New marketing channels are capturing the attention of executives everywhere, but in this immensely challenging and competitive economic environment, a focus on the basics of nurturing customer relationships to drive referrals and positive word of mouth remains a more critical opportunity.

by William J. Brown

By any measure, the financial crisis that began in 2007 has thrust wrenching challenges upon the business models of hospitality and shared-ownership companies in every vertical, as customers and potential prospects deal with high levels of unemployment, plummeting real estate values affecting perceptions of individual and family net worth, and declining consumer confidence.

Among many direct effects have been decreased spending on discretionary purchases and non-essential travel. Invoking “rainy day” scenarios and desperately seeking to preserve cash, travel and lodging
companies in-turn have attempted to cut capacity, substantially defrayed new capital-intensive projects, and have reduced headcount, often in very dramatic manner.

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Tags: executives, financial, Marketing, NetPromoter, shared ownership