New Trade Routes

Drawing digital pathways on the new trade maps.

Trade drives the way people interact.  People, products, money, and ideas follow the trade routes and impact everything in their path.  Keeping pace with the way trade routes are changing is essential to success or even survival.  New Trade Routes is working to better understand the changes so we can help our clients, investees, and grantees improve their chances of success.

 

Build it and They Will Come

Anyone with electricity, and probably many without it, know that Google introduced the Nexus One phone last week.  Early reports indicate it is a pretty cool phone, and in typical Google style, they are going it on their own by offering the phone direct to the customer.  Of course a cell phone is of diminished utility without a cell phone carrier -- but selling phones "unlocked" is not a new business model -- just new in the USA.  

Google is proud of its engineering heritage and has held long and tight to its belief that sales and marketing are not important.  It appears that may also be true for their view on customer service.  After all, with good engineering, products will sell themselves and there will not be any need for customer service.

Setting the bar at self selling perfect products is pretty high indeed -- so the Google story is getting even more interesting.  PC World reported last Friday that the customer service calls are starting -- so stay tuned!

Just like in the Field of Dreams, Google built it, and here they come.  Let's just hope they don't have any questions.