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I’d happily take a bet on the opposite. When nobody is traveling to meet customers and make sales, it makes no difference. When your competitors start visitin

I’d happily take a bet on the opposite. When nobody is traveling to meet customers and make sales, it makes no difference. When your competitors start visiting your customers to make a sale, your company will be right behind them. These solutions are sort of ok during a pandemic, but otherwise no replacement for meeting in person.

onion2k 6y ago
otherwise no replacement for meeting in person I think the point is that the pandemic has proven these solutions are a replacement for in person meetings. People might prefer to meet in person, but we now know and have evidence that they don't have to in order to get stuff done. In any price sensitive market that will have a long lasting impact.
- throwawayboise 6y ago
  They are a replacement out of necessity, but a poor substitute.
  - paxys 6y ago
    That is very subjective. A large chunk of companies looking at the prospect of paying for 2X flights and 5 nights at a hotel every week for their consultants are going to realize that they got the same value for their money working with them on Zoom.
- michaelt 6y ago
  I suspect it all depends on the nature of the meeting, and the industry's experience in the pandemic. I agree your everyday travel for face-to-face meetings - the type I, as a programmer, end up doing - may be entirely replaced. But if the travel was for sales? Can't take the client out for a fancy lunch via teleconference. If you were travelling to do repairs or similar hands-on work? Can't replace the base joint on that robot arm over teleconference. If it was a jolly, like when you send people to a conference in a luxury hotel in an exotic location? Can't have your executives spend the evening lounging by the pool drinking mojitos over teleconference. If the purpose was to be visible, to ensure the people at the satellite office know they're as important to the boss as all the people at head office who see her every day? Might work over teleconference, might not, hard to say.
  - deviantfero 6y ago
    Is it really necessary to take your potential client out for lunch for them to buy your stuff?, If no one else did it, does it really add value to your product? Would these people stop buying what you have to offer whether from you or some other provider if there were no executive lunches or business dinners? Are executives lounging in a luxury hotel really essential to business? Or jollies for that matter. I think that things like repairs and technical visits are still a long way from being able to be carried out remotely, but the other items seem to be things that are non-essential.
    - f6v 6y ago
      Not essential, but enjoyable for many people. And they’ll push their agenda.
  - onion2k 6y ago
    But if the travel was for sales? Can't take the client out for a fancy lunch via teleconference. Maybe it's because I work in web tech and not something more glamorous but I've never worked with anyone who actually liked being taken out for lunch by a salesperson. Everyone knows it's all fake. The client knows that they're paying because the cost of the lunch gets added to the price. The salesperson knows the lunch isn't actually going to swing a deal their way. I don't really understand why people go through with it. If I employed someone who was willing to sign a contract because they'd had a fancy lunch I'd be skeptical that they're capable of assessing a purchase properly.
mark242 6y ago
If your customers are WFH, you aren't visiting them to make a sale.

onion2k 6y ago

otherwise no replacement for meeting in person I think the point is that the pandemic has proven these solutions are a replacement for in person meetings. People might prefer to meet in person, but we now know and have evidence that they don't have to in order to get stuff done. In any price sensitive market that will have a long lasting impact.

throwawayboise 6y ago
They are a replacement out of necessity, but a poor substitute.
- paxys 6y ago
  That is very subjective. A large chunk of companies looking at the prospect of paying for 2X flights and 5 nights at a hotel every week for their consultants are going to realize that they got the same value for their money working with them on Zoom.
michaelt 6y ago
I suspect it all depends on the nature of the meeting, and the industry's experience in the pandemic. I agree your everyday travel for face-to-face meetings - the type I, as a programmer, end up doing - may be entirely replaced. But if the travel was for sales? Can't take the client out for a fancy lunch via teleconference. If you were travelling to do repairs or similar hands-on work? Can't replace the base joint on that robot arm over teleconference. If it was a jolly, like when you send people to a conference in a luxury hotel in an exotic location? Can't have your executives spend the evening lounging by the pool drinking mojitos over teleconference. If the purpose was to be visible, to ensure the people at the satellite office know they're as important to the boss as all the people at head office who see her every day? Might work over teleconference, might not, hard to say.
- deviantfero 6y ago
  Is it really necessary to take your potential client out for lunch for them to buy your stuff?, If no one else did it, does it really add value to your product? Would these people stop buying what you have to offer whether from you or some other provider if there were no executive lunches or business dinners? Are executives lounging in a luxury hotel really essential to business? Or jollies for that matter. I think that things like repairs and technical visits are still a long way from being able to be carried out remotely, but the other items seem to be things that are non-essential.
  - f6v 6y ago
    Not essential, but enjoyable for many people. And they’ll push their agenda.
- onion2k 6y ago
  But if the travel was for sales? Can't take the client out for a fancy lunch via teleconference. Maybe it's because I work in web tech and not something more glamorous but I've never worked with anyone who actually liked being taken out for lunch by a salesperson. Everyone knows it's all fake. The client knows that they're paying because the cost of the lunch gets added to the price. The salesperson knows the lunch isn't actually going to swing a deal their way. I don't really understand why people go through with it. If I employed someone who was willing to sign a contract because they'd had a fancy lunch I'd be skeptical that they're capable of assessing a purchase properly.

mark242 6y ago

If your customers are WFH, you aren't visiting them to make a sale.