When Opportunity Knocks, Answer The Door
I wanted to hit the subject of lack of communication between Philippine businesses and their potential customers just one more time here. It’s one thing for me to rail about what I feel the monetary costs of unanswered emails and phone calls may be, it lends a certain authority to my thesis, though, when I can quote actual numbers from a man who is right “in the trenches” working the very same issues.
My on-line friend Brendon Sinclair runs a business in Brisbane, Australia focused on public relations, marketing and web design … one of his big specialties is resort hotels and condo properties … exactly the kind of items readers of this blog are likely interested in. Brendon’s experience has been gained mainly in Australia and it so closely parallels what I see happening here in the Philippines that one sees immediately that this is by no means a “Philippines only” issue. But it’s an issue. A big one. If you’re interested at all in how a business should be run and especially if you’re thinking about investing in or running a business here then this short article on missed opportunity is well worth the read.
The example Brendon discussed that struck me most was the resort who was running a carefully designed new promotion for room bookings on a newly designed web site built to market the sale. After two weeks (a lifetime in the online world) it appeared they were getting no sales at all from their marketing efforts. But it turns out that the employee who was supposed to receive the emails and turn the inquiries into sales had not yet “got ’round” to opening her email and, in fact, there were dozens of booking inquires lying ignored and unanswered.
- If you want to do business, have a product ready before you advertise
- Expect success … if you advertise, make sure you answer the mail
- If you can’t make the sale at that instant, get contact data and follow up!
I have an on line friend here in the Philippines who opened a restaurant in partnership wife his wife not very far from where we live. In October 2006 I emailed him about bringing a large family party there for Mita’s mom’s birthday, in November. “Oh no”, he replied, “we have an issue with the power and some road construction so we won’t be ready for a few months”. Fair enough … those sorts of things happen. I queried again some months later and was told the new grand re-opening was going to “push through” within a week or two.
Well that was 10 months ago. This fellow has my email (davestarr (at) gmail (dot) com, cell phone (0919-231-5625) and my Yahoo IM address (davestarr (at) yahoo (dot) com) and even though restaurant eating is pretty cheap here I have probably spent a few hundred bucks since that time on going out to eat and never yet been invited to spend my money at his restaurant where I wanted to spend it in the first place.
I could recite you a list of expats and their Filipina wives I know of who have started restaurants or even resorts and hotels in the Philippines during the past 8 years. I can’t think of more than perhaps one or two who made it past their first few months of business.
Do you imagine that ignoring business that is literally knocking at their door is one of the reasons for this sad state of affairs?
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