Undoubtedly, you have wondered why your favorite hotel does not ‘digitally’ recognize you? Why an airline still uses your profile of a decade ago? Why a

merchant with whom you interact with a lot, has no recognition of your preferences? When all the technology and the interest from the people to be more ‘personal’ is available, why are businesses shying away?

If we look at the travel and hospitality industry, disruption is inevitable. New players like Virgin are far more popular and agile (willing to experiment more), AirBnB is disrupting the hospitality industry and web commerce is far more enjoyable than going to your favorite department store or store. We are going to unravel this resistance-mystery in a few blogs, so first, let’s lay out the scenario…

As a loyal member and consumer, an abundance of information about you is available. It is certainly enough to make the provider much more in tuned with your needs, to offer you incentives that matter, and to create a far more personal interaction atmosphere. The problem is that disruption costs money, takes effort and presents change. It is not a matter of technology. Technology is available to everyone. It is a matter of accepting the premise that personalization is critical.

If I buy products from the same supplier (any product) and have done so for years, I would be delighted if that supplier would recognize and reward me effectively, connect with me more often and was able to be a better provider. It is win-win for everyone.

So, instead we have web applications running on smart devices, which are often limited versions of the old web applications, offering limited personalization. That is a waste of a smart device app!

Personalization Disruption Process:

Part I: Consumers should DEMAND personalization from any/all providers and vendors.

Part II: STOP providing marketing and sales assets for free! Every time consumers naively posts on Facebook, Twitter or other online network about a great product, they are providing FREE marketing services. So stop making Facebook rich and demand recognition for your advertisement. Assets cannot and should not be free! All assets have value.

Part III and beyond: Stay tuned as much more coming!

Let’s Disrupt | Innovate | Lead