Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/05/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Pascal wrote: "I find it hard to believe how they can organize and find participants for all their photo trips in German. There must be fewer German users than foreign users of Leica gear and the prices of the trips are quite expensive so in any case only a fraction of all current Leica users worldwide could be interested." Pascal I gave up trying to understand the workings of Leica's marketing people, and attempting to determine any signs of a coherent *strategy* a *long* time ago. :-) The Akademie has some excellent English speakers, two of whom expressed considerable enthusiasm for the task of running English language photo trips. However this is a circular problem: while there aren't enough takers for the courses that the Akademie offers in English, it won't extend English language coverage, as long as the English courses offered are just those aimed at beginners, there won't be a strong take-up (how many established M users have the humility - or indeed the need - to attend a beginners course). And round we go. However I feel the answer lies in communication; there seems to be an odd reluctance among many Leica aficionados to *talk* to the folk at Leica. It's almost as if many of Leica's customers regard the company - and its staff - as distant Gods, designing and making the equipment *they* want to make on some Olympian mount far away, and deigning to send down the fruits of their labours to the humble acolytes assembled meekly below. This isn't true. Leica *wants* to be a commercially responsive, customer driven business, because the management know *perfectly well* that this is what's needed if the company is to survive in the modern world. If there's something you want, try asking for it. No there's no guarantee you will get what you want in the short term, nor even at all, but Leica is a commercial business, and like *any* business it stands or falls on the insight it can gain into the requirements of its customers. Why do you think they're LUG subscribers, and significant (I stress significant) messages posted here find their way to the staff at Solms who're responsible for the topics covered? I know some here claim this doesn't happen but Leica's own staff say otherwise. - -- David Morton dmorton@journalist.co.uk