Guest talk: Jacob Thundil, MBE; Founder & MD Cocofina

The style and appearance of the space where the service is delivered (including online space) is highly consequential for: Facilitating the service encounter and enhancing productivitySignalling quality, and positioning the brandReinforcing the value proposition, andShaping customers’ (and employees’) feelings and behaviours in the space For instance, warm colours are energising, while cool colours are calming. … Continue reading Guest talk: Jacob Thundil, MBE; Founder & MD Cocofina

Guest talk: Brian Bartolo, Director of Sales and Marketing

Service providers usually have fixed capacity. For instance, there are only so many people that can safely travel on a given flight; so many haircuts that can be done in a day; or so many meals that can be served at a time. On the other hand, interest in that service (i.e., the demand) tends … Continue reading Guest talk: Brian Bartolo, Director of Sales and Marketing

Guest talk: Yekemi Otaru, B2B Sales & Marketing Strategist

This week, Ms Yekemi Otaru joined my Services Marketing class to talk about how she combats the pricing and competitive pressures faced by her marketing agency. Yekemi is an entrepreneur and owner of Doqaru Limited. She is also a B2B Sales & Marketing Strategist, and a Bestselling Author about social media in the business to … Continue reading Guest talk: Yekemi Otaru, B2B Sales & Marketing Strategist

Technological disruptions in services

When our fridge broke down, at the end of last month, the job of finding a replacement was made a lot easier by the existence of websites, and significantly more interesting by the existence of augmented reality. With the former, we could gather lots of information about each fridge’s features and their availability, which helped … Continue reading Technological disruptions in services

[Miscellany] Three interesting podcast episodes

I want to share with you three interesting podcasts that I came across recently. Daniel Kahneman on noisy decision making, and the need for algorithms Sandra Peter interviews psychologist / behavioural economist and Noble prize winner, Daniel Kahneman, for the Sydney Business Insights podcast. He discusses his famous book, Thinking Fast and Slow. But, most … Continue reading [Miscellany] Three interesting podcast episodes

Useful typology of the role of technology in service interactions

The paper entitled “Frontline Technology Infusion: Conceptual Archetypes and a Future Research Agenda” offers a useful typology for the role of technology in customer service. The paper was authored by Arne De Keyser, Sarah Köcher, Linda Nasr and Jay Kandampully, and the authors provide various examples of how technology may 1) have no role, 2) … Continue reading Useful typology of the role of technology in service interactions

October 2020 round-up

This month included 2 weeks of half-term for the kiddo. Since we did not use camps, and there were limited opportunities to meet friends, this created some challenges. So, it’s a good thing that the month started well (as far as productivity is concerned). Time blocks worked well for me, as did weekly and daily … Continue reading October 2020 round-up

September 2020 round-up

September was about the return to routine. We returned to work after the family vacation. The kiddo returned to school after the long summer break, and the teen returned to her student accommodation. We also returned to the gym, after the lockdown. Of course, everything is different this time around. Meetings are taking place online. Face … Continue reading September 2020 round-up

August 2020 round-up

August was a month in two halves. The first one was spent at home, in the UK, trying to squeeze in some relaxation in between meetings and other work commitments. The second one was spent in Portugal, trying to squeeze in meetings and other work commitments in between some relaxation. First half The number of … Continue reading August 2020 round-up

The human backstage of tech businesses

In a recent episode of Intelligence Squared, Martha Lane Fox and Mishal Husain, reminisced about the early days of the Internet and, specifically, Lastminute.com, the pioneer travel and leisure website, launched by Lane Fox and her business partner, in 1998. The journalist Mishal Husain recalled: “I remember so well that the first two websites … Continue reading The human backstage of tech businesses