Are we really a First World country with a world-class service industry serving the economy? Certainly not if our still unresolved issue with Singapore Post (SingPost) is a yardstick for measurement. A simple request for Singapore Post to re-deliver my wife’s parcel (containing online purchases of clothes from Forever 21) has dragged on for almost 3 weeks with no end in sight. Much worse is the customer service treatment we have been receiving at the hands of this monopolistic (we don’t really have a choice, do we?) Singaporean postal service. Truth is: no one at SingPost seems tocare!
Here is something I received last Saturday morning, what I termed as ‘Door Spam’, leaflets/flyers stuck on the front door grille. It is a leaflet for a condominium development. Which one? I really can’t say. This is the second time I have received this leaflet. I cringed both times.
Observe for a moment. What is wrong with this leaflet?
Updated 13/11: This post also appears as a guest blog post on Penn Olson.
I was recently reading an early chapter of Al and Laura Ries’ ‘The Origin of Brands’ and was struck by this concept:
The world’s best and long-lasting brands were typically created by a divergence from an existing product category and that these brands continue to survive not because of their ‘share of market’ but for being first in the mind of consumers.
Consider these examples of divergence and its disregard for market size of the day:
What was the size of the cola market the day Coca Cola was launched?
What was the market size of Mac users when Apple launched their Apple I system?
How about the size of the personal computer market the day Microsoft launched their MS-DOS platform?
And when McDonald first introduced the fast-food hamburger to the American public, what was the size of the fast-food market?
The answer to these questions: Zero.
However, these brands have proven they have what it takes to survive and prosper all these years. So, why is this possible? Read the rest of this entry »
Recently I was asked this question ‘Tell me why Wisma Atria should have a Twitter account’. Wisma Atria is a major mall on Orchard Road, Singapore that has pretty much reinvented itself with a facade change and cool-factor repositioning. A quick check shows that Wisma Atria is already on Twitter although I can’t be sure if that is indeed Wisma’s or a Twitter-squatter. Looks derelict to me (with 4 dubious followers) and 0 tweets.
How can a company who gives its product away for free be extremely profitable (billions in revenue!)? Chris Brogan says it nicely here on how Red Hat does business by involving the community.
In a really connected world, no one can go it alone. Apart from the community that supports and develops your products (in tech at least), listening to your customers (end-users) must be the easiest way to gain insights, to polish your wares. But sadly, that is not always the case.
This Red Hat video says it very well and succinctly. The community-driven enterprise: it works!
By now you must have realised my fascination for augmented reality. It has all been really ‘cool’ without much real-life application (yet) outside of games and layering the real world with the internet. Fancy but still too techy for most folks.
This is something else. The United States Postal Service has come up with a brilliant use for augmented reality. For the CUSTOMER. Not an exhibition.
A breakthrough perhaps in a real life use for augmented reality (anyone else seen anything similar being developed? Please comment if you have.) So, have you ever wondered if that teddy bear gift you bought will fit in a packing box for shipping? Now you can find out yourself with a camera and internet connection. No need for ‘guess-timation’ or looking out for that measuring tape that is never around when you need it.
Can SingPost develop something like this? I say it would be the norm rather than a novelty in the not-too-distant future.
Excellent, this is technology for the customer. Watch video below and be convinced.
Funny thing is, I have never received a newsletter from Twitter. Nor any other communication since signing up.
Or you have and it is really just me?
Maybe they haven’t figured it out yet. Probably thousands of others like me have explicitly given them the permission to speak directly to me. And they’re not jumping on to this? They need to read a Godin.
Or they haven’t hired anyone to do this. Or set it up? Too busy on the technology or how to monetise perhaps?
Here’s the official line from Twitter’s own help page.
I have been a user far much longer than 6 weeks, spill the beans already!
Facebook is a great place for small businesses and startups to stay in touch with their customers online. In fact, there are many other social media tools that can help SMEs get around the big revolution that is the social Web 2.0. Fika Cafe is a new food place, serving Swedish food in a quaint district of Singapore. Fika’s on Facebook too and the subject of my case study.
Are we really a First World country with a world-class service industry serving the economy? Certainly not if our still unresolved issue with Singapore Post (SingPost) is a yardstick for measurement. A simple request for Singapore Post to re-deliver my wife’s parcel (containing online purchases of clothes from Forever 21) has dragged on for almost 3 weeks with no end in sight. Much worse is the customer service treatment we have been receiving at the hands of this monopolistic (we don’t really have a choice, do we?) Singaporean postal service. Truth is: no one at SingPost seems to care!
I was recently reading an early chapter of Al and Laura Ries’ ‘
Recently I was asked this question ‘Tell me why Wisma Atria should have a Twitter account’. 
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