Given the current a lot of people are asking me, “what does the current coronavirus mean for crowdfunding?”
Whilst I obviously have NO answer. Here are are few of my thoughts…
Pros for crowdfunding
1 — With social isolation, more people are being drawn to online communities. Online communities and groups are necessary for crowdfunding campaigns to succeed but before now, were harder to cultivate as people preferred socialising in person. Now though, it is easier than ever to get like-minded people rallying together online.
2 — With less time out socialising more people will be procrastinating on tech. As social isolation and work from home kicks in, less people are going out or hanging out with ‘real people’. As boredum starts to kick in, people will be spending more time online looking for things they’re interested in. With this extra time, they’ll probably be widening their search fields into new but connected avenues and thus may find your organisation.
3 — There will be increased support for small businesses and charities. The general public will begin to understand more the hardships we all face and how necessary it is to support us rather than the corporates who won’t feel the pinch so much.
4 — Customers will demand less. Your audience will be more forgiving in delivery delays, changes, products being out of stock etc.
5 — People will spend less on ‘experiences’ and more on ‘products’ as group interaction cuts down.
6 — Platforms will lower or cancel their fee. We have already seen this from the likes of Crowdfunder. These big companies can take the hit to help small and struggling businesses/charities in the time of crisis.
7 — A lot of people will see a dip in their regular work (this is a negative) but it allows you time to learn new skills which could be used to grow your business either through crowdfunding or other marketing, fundraising avenues post this crazy time.
Cons
1 — The increase in economic uncertainty will stop people impulse buying expensive things.
2 — Factory closures will mean delays in prototypes and product delivery. But see Pro tip 4 to counter this.
3 — It could drag on in the long term and have much longer term detrimental effects which none of us can predict.
So as to not leave you on too much of a low. I honestly believe if you were planning a marketing, fundraising or crowdfunding campaign for the next half a year, you can still do it and it won’t be too heavily affected.
Finally, here is a cute photo of a dog working from home.
