Peter F. Drucker

'The critical question is not 'How can I achieve?' but 'What can I contribute?'

My Malay Barber: The Simple Marketing Guy Who Listened and Listened

Posted: July 5th, 2010 | Author: Isman Tanuri | Filed under: Business, Customer Service, Marketing 2.0 | Tags: , , , , , | View Comments

InTheBarberShop_Bolotowsky Sometime in 2006, I started to frequent a Malay barber guy in Race Course Road, close to where I used to live on Petain Road. Operating out of a shop underneath a HDB block, the joint has probably seen better days; it is now sparse and functional. Three of them (all in their 50s) worked out of the same premises and it took me a while to get comfortable with one particular guy. Other than being cheap (SG$8 per trim), a haircut at the barber gets the job done quickly and efficiently, none of the fussiness of the salon and its army of stylists.

My Malay barber’s a quiet man. Apart from pleasantries, Vespa stories and the weather, we hardly got personal. But all the same, my sessions with this guy had been very pleasant. We had a well-established, mutually-beneficial relationship. His colleagues knew that and respected this relationship well to never court me to sit in their chairs, even if the place was swarmed. I was this guy’s regular and loyal customer.

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If Wisma Atria is on Twitter: Why a Twitter Presence is Essential for Any People Business

Posted: October 2nd, 2009 | Author: Isman Tanuri | Filed under: Business, Customer Service, Social Media, The Customer | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | View Comments

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.

There are many things that a business can achieve on Twitter and on social media in general, including close interaction with customers, shouting out ads, news and discounts, content distribution and much more. Brand reputation management is also a real possibility if Twitter is set up to alert.

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