Dy. Director - Business Marketing @ ARQon | Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, Creative Communication | I help companies reduce marketing costs by 40%
In Philip Kotler’s 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟰.𝟬, there’s a beautiful contrast he highlights: in this age of AI, 𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 "𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍," but inherently, 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 "𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎." And it’s true—while technology fascinates, human connection captivates. Take the story of the hotel in Japan that tried to automate everything by 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘀 at all customer touchpoints. Sounds futuristic, right? But it was a 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲. Customers were dissatisfied, complaints skyrocketed, and ultimately, all the 𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲… 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱! (Yes, perhaps the first-ever "robot layoffs"—wink wink). It turned out that guests craved human interaction, and the hotel had to turn back to humans for a successful guest experience. Recently, I heard about a hotel in Bangalore that installed a screen at the reception for a virtual check-in. At least the actual receptionist was there—virtually. It’s still uncertain whether this experiment will succeed, but the hospitality industry shows time and again that no tech can replace the 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵. The perfect example is 𝗥𝗶𝘁𝘇-𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗻, where staff are empowered to resolve customer issues with up to $2000 on the spot. In one instance, a child lost a beloved toy on the property, and within an hour, the hotel bought a nearly identical toy to calm the child down. These 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 are what make people warm towards other people—𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲. I’m not against embracing new technologies—far from it! But in industries like 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗽𝗵𝘆𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹" (physical + digital) approach seems to be the way forward. The blend of tech and human interaction is key to creating experiences that make customers come back time and again. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, and in hospitality, it's what makes all the difference. 😊 #Marketing4.0 #CustomerExperience #HumanTouch #HospitalityIndustry #AIAndHumans #Phygital #RitzCarlton #TechnologyWithHeart #CustomerCare
