On the way back to Munich from the wonderful Zurich PM Camp in the slow EC train with the two smelly diesel locomotives, I had plenty of time.
Among the things I had taken along was the new “brand eins” edition of May. Here is my calculation: 1 + 1 is 2 – this time around, I had the magazine with me in the train before the month of its official publication and I read it in one go.
The title is “How did you like me?” – it is about the interface between the company and the customer. That means: customers want more – and consequently, the focal point is: In the customer’s interest.
I found a number of interesting articles in the new “brand eins” edition. This time around, they made it a thoughtful magazine, rather than a “revolutionary” one. Also, I feel it is an attempt at encouraging various forms of trade. Even if they probably no longer have a chance of success.
For instance, it contains many interesting examples and stories about the relation between enterprises and trade on the one hand and customers on the other hand. And when I read it, my thoughts are:
What a pity that some of the ideas are now dead weights (Globetrotter).
What a pity that much of the transformation realized in trade is probably just cheating on the customer.
What a pity that many feel better when they get a chance to believe in theories which may sound prudent, but will not be helpful in the long run.
What a pity that much sounds like “cheating on the customer”. They say and want to make the customer believe that they sell a new spirit wrapped in new paper, but when all is said and done, everything will remain the same.
What a pity that the wrapping mostly does not say what is actually inside.
What a pity that they try to raise expectations which are definitely not sustainable.
These were my ideas while I read the articles. And then I associated a number of thoughts with what I had read:
What good will it do me if the friendly sign on the defunct escalator says that the owner will try and repair the damage as fast as possible while I know perfectly well that what he actually means is:
“The damage has been registered and the process will be followed according to its rules. The time of repair depends on many factors and, consequently, cannot be predicted.”
What good will it do me if I have a faulty product with a good label. However, the central store selling the label will only help me by referring me to the web address.
What good will it do me if I want to buy the techno-shoes for bikers in the specialized shop and am even prepared to pay a higher price. Yet if I ask the salesperson how best to get access to the kickies, he or she cannot answer my question – even though I know that I can buy the shoes for half the price on the internet.
What good will it do me if I cannot pay with paypal or other modern means of payment, yet will only get free delivery up from a certain price – and then it takes longer than if I buy from Amazon?
But I am also worried about other things:
So how am I, as a customer, supposed to find something that is not wrapped in plastic?
How will I get the desired quality of food if it is no longer offered?
Where can I get simple service, for instance for my bike close enough from home to reach on food?
Consequently, I can easily imagine that there will only be two kinds of trade left in the future:
Internet trade and very regional trade based on trust.
And I can easily imagine then spending most of my money with local businessmen and service providers.
But have I not written often enough:
The future is not something you can predict – and this “brand eins” edition is again a wonderful reason to discuss the future at length.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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