I am smitten with the concept of Hostmanship! Services marketing has always really fascinated me to no end because the employees in the business have such a great impact on how a business and brand is perceived and experienced. Very often in marketing the focus is on advertising or promotion, which to me is an important part of marketing,but not the whole picture.
What I like about Hostmanship is that when explained as the "Art of making people feel welcome" you instantly get it. Everyone has at least some inkling of what making people feel welcome, is all about. Even if you may not be very good at it yourself.
The second thing I like about the concept of Hostmanship is that if you apply it to other businesses than those in the hospitality industry, it still holds up. You can apply it if you run a hospital, a gym, a nail studio, a networking group, consultancy, sell cup cakes, or an art gallery. It doesn't really matter what you do, you want to make your guests a.k.a. you customers feel welcome.
The third thing I like about Hostmanship is that it fits so well with anything I know about services marketing. It resonates with me and I think the authors say it so much better than dry theory.
Jan Gunnarsson wrote the book with Olle Blom and there is a world of experience behind the concept of Hostmanship. Check out Jan Gunnarsson speech at TedX Maastricht. If you are not into video, check out their company's PDF About Hostmanship.
We received three copies from Jan Gunnarsson to give away. Enter the sweepstakes before Sunday March 11th, 8 AM (Amsterdam time that is). The whole world can play.
Jan Gunnarsson - "Hostmanship: the art of making people feel welcome" from Hostmanship on Vimeo.
