The Industry’s Voice

When monitoring any kind of industry, a variety of reports are generated, ranging from overviews, to project details, meeting-actioned memos, emails, chats…all of these, in some form or the other, reflect the status of the industry in operation…in writing. Black on white, if not in actual ink, my personal choice is Ariel, and 10pt allows for more descriptive concept stating…I’m sure you understand and get the picture.

Personally, I write about service in operation, the industry’s voice, in all its facets and on all the different levels. The industry is huge…service consists of so many ideas, with so many interlinked levels on which these ideas are expressed. People who are recording, creating, and publishing content operate all the tentacles of this ‘information-web’, all of them offering service, in dealing with each other.

Which, for editing purposes, in writing about the monitoring process and its findings, involves many hours of sourcing, scanning, reading, analyses and publishing of best-in-practice content that represents a view of, and into, global and local markets.

Regardless of the type, or format of interaction, when it happens, service is an observable action yet, it cannot be measured, as it is not only intangible, it is also too varied. Thankfully, many people are specifically writing about the service process, giving me/us a look at their perception of service, as part of their position within a specific business sector, perhaps as part of being an educator, or as a researcher, etc… and, they know their topic, in general, if not specific. They also have experience in actual operations…on a variety of fronts, on interlinked levels and find themselves in the habit of jotting things down.

These ‘personal and weblogs’ writings speak loudly to those who monitor the industry’s content, as it soundboards the service industry, reflecting patterns of use, re-use, and eventual regurgitation of recycled topics, such as when the occasional, exceptional and insightful contributions, become an over-posted / quoted / extracted press release, sort of topical, kind of relevant etc.

Nevertheless, the accessible mix is exhaustive, to say the least. Mining and using this ‘database’ of information to create content is already stretching many companies tightly, as management try and either stay ahead and on top of what’s being written by contributing, or they employ / outsource full-time, content writers.

In the process of monitoring an industry’s voice

A picture emerges when one identifies topics of interest to the consumer, gathers all the writings on what service is, where it can be found, how the whole journey is discoverable, the technology that enables the customer to experience service (good / bad / irrelevant), recordings of someone’s thoughts

It is a magnificent process when you get busy with and in it…this monitoring. Moreover, to have the skills and ability, inclination, time, and passion, to actually write about it, as it happens…is no mean feat. Everyone who takes pen to paper (finger to keyboard) and assumes the responsibility of passing on information about service, contributes to building its picture by educating, sharing insights and new knowledge is to be applauded.

It is important though, to remember that service and customers/consumers/users are ‘joined at the hip’, in a manner of speaking. It does not matter which industry or sector of operations you are affiliated to through your employment, nor is it about any monetary value we can directly attribute to service (remember it is insubstantial / indefinable / indescribable / intangible).

Simply put, service, for everyone, and experienced by everyone, occurs at each point of interaction between us. As much as it is public, service, as experienced by consumers and providers, in my opinion, exists between every one, on all levels. The picture that has emerged, after almost six months of monitoring and research, is that of a bubbling, creative, innovative process, reflected in both ‘good and bad’ interactions that we are creating AND as a Wordsmith, for me the bonus is that we’re writing it down, informing and educating consumers, call centres and solutions providers.

What is your bonus?