The year 2020 isn’t even over yet, and it has been loaded with enough negative press for 2 years! I certainly struggled early in the year with finding the positive silver linings, but being the optimist that I am, I kept looking! We have all had many challenges to overcome this year, but take the analogy of climbing a mountain (yes, actually getting outside with some good footwear and friends, picking a peak and hitting the trailhead), the best views are the highest and take the most effort to experience.
This summer while enjoying a break with my family at a hotel in Penticton, the differences in these perspectives from a hospitality perspective were jumping out at me all over the place. I have become increasingly disappointed with the organizations that have done the least amount of change to just “get through this pandemic”. While on the flip side, you have organizations and leaders that have seen the underlying opportunity and implemented drastic changes that would not have been on the table before COVID-19 reared its head, which have shown to be a better way of providing a product or service and will not revert back, ever. I encourage you to look for these changes and celebrate them!
This season has not only been about survival as it initially started, it has evolved into an entirely new competitive landscape. Competitive advantages that were held prior to March 2020 are now possibly based on a foundation that is no longer solid. If we don’t consider that our clients on the receiving side have changed, we’re innovating in vain. This is the theme of this article; I want to know how the needs of our clients have changed!
October is the last month of our fiscal year. With all that has changed this year, I wanted to put all assumptions aside, take a step back and give our clients the chance to influence our 2021 planning! While we will continue to push in to bringing our leadership to you from a technology perspective, we also need to keep our focus on continually improving your ever-changing day to day experience with us!
I recorded the video below (one of the new tools I have embraced this year) and shared it with our clients back in September to introduce the initiative.
We have shared the link to the submission form through our email signatures and ticket survey emails, and as a little incentive and thank you, we will be drawing names from the submissions list and giving away prizes!
I wanted to post this blog article for a little more context behind the video and the initiative and share publicly to hopefully encourage others to gain a fresh perspective on the outlook of 2021 and beyond. I am sincerely exited about what is to come and look forward to hearing the stories of others that have also embraced the changes our world has gone through, for the better.
Keep improving out there and never forget about the context of your client experience!
MATT DRYFHOUT
CEO & Founder
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