danleach.co.uk

Just read the latest post in Influential Marketing in amazement! Part of Visa’s sponsorship at the Olympics includes payment exclusivity at the games’ venues.

I have recently seen an increase in business decisions being made without any consideration for how it affects the customer experience.

This is by no means a new trend! National Rail introducing voice recognition to its train information hotline a couple of years ago is another example of how businesses forgo the experience of their customers and lose focus on the bigger picture. In this case, they may save some money on phone operators but won’t make anything if people stop calling!

Twitter is fast going down the same path. First stopping the SMS service to UK customers and the limiting the number of people you can follow. Sure, Twitter may stop haemorrhaging money for a week or so but it means nothing if people stop using it all together.

No matter how short-term a business decision is, if it affects customers then the ill-will created will last a lifetime.