The past weeks were very difficult to me. I have been asked for expert opinion on the impact of the crude oil price explosion and potential counter measures. With my background on technical projects, there seems an expectation, that I”d support the idea of tweaking cost by reducing staff further and adding technology as the panacea. In my eyes, that is short-sighted and simply stupid. As are airlines cheating the passenger …

1st semester in Marketing: It is far more expensive acquiring new customers than keeping existing ones. And far more expensive to recover a lost one. Customers selecting your product only because of the bargain price have no loyalty. Reliable business? Only if you use the opportunity to make them a loyal customer!

This is what the subject of this post is all about: Sale is personal. Service is personal. IT solutions can support staff by handling (a lot) routine work, mass mailings, etc. IT must be part of the distribution portfolio. But it can only handle the “bread and butter business”. Business development?
Addressing angry, mishandled customers with a friendly face or a personal phone call, I learned to be far more effective. Make them your friend…

And with travel becoming more expensive, the product becomes “luxury” again. Luxury usually implies a more personal sale and service! You better be ready…