103. Cleverer via the net

Hi Gerard,

I used to travel to London for 25 years, I always hated it. When you landed at Heathrow you walked across the plush carpet to the exit and when you arrived at your hotel you sat on the toilet with the same deep-pile carpet under your feet. The whole of London was dated and dirty. It has indeed completely changed. There is tremendous momentum, it struck me that you are served everywhere by young people from other European countries who are attracted by the exciting life in a cosmopolitan city and who take mediocre housing conditions for granted.Everywhere in major European cities, you see that the centre has been taken over by tourists. In the Warmoesstraat in Amsterdam, twenty years ago there were only junkies in the porches and now you cannot cycle there because there are too many tourists walking. A lot of money has been spent in a short period. In London, you also have almost one million mainly young foreign people, who work in the financial sector. They also have a lot of money to spend and do it frequently to relax after the long hours they work every day in the office. This is the reason why London is always bustling.

And wherever you are in London, you see new initiatives in the entertainment area, as you mentioned. Concept, decor, service, everything is consistent. You call this the ‘new sales’. It should be noted that to some extent these new sales are controlled by the Internet. One or more bad reviews and a potential customer clicks on the next restaurant or cafe. Vacations are now organized at home on the internet, so to stand out you have to be noticed quickly in conjunction with good reviews.

The world has become smaller thanks to the Internet and I think that through this medium private customers have also become more agile in selecting services. This is another reason why you have to be the best in the execution of your business processes.

You operate in the business market, rather than in retail. And you say that in 2015 you want to focus on the ‘new sales’. How do you want to create this business market, without the old sales techniques? Individuals can browse all kinds of comparison, but in the business market this does not exist. How then do they find you and choose you because they have found that you provide the best service? With us, this is done mainly through referrals but if you want to accelerate the pace at which you obtain new clients, you need to come up with something extra. Probably this can be achieved by using the Internet, but only by using it in a different way. Besides the usual features such as creating news that is read by your target audience and providing this in e-magazines and mail updates and organizing webinars, I have not yet found the Holy Grail in this field.

I am curious what ideas you will come up with in 2015 to reflect this ‘new sales’ idea. It would be great if you came up with something original, so that I can apply it as well!

Regards,

Erik