We are living in an unprecedented time. Amidst worries of family, health, and finances, employees are more uncertain than ever. Many worry about how this shift in work environment will impact their jobs. Yet we know, without people we cannot run, cannot thrive as a community or business. The positive that we see in dark times like these are the innovations that come from them. Companies that look at the world and say, how can I help? How can I make this better? In this episode of Innovative Solutions from SAP.iO Startups Help Businesses Succeed Amid COVID-19 we take a closer look at employee health and wellness featuring Jan Bruce, CEO of meQuilibrium, and CEO Toby Hervey of Bravely.

We can’t do it with out them. Employees keep the whole thing running. Right now, employees everywhere are more likely to be stressed as a result of the COVID-19 virus. Organizations looking to successfully navigate this time of uncertainty need a workforce made up of resilient and agile people. Jan Bruce, of meQuilibrium has started a company that provide tools to help employees build resiliency so that as we move forward we can better manage the pressures resulting from this global pandemic.

meQuilibrium is the wellbeing and performance platform that harnesses behavioral psychology, neuroscience, and AI to empower a workforce facing uncertain times. Their method utilizes a unique process to facilitate self-awareness and cognitive improvements. The approach also applies to teams and managers of teams and helps employees develop and then maintain a practice effective skillsets to drive performance and success. Making sure companies are coping and adapting during COVID-19, meQuilibrium is offering a free resource center with actionable tools to help at www.mequilibrium.com/coronavirus/

CEO Toby Hervey of Bravely talks about how the idea of Bravely came from an experience he had helping a friend through a difficult situation at work, where he joked that there was a need for HR Urgent care. We go to people in our personal lives to talk through issues at work because it might be difficult at times to do that in a work environment. This sparked the idea…what if you could have a conversation with a coach outside your workplace, talk in real time when you have something going on, and figure out a plan and a path forward?

Bravely is a technology in support of workplace health, connecting employees with professional coaches for confidential conversations in the moments they need it most, and helping HR leaders improve productivity and retention in turn. Using the platform, employees can book a session to address whatever they’re facing, from coworker conflict and performance-related stress to unfair treatment. Based on their background and the issue they’re facing; they’re matched with the coach best suited to provide them with actionable guidance and a game plan for going forward.

Bravely has seen a 150% increase in weekly session growth over the last seven weeks almost all about stress and working through COVID. In order to provide additional support, they are offering a free webinar about how to work best in this difficult time, providing actionable ways employees can thrive at work in the coming weeks while working remotely during a period of high stress. Bravely also offers a free professional coaching session to each employee who attends a webinar. Find out more at workbravely.com/blog/solutions/covid19-support/

We proudly support these startups so focused on employee wellbeing using technology to connect people to people. Be sure to check out how over 60 of our SAP.iO startups have stepped up to show their support during this time by creating COVID-19 specific offers to help make the world a better place.

As almost every aspect of life has shifted due to our global pandemic, businesses are taking a hard look at how this effects their business. At the end of the day companies need customers to grow their business and this is where we are focusing today, the customer. In this edition of Innovative Solutions from SAP.iO Startups Help Business Succeed Amid COVID-19, we look at how three amazing startups are enabling their customers through focus on awareness and customer intimacy, Ryan Leslie, Founder of SuperPhone on managing effectively the sales journey, and the fulfillment experience.

Nadia Masri, CEO and Founder of Perksy, is a born entrepreneur starting her first company at 17. Always interested in people, she studied marketing and enjoyed market research but thought the tools at the time where outdated. Asking the question, how do we make research relevant for the mobile generation, lead her to the idea for Perksy. Perksy’s consumer insights platform powers real-time research with everyday people through its immersive mobile app that rewards them for their responses. Brands today don’t have a month to sit around and wait for research results, because what their audience wants today may not be what they want tomorrow. Perksy enables any brand anywhere to get instant feedback from any audience at scale, be it in-store, by state or even a one-block radius.

Simply put, they help customers get close to their customers, a goal important to brands as they try to understand how needs have shifted due to COVID-19. Helping companies ask the right questions by understanding what you need to ask, is the art of customer intimacy. During this time, Perksy has seen engagement rate of upwards of 80% when compared to industry standards 2-5%, because of the experience that they designed. Catering to the consumer first is what makes the app successful.

Another important factor when engaging with the customer is evaluating the sales engagement process. Ryan Leslie, Founder of SuperPhone, was Looking for a better way to stay connected to people and in doing so created a tool with the most powerful inbox for any volume of text. SuperPhone is the first full-featured, automated, scalable inbox and CRM for managing any volume of text, giving brands a beautiful platform to drive commerce and manage relationships via SMS. SuperPhone gives brands and SMBs a beautiful platform to drive commerce and manage relationships on text. Exchange messages with any number of subscribers/customers at scale, use personalized data & insights to deliver messages that drive conversions, and achieve ROI that beats email by 10x, no coding required.

Recently one of the largest electronic stores in NYC had to close because of COVID-19 restrictions as they were considered a non-essential business. Looking for options that didn’t lay off their entire sales force, they gave the team the option to use SuperPhone. Selling from the comfort of their homes saw conversations between sales and customers increase 6,000% over the last 30 days. Keeping jobs alive working through the SuperPhone platform, they had the greatest month in their history to date. And even better yet, they saw an amazing 70% conversation to sales. Leslie says the best way to move forward is with authenticity, honesty, and transparency. Building a relationship where the customers do not feel as they are being sold to but have a partner that will help them with what they need, driving real value in relationships during the whole sales engagement process.

In the digital marketplace, the customers experience does not end when you receive payment. With the requirements to stay home during these past few months more and more customers are ordering online, making it increasingly vital to provide the best experience to online customers. And it is key to ensure the best service all the way through the fulfillment process

You can sell the best products in the world, but if it is not delivered correctly the customer experience is not fully realized. Tobias Buxhoidt Founder and CEO of parcelLab understands the benefits of focusing on the operations experience. parcelLab is a cloud solution for personalized post-checkout communication. parcelLab enables retailers and shippers to regain control over their customer experience post-checkout. Rather than handing over the customer engagement to DHL, FedEx, etc., parcelLab retains those touchpoints thereby closing the post-checkout gap in the customer journey and shopping experience. Retailers use parcelLab’s communication automation to provide a consistent brand experience, offer proactive customer care and maximize cross-selling.

Working with more than 450 brands, parcelLab’s customers have seen a significant reduction in customer inquiries. This solution is helping businesses build brand experience and offers a way to extend and continuing the relationship with the customer. In times of these uncertainties, it is more important than ever to over-communicate pro-actively with end customers to reduce customer inquiries and strengthen the revenue contribution of the post-sales channel. Therefore, parcelLab is offering free PoCs for a period of three months.

What we heard from these startups is that if you want the best for your customers, you listen to, focus on, and build trusting relationships. We proudly support these startups using their experiences and innovative technology to improve the customer experience. Be sure to check out how over 60 of our SAP.iO startups have stepped up to show their support during this time by creating COVID-19 specific offers to help make the world a better place.