So when I started this blog a year ago, my whole purpose was to start up a marketing conversation / a dialogue sort of speak out of fun. It is just something I truly enjoy having among friends, and I wanted to expand this experience online. So, after writing the last blog, the response I received was the exact objective of why I started this, but on an even bigger magnitude- EGYPTAIR wanted to talk marketing! More specifically, the Chairman & CEO, Captain Ahmed Adel of the Egyptair Group Holding Company (EGHC), wanted to have a conversation!
So two days after posting this article, I received an anonymous number call on my cell phone while driving to work. The Head of PR for EGHC explained that they read the article and were very eager to meet up with me to have a discussion. In fact, if I wouldn't mind, Captain Ahmed Adel, the Chairman & CEO of the group, would love to have a call with me. I said, "Sure, I would love to," and then 2 minutes later, he called to invite me to his office. He said he was extremely interested in continuing this conversation and showing me many things that are happening behind the scenes. The next day I was sitting in EGHC big boss' office talking marketing.
For starters, Captain Ahmed Adel's track record is beyond impressive; with 30+ years of aviation experience, he is beyond an interesting character to have a conversation with. You can check his bio on this Star Alliance link: Captain Ahmed Adel Bio.
We started by discussing what was written in the article point by point to hear from him what is going in the background to tackle each and every issue I wrote about. What I appreciated the most is his extreme transparency and acceptance of the situation. You see, a lot of companies don't listen or acknowledge. The bigger you get and the more history you have as a company, the more difficult it is to actually acknowledge the issues on board. Like I always say, some companies hear the consumers, but they don't really listen to them. This is why I was very happy with this discussion, because here, in front of me, was the CEO of 9 different companies under his scope, personally listening to what a customer has to say and addressing it point by point. That, to me, is the first step of actually having any chance of resolving your company's issues. LISTEN TO YOUR CONSUMER.
Besides being a very passionate person for his role, starting his day with his team at 7am and ending in the late hours of 10 pm, Captain Ahmed Adel explained to me a lot of the details of what is happening to improve Egyptair airline services. But like anything on that scale, projects take time. He also acknowledges that he is working personally to improve, speed to execute, which is crucial for him. Given my innovation marketing background, I did relate to how difficult of a task it is to innovate and renovate on such a level of operations. Still, it doesn't mean it's impossible. You just need to be on top of things constantly and have the tenacity to succeed, which he sure does, and I salute him for it and thank him again for the personal invitation.
If there is one key point to take from this week's blog, it's to LISTEN to your consumer. Remember, we market and sell to consumers (!), not to ourselves, not to our managers, not to our board members. Consumers will always be KING. LISTEN & EXECUTE.
I hope you have enjoyed this week's blog; feel free to write me at Shereba@brandmeup.co or leave a comment below.
Have a good one.
Shereba
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