Digital technology has seeped deep into HRM processes and is being increasingly used for conductingtalent management. Employee experience management is being used now similar to CRM is for marketers. One has to make sure the technology used for this is engaging. The technology must also be adaptable enough to integrate unique systems and dimensions. If this does not happen, the human resources department will not be able to extract valuable data for further business analysis. 

Marketers are forever at a fix in order to get the exact dimensions of what the human mind is looking for. After much business research, four types have been identified especially relevant for the car and beer markets. The aspirational mind prefers distinctive yet widely available brands such as Mercedes, BMW, Sam Adams and Heineken accounting for over three-fifths of the beer market. Mainstream minds prefer brands that are typical of their respective industries and thus are attracted towards Chevrolet, Ford, Busch or Miller. Customers with unconventional choices prefer out of the ordinary brands such as the Mini or Stella. Peripheral brands are those lacking focus or uniqueness quotient. Brands such as Mitsubishi, Kia or Pabst work best in this segment which still accounts for about a fourth of car sales.

Some methods have been suggested by a management consulting publication to attract social media followers to the actual company stores. Coupons must be offered that can only be redeemed at the actual store. Special events must be hosted regularly. Local events must also be attended and the designated hash-tag must be used to enable co-marketing. Another way to attract crowds would be to post images of the actual store. Employees’ personalities must be broadcast to wider audience. Peer based reviews on the store and its products must be encouraged on public forums. Fans’ posts must be re-tweeted or shared across social media channels.

With China flexing its economic muscle in the tourism industry, online home rentals giant Airbnb is set to target that market. Initially the outbound market from China will be targeted before eventually entering the domestic segment and taking on local market leader- tujia.com. Business research by the firm suggests that Chinese outbound tourism via Airbnb has increased eight times over the last year. Sequoia Capital’s regional arm is set to partner Airbnb in this venture to eventually get a grip on the Chinese market.

Corporate training for employees working in technology centric roles often needs to be outsourced. Talent management of existing employees often requires specific training which only third parties can provide but saves the effort of recruiting newer faces. The firm must also be innately aware the personnel and their skills already within the firm’s reach before opting for outsourced options. Certain modules and technologies exist where the skill set required is so specific that it is not possible for the firm to provide the training internally, but expert help is necessary.

Tourism consulting by Lonely Planet publication has listed the ten top tourist sites on the globe. The Aya Sofia in Istanbul is listed as tenth. The Alhambra in Spain goes a notch above. The Iguazu Falls in Brazil and the Colosseum in Rome complete the eighth and seventh spots respectively. The come the Grand Canyon National Park and the Taj Mahal in USA and India respectively. The Great Wall of China comes fourth. The mysterious Machu Picchu stands tall at third. Just one spot away from top lies the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Right on top are the temples of Angkor Vat in Cambodia.

Social media is nowadays being used to broadcast corporate strategy aims across organizations. Yet greater focus and investment at improving customer experience will be a better objective in the long run. Firms should show greater patience towards customer service agents so customers may be serviced best. Such CRM must be developed or adopted which will ensure customers do not need to repeat information at various stages of the buying process. Greater and improved corporate training must be provided to marketers regarding the concept of customer service. Public forums or fan sites must always be kept in the loop regarding product or service updates. Importantly, one must frequently go out for lunch with customers to understand them and their requirements better.