The event, which is the eighth in the series, will be staged under the banner of “Staying relevant in a more complex world: responding to diverse customer needs”. The programme editor for the event, John Modd, explains ” Whatever the economic climate, recession or growth, and whether a country is more or less developed, rich or not so rich, fundamental changes are taking place in almost every nation in the Americas.
A new society is emerging as a result of exponential changes in the way people communicate. Thanks to mobile phones and to the internet, citizens, even the poorest, have much more information available to them on an almost infinite range of subjects. Better informed consumers are in turn more demanding purchasers and consumers. They expect more choice in the products and services they purchase, and more responsiveness from the organisations they deal with. They demand better value.
In related developments, governments are also looking at ways to harness the new communications media to promote greater social inclusion. Across the region, e-commerce driven by the internet is moving cross-border commerce to new levels.
The impact of this emerging new society is obviously far from consistent across the Americas, but the trend is clear, whether the consumer is a lawyer in Los Angeles or a peasant farmer in Peru.
These changes have huge implications for providers of postal services, mail, parcels and express.
In an era when so many other forms of communication are available, national postal operators have to take a different view of their customers. They need to understand their individual needs as never before, and find ways to meet them. And they have to demonstrate relevance in this new society on an almost daily basis, otherwise consumers will go elsewhere.
Their private sector competitors might claim they have always been more attuned to customer needs and this has been the key factor in taking share off the posts. But this new society is new for them too. They cannot afford to rest on their laurels.”
Modd explained that the conference theme reflects the requirement for everyone to understand better the new society and how to respond effectively to a wide range of customers with very different requirements. He commented “that this promises to be a fascinating couple of days – the topics are business critical and I look forward to some energetic debate”
