that provides services
to clients around the world, as a common example. Alexandr Yusupov, a
team leader at EvaxSoft, explained: “Once it became clear that physical
offices were going to be closed for a long time, many firms first turned to
web services. These firms needed to develop delivery and software manage-
ment services very fast, which led to a deficit of qualified programmers in
the market and required us to spend much more to keep employees on
board.” Mr. Yusupov also added: “In the meantime, our existing clients
 3 FIVE PHASES FOR HOW CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR CHANGED IN RESPONSE… 27

were having a bad time so they were not going to increase their spending
and sometimes had difficulty with their [current] spending.”
Consequently, the economic impact of the lockdown phase was brutal:
Nobel Prize winner Michael Spence estimated an unprecedented 15–25%
reduction in productivity in most developed countries (e.g., Spence and
Chen 2020). Governments responded by providing unprecedented loan
and grant packages for businesses, such as the $2 trillion CARES Act in
the US, and unprecedented unemployment and job seeker benefit plans
for individuals, such as the JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs in Australia.
However, government support packages were designed to alleviate the
short-term challenges during the lockdown phase, but could not fix long-
term damage to customer confidence and changes in customer behavior.
Customers had already cut their overall purchases. Long-time buying hab-
its had been severely disrupted. Digital channels were employed in record
numbers for many customer purchase categories. Customers also increased
their spending to improve their work from home (WFH) environment,
and on making their home more “comforting.” Hence, during the lock-
down phase, a record number of puppies, board games, gardening items,
butter- and candle-making kits, and do-it-yourself home fixes were sold
(Axiak and Cowling 2020). Firms that sold technology to enable compa-
nies to expand their digital footprints or their employees’ ability to WFH
performed well. So did firms that sold products that made customers feel
more “homely.” Customers also continued to stockpile groceries and gen-
eral goods throughout (see Fig. 3.5 for industry statistics over time).
Further, customers were using online news, online gaming, streaming
services, and social media at historic levels. For example, Alex Schultz, vice
president of analytics at Facebook, and Jay Parikh, vice president of engi-
neering at Facebook, co-wrote in a corporate blog: “The usage growth [of
social media] from Covid-19 is unprecedented across the industry, and we
[Facebook] are experiencing new records in usage almost every day”
(Schultz and Parikh 2020). At the same time, online news and social media
businesses were facing diminished advertising spending on their websites.
Firms hesitated to promote products on websites that discussed COVID-19
for fear of appearing to be taking advantage of the situation (Pash 2020).
Financial constraints also severely constrained advertising budgets and
reduced businesses’ ability to pay to advertise on social media (Gallagher
2020). Michelle Francis, a senior manager at a major international media
firm, told me: “Once lockdown appeared to persist for longer than two
28 O. MINTZ

Fig. 3.5 Year-over-year US sales growth by subsector during panic and lock-
down phases. Source: Earnest Research (2020)

Fig. 3.6 Slower growth in digital advertisements during lockdown phase.

Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia (2021)

weeks, we noticed digital advertisers pausing ad campaigns, which then

quickly escalated into canceling any campaign possible to prevent spend-
ing any further marketing budget. Internally, redundancies were increased
and decisions were made faster than predicted as a result of the ongoing
lockdown.” (Fig. 3.6)
For Abhisheik Maddeti, managing director of Colour Tech Coatings,
the Indian lockdown forced his factories to shut practically overnight.
Mr. Maddeti also mentioned that the firm could not get raw materials
 3 FIVE PHASES FOR HOW CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR CHANGED IN RESPONSE… 29

delivered to them during the lockdown phase since transportation for

such materials were halted. Further, Mr. Maddeti mentioned that Colour
Tech’s main end-user customers, construction workers, were also forced
to stop working, which limited demand for its products. Thus, Colour
Tech was forced to deal with little supply and little demand.
For Head for the Cure, Jenna Heilman, its executive director,
described to me that during the lockdown “we started pushing all our
events later back in the year” and the non-profit hoped that “if we push
this farther down the line, we could get through the first heat and then
we could get back to host something in person.” In addition, according
to Ms. Heilman, Head for the Cure paused most its customer communi-
cation efforts during this time period because the non-profit was “not
sure about the insensitivity of our messaging.” Ms. Heilman also noted
that the organization paused hiring, 401k fund matching, raises, and
most other expenditures in order to make sure they did not have to lay-
off any employees, which they considered their greatest competitive
advantage.
Consequently, the result of the lockdown phase was that customer
demand shifted dramatically in a number of industries (see Table 3.1),
with devastating effect on the overall global economy.

Table 3.1 Customer demand changes in lockdown phase

Type of Customer

B2C B2B

Level of Increasing General goods stores, grocery Telecommunications, healthcare

Demand stores, e-commerce, online
entertainment,
pharmaceuticals, and social
media
Decreasing Automobiles, construction,
entertainment / events,
furniture, luxury goods, travel,
real estate, restaurants,
retailers, and taxis
supplies, and suppliers of B2C
increasing demand industries
Ad markets, commercial real
estate, industrial commodities,
and suppliers of B2B decreasing
demand industries

Source: Author from compiled research

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
[1902] But began by. MS.
[1903]

I was curssyd with candyll boke & bell,

I cowde not achyve yn no maner a degre,
To assyste ‘a sysmatyke’ me dyde not well. MS.

The last varied to ‘an enemye,’ in margin.

[1904] Awtoryte. MS.
[1905] The seusurys of the chyrche. Corrected in margin as
above. MS.
[1906] Dam͞ ed, also altered as above. MS.
[1907] Cruell swerde. MS.
[1908] And exsampyll. MS.
[1909] Yn. MS.
[1910] A. MS.
[1911] With. MS.
[1912] Chyrche, altered as above in the margin. MS.
[1913] God neythyre. MS.
[1914] Crystyn man yn worse case. MS.
[1915] Then. MS.
[1916] In, wanting. MS.
[1917] Abhorryth me. MS.
[1918] Forsakyth me & hathe. MS.
[1919] Mercyfull Lord, for me pray. MS.
[1920]

O Rex regum in thy realme celestyall,

Gloryfied with joyes of Gabryall’s company,
Haue mercy onn kyng Jemy’s sowle.
Thy pete on hym Lord do magnyfye.
For thow haste hym prostrate so sodenlye
That vs to withstonde he had no myghte
 By the helpe of Saynte George, our ladye’s knyghte.
MS.

The first three lines altered in the margin conformable to

the above text. The last line forms the conclusion of every
stanza.
[1921] Wonderly. MS.
[1922] Gretythe. MS.
[1923] As. MS.
[1924] Than sone was cryed. MS.
[1925] Ar. MS.
[1926] Daunt warde. MS.
[1927] Conyes. MS.
[1928]

For hym pray all England for hee

Was the noblest man yn that fyghte,
By the helpe of S. George owr ladye’s knyght. MS.

[1929] Ever more blessyd mote thowe be. MS.

[1930] Wyte well call hym we may. MS.
[1931] As delygente as. MS.
[1932] Ded helpe. MS.
[1933] Yt was to see at that. MS.
[1934] Perdy, not in the MS.
[1935] A royall. MS.
[1936] Which manly. MS.
[1937] Begyn. MS.
[1938] A one. MS.
[1939] Whoo durst abyde strokks neuer retourned. MS.
[1940] They devyded them yn bushements with. MS.
[1941] Yn thys maner. MS.
[1942] Men that tyme fled for fere. MS.
[1943] Seyne. MS.
[1944] That gracyous fleyng. MS.

[1945] With the comlyeste company yn crystentte. MS.

[1946] Holy Trenyte. MS.
[1947] To show there. MS.
[1948] Ancre the Skotts dyd myche tene. MS.
[1949] Dyd by grace of God almyght. MS. Altered in the
margin according to the above text.
[1950] Scotts by powr. of God almyght. Altered in margin as
above. MS.
[1951] Bells dyd ryng that lay. MS.
[1952] They were. MS.
[1953] Go we to hyt good fellows, all shalbe owrs by the grace
of God’s might. MS.
[1954] To sle and fall. MS.
[1955] Vnto. MS.
[1956] Lythe. MS.
[1957] Haue the lovyng. MS.
[1958] Euery. MS.
[1959] His, wanting. MS.
[1960] Be to. MS.
[1961] From danger dolefull vs defendyng. MS.
[1962] And ruler. MS.
[1963] Suffryd. MS.
[1964]

Haue mercye on kyng Jemy’s sowle,

Indulgens graunt hym for hys transgression. MS.

[1965]

And lawde honor & prayse be to the o͞ Lord almyght,

For the redde lyon ys confusyd, & ye. whyte hath
vyctory. MS.

[1966]

Explycit bellum de Brampton.

Quod. Fraunces Dyngley de manston. MS.

[1967] The induction to the following legend of Jane Shore, in

the edition of 1563, is that already given at p. 394, continuing
from the sentence “so yll a person. And to supplye that whych
is lackinge in him, here I haue Shore’s Wyfe, an eloquent
wentch, whyche shall furnishe out both in meter and matter,
that which could not comlily be sayd in his [K. Richard’s]
person. Marke, I praye you, what she sayeth, and tell me
howe you like it.”
In the editions of 1571, 75, 78, where this legend comes by
transposition next after Michael Joseph, the Blacksmith, it has
the induction printed at p. 415-17, to the words “God will suffer
none of his to be tempted aboue their strength. But because [it
continues] these two persons last before rehersed were
thoughte not onelye obscure in the matter but also crabbed in
the meeter, I haue here redy to supply that which lacked in
them, Shore’s wyfe, an eloquent wench,” as just quoted,
varying “his person” to “their persons.”
[1968] Although the name of Churchyard was affixed to the
legend of Jane Shore in common with the other authors in the
edition of 1571, it is certain that his title to that production was
often questioned, (unless it may be believed that the doubt
was started to assist in obtaining notoriety,) from the many
laboured assertions made in various places in support of his
title, and it is to that circumstance the above passage alludes.
Jane Shore did not die until about 1527, and her popularity
long survived her: the events of her life were then almost
recent and well known from the interesting character drawn
other by Sir T. More, which will be found in a future note, and
must have given celebrity to this poem beyond many other of
the same poet’s productions. After a lapse of thirty years from
its first appearance, Churchyard reprinted “the tragedie of
Shore’s Wife, much augmented with divers newe additions,”
with other pieces in his Challenge, 1593, and in a dedication
strenuously defended himself against those who had
attempted to wrest from him this portion of his literary honours.
This fact was first pointed out by that accurate and diligent
researcher into the productions of the elder poets, Mr. Park, in
the Censura Literaria, Vol. II. p. 309, (where the whole legend
had been previously inserted) and from that source with the
advantage and kindness of a further collation of the additions
with the original by Mr. Park, those additions are now inserted
in their respective places in the body of the work. They consist
of 21 stanzas, viz. from 11 to 14-29 to 31-34 to 36-52 to 60-68
and 74, and are distinguished with asterisks. To complete the
additions there is now given the author’s dedication.
“To the right honorable the Lady Mount-Eagle and
Compton, wife to the right honourable the Lord of Buckhurst’s
son and heire.
“Good Madame. For that the vertuous and good ladie
Carie, your sister, honourablie accepted a discourse of my
penning, I beleeved your ladiship would not refuse the like
offer, humbly presented and dutifully ment, I bethought me of a
tragedie that long laye printed and many speake well of: but
some doubting the shallownesse of my heade, (or of meere
mallice disdaineth my doings) denies me the fathering of such
a worke, that hath won so much credit: but as sure as God
lives, they that so defames me, or doth disable me in this
cause, doth me such an open wrong, as I would be glad to
right with the best blood in my body, so he be mine equall that
moved such a quarrell: but mine old yeares doth utterly forbid
me such a combat, and to contend with the malicious, I thinke
it a madnesse; yet I protest before God and the world, the
penning of Shore’s Wife was mine; desiring in my hart that all
the plagues in the worlde maie possesse me, if anie holpe me,
either with scrowle or councell, to the publishing of the
invencion of the same Shore’s Wife: and to show that yet my
spirits faile me not in as great matters as that, I have
augmented her tragedie, I hope in as fine a forme as the first
impression thereof, and hath sette forth some more tragedies
and tragicall discourses, no whit inferiour, as I trust, to my first
worke. And, good madame, because “Rosimond” is so
excellently sette forth (the actor[1969] whereof I honour) I have
somewhat beautified my Shore’s Wife, not in any kind of
emulation, but to make the world knowe my device in age is
as ripe and reddie as my disposition and knowledge was in
youth, so having chosen a noble personage to be a patrones
to support poore Shore’s Wife’s tragedie againe I commend all
the verses of her, olde and newe to your good ladiship’s
judgment, hoping you shall lose no honour in the supportation
of the same because the true writer thereof, with all
humblenesse of mind and service, presents the tragedie unto
your honourable censure, wishing long life and increase of
vertue’s fame to make your ladiship’s day happie.
T. Churchyard.”
[1969] Samuel Daniel.
[1970] “That is crept is in” is the text and corrected among the
faults escaped to “that crept is in the strawe.” 1563.
[1971] Eche vice. 1563.
[1972] Good Baldwyn. 1563.
[1973] That. 1563.
[1974] Of. 1563.
[1975] “Of the earth,” in the text corrected as a fault escaped
to “of earth.” 1563.
[1976] Were. 1563.
[1977] Was. 1563.
[1978] Then, misprint. 1587.
[1979] The offendour. 1563.
[1980] You are never the. 1563.
[1981] To. 1563.
[1982] The nightingale.
[1983] Neuer. 1563.
[1984] The ende. 1563.
[1985] Helpt. 1563.
[1986] No care. 1563.
[1987] Flitting. 1563. Which appears intended to be altered, as
in the faults escaped we are directed to read “her flitting
frames.”
[1988] Her net. 1563.
[1989] Wee, misprint. 1587.
[1990] From me. 1563.
[1991] Him. 1563.
[1992] Fayned. 1563, 71.
[1993] The description of the person and the character of this
frail, though not quite unamiable beauty, was faithfully
delineated in her lifetime by the eloquent sir Thomas More, in
the history of Richard III. That that description is now given
from Hall’s Chronicle, ed. 1548, may need requiring the
reader’s indulgence, as much apposite matter, less known,
has been, of necessity, omitted in the notes, from the unusual
size of the present volume, but the relation appeared too
interesting to reject. After the execution of Lord Hastings, the
historian says: “By and by, as it were for anger and not for
coueteous, the protectoure sent sir Thomas Hawarde to the
house of Shore’s wyfe (for her husbande dwelte not with her)
whiche spoyled her of all that euer she had, aboue the valure
of twoo or thre thousande markes, and sent her bodye to
pryson. And the protectoure had layde to her for the maner
sake that she was a counsaill with the lorde Hastynges to
destroye hym. In conclusion, when no coloure could fasten
vpon these matters, then he layed heynously to her charge
that thyng that she could not denye, for all the world knewe
that it was true, and that notwithstandyng euery man laughed
to heare it then so sodeynly, so highly taken, that she was
naught of her body. And for this cause as a godly continent
prince cleane and fautlesse of hym selfe, sent out of heauen
into thys vicious worlde, for the amendement of men’s maners,
he caused the byshop of London to putte her to open
penaunce, goyng before a crosse one Sondaye at procession
with a taper in her hand. In the whiche she went in
countenaunce and peace so womanly, and albeit she was out
of all aray sauyng kyrtel only, yet went she so fayre and louely,
and namely when the wondryng of the people cast a comely
red in her chekes, of the whiche she before had most mysse,
that her great shame wanne her much prayse amongest them
that were more amorous of her body then curious of her soule,
and many good folke that hated her liuyng and were glad to se
synne corrected, yet pitied they more her penaunce then
reioysed it, when they considered that the protector did more
of corrupt mynd then any vertuous affection.
“This woman was borne in London, well frended, honestly
brought vp and very well maryed, sauyng somewhat to sone,
her husbande an honest and a yong citezen, godly and of
good substaunc, but forasmuche as they were coupled or she
were well rype, she not very feruently loued for whom she
neuer longed, which was the thyng (by chaunce) that the more
easily made her to encline to the kynge’s appetite, when he
required her. Howbeit the respect of his royaltie, the hope of
gaye apparell, ease, pleasure, and other wanton wealth, was
hable sone to perce a softe tendre hart: but when the kyng
had abused her, anone her husband beyng an honest manne
and one that could his good, not presumyng to touche a
kynge’s concubyne left her vp to hym altogether. When the
kyng dyed, the lorde Hastynges toke her, whiche in the
kynge’s dayes albeit that he was sore enamoured with her yet
he forbare, either for a pryncely reuerence or for a certayne
frendely faithfulnesse. Proper she was and fayre, nothyng in
her bodye that you could haue chaunged, but yf you would
haue wished her somewhat higher. This saye they that knewe
her in her youthe, some sayed and iudged that she had bene
well fauoured, and some iudged the contrary, whose
iudgement seameth like as menne gesse the beautye of one
long before departed, by a scaple taken out of a chanell
house, and this iudgment was in the tyme of kyng Henry the
eyght in the xviii. yere of whose reigne she dyed, when she
had nothing but a reueled skynne and bone. Her beautye
pleased not menne so muche as her pleasaunt behauoure, for
she had a proper wytte and coulde both reade and wryte,
mery in compaigny, redy and quicke of answere, neyther mute
nor full of bable, somtyme tantyng without displeasure, but not
without disporte. Kyng Edward would saye that he had thre
concubines, which in diuerse proparties diuersly excelled, one
the meriest, the other the wyliest, the thirde the holyest harlot
in the realme as one, whom no man coulde get out of the
churche to any place lightly, but if it were to his bed, the other
two were somwhat greater personages then mastres Shore,
and neuerthelesse of their humilitie were content to be
nameles and to forbeare the prayse of these properties. But
the meriest was Shore’s wyfe in whom the kyng therfore toke
great pleasure, for many he had, but her he loued, whose
fauoure to saye the trueth (for it were synne to lye on the
deuil) she neuer abused to any man’s hurt, but to many men’s
comforte and reliefe. For where the kyng toke displeasure, she
would mitigate and apeace his mynde, where men were out of
fauour, she would bryng them into his grace, for many that had
highly offended, she obteyned pardon, and of forfeatures she
gat remission; and, finally, in many weighty suites she stode
many menne in great steade, either for none or very small
rewarde: and those rather gaye then riche, either for that she
was content with the dede well done, or for that she delighted
to be sued vnto, and to shewe what she was able to do with
the kyng, or for that that wanton women and welthy be not
alwaies couetous, I doubt not some man wyl thynke this
woman to be to slight to be written of emong graue and
weyghtie matters, whiche they shall specially thynke that
happely sawe her in her age and aduersite, but me semeth
the chaunce so much more worthy to be remembred, in how
much after wealth she fell to pouertie, and from riches to
beggery vnfrended, out of acquaintance, after great
substaunce, after so great fauour with her prince, after as
great suite and sekyng to with all those which in those dayes
had busynes to spede as many other men were in their tymes,
whiche be now famous onely by the infamy of their euill
deedes, her doynges were not muche lesse, albeit they be
muche lesse remembred, because they were not euyll, for
men vse to write an euyll turne in marble stone, but a good
turne they wryte in the dust, which is not worst proued by her,
for after her wealth she went beggyng of many that had
begged them selfes if she had not holpen them, suche was
her chaunce.” See Percy’s Reliques, 1794, Vol. II. p. 256.
More’s Utopia, by Dibdin, Vol. I. p. lxxxiii.
[1994] Moved. 1563.
[1995] ‘Warning,’ corrected by the faults escaped in ed. 1563.
The text of every copy is ‘warrant.’
[1996] Bad. 1563.
[1997] And say. 1563.
[1998] Of my. 1563.
[1999] This. 1563, 71, 75, 78.
[2000] Signature added 1571.
[2001] Hid. N.
[2002] Tale, misprint. 1587. N.
[2003] Off’cers. N.
[2004] He died of a continuall flyxe, in the abbey of Leycester,
as Stowe writeth. Margin.
[2005] This concludes the edition of 1587.
[2006] This legend of Cromwell, by Drayton, was entered in
the Stationers’ books, to Iohn Flaskett, 12 Oct. 1607, and
printed in quarto the same year. It was inserted by Niccols in
the edition of 1610, from which it is now given, collated with
the author’s poems, printed for Iohn Smethwick, 1637, 12mo.
[2007] Can tell as one that much did know. 1637.
[2008] Me that my breath. 1637.
[2009] To my sicke mother. 1637.
[2010] Who. 1637.
[2011] Win that place. 1637.
[2012] I tooke. 1637.
[2013] For ’twas distastefull. 1637.
[2014] Being besides industriously. 1637.
[2015] My judgement more to rectifie. 1637.
[2016] World it meant to win. 1637.
[2017] For Boston businesse hotly then in. 1637.
[2018] Soon it me won. 1637.
[2019] Jovial in my selfe was I. 1637.
[2020] And there. 1637.
[2021] Yet. 1637.
[2022] From the pomp. 1637.
[2023] Into the same I thought to make my way. 1637.
[2024] And my. 1637.
[2025] Her. 1637.
[2026] Fast declining. 1637.
[2027] To see. 1637.
[2028] He first. 1637.
[2029] Studies wholly I did. 1637.
[2030] To that which then the wisest. 1637.
[2031] Thereto. 1637.
[2032] There then were very. 1637.
[2033] Which after did most fearfull. 1637.
[2034] I no occasion vainly did reject. 1637.
[2035] Some that those courses diligently ey’d. 1637.
[2036] Slily. 1637.
[2037] Nought. 1637.
[2038] Into. 1637.
[2039] Who. 1637.
[2040] Up to him which that. 1637.
[2041] This. 1637.
[2042] Sat him far. 1637.
[2043] Wits doe. 1637.
[2044]

For which my master Wolsey might and maine,

Into such favour. 1637.

[2045] Tow’rds. 1637.

[2046] Before that Card’nall had me. 1637.
[2047] Hasting then. 1637.
[2048] To prove. 1637.
[2049] I had won. 1637.
[2050] Did. 1637.
[2051] When I had laine full low. 1637.
[2052] Who as. 1637.
[2053] And an. 1637.
[2054] Russel. 1637.
[2055] One that me. 1637.
[2056] Strook pale. 1637.
[2057] Or I could aske. 1637.
[2058] Were such in. 1637.
[2059] Bad. 1637.
[2060] Then of. 1637.
[2061] And then. 1637.
[2062] There were not. 1637.
[2063] Was he found. 1637.
[2064] I lesse that. 1637.
[2065] Was vicegerent made. 1637.
[2066] Him kindly to embrace. 1637.
[2067] Wrong to thy most noble. 1637.
[2068] When th’wast great’st. 1637.
[2069] He to. 1637.
[2070] Though, omitted. 1637.
[2071] Disdaigned not to. 1637.
[2072] The man thought sure he. 1637.
[2073] To wake. 1637.
[2074] I was to this good gentleman. 1637.
[2075] To. 1637.
[2076] With what might make them any. 1637.
[2077] To. 1637.
[2078] Had to the church. 1637.
[2079] Besides the. 1637.
[2080] Had not knowne. 1637.
[2081]

Example it to him was showne,

How Rome might here be eas’ly ouerthrowne. 1637.

[2082] Slander which from him should. 1637.

[2083] These. 1637.
[2084] Herselfe not limiting. 1637.
[2085] Dislik’d of her. 1637.
[2086] Seeing those. 1637.
[2087] To her great. 1637.
[2088] To the wise world. 1637.
[2089] Againe but onely to destroy. 1637.
[2090] As it in midst of much abundance. 1637.
[2091] Him should to the. 1637.
[2092] Hand to my deare cousin here. 1637.
[2093] Crost him, I could not be. 1637.
[2094] What. 1637.
[2095] When what. 1637.
[2096] Truth, now turn’d to heresie. 1637.
[2097] Enduring and as seldome good. 1637.
[2098] Much. 1637.
 Transcriber’s Notes
Obvious typos have been corrected. Other spelling inconsistencies, including
use of hyphens, have been left as found in the source material, except as noted
below.

Contents:
57 How King Richard the second... Page 58 corrected to 56.
69 How the Lorde Clyfford... Page 198 corrected to 195.
97 The Poem annexed called England’s Eliza. Page 783 corrected to 813.

Footnote 926 (page 178 “Then came the duke of Somerset”) is not marked
as a footnote in the original, but follows the text at this point, in the footnote
section of the page.
The editor has used scribal abbreviations in the text. These have been
expanded to the intended words, as the exact form of the original notation
cannot be reproduced here. These substitutions were made:

m͞ me
o͞ on
Qd Quod
wt with

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