Recently, I was chatting with friends who run a bakery in London, UK. They’re slowly going about re-opening their business as the pandemic restrictions are being lifted. The biggest change they’re making is to accept online orders for pick-up.

This isn’t unique. Many of the independent grocery stores nearby are now offering kerbside pick-up. Fine dining restaurants have adapted their menus to offer delivery-friendly alternatives, such as “cook at home” bundles. Others have innovated in unexpected ways – one particularly clever example of this is Joeys’ offering on Door Dash. In addition to meal kits, they’ll also happily sell you basic groceries from their inventory: milk, cheese, eggs, meat, spirits, and even toilet paper.

The pandemic has changed the service standard. It’s done so in ways that are truly disruptive, regardless of industry or sector. More importantly, it’s changed it in ways that will be lasting.

Because when this is all over, and life returns to normal (for a value of normal that we don’t yet understand),the demand for these services won’t disappear. If today, I can get beer from my favourite, independent brewery delivered to my doorstep, why would I ever go to the liquor store, where I run the risk of it being out of stock? If I can have my favourite coffee beans delivered to my doorstep, why travel across the city to buy them at the one café that stocks them (again, running the risk of them being out of stock)? Every small business needs to be considering ways to ensure they can meet – and continue to meet – the new service standard.