Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2018 | Page 47

Real Estate
Goes Tampere
RE Finland – formerly
known as the Annual
Convention of Property
Investment Prospects – was
hosted on 9-10 November
at Tampere.
T
he “biggest annual event for the Finn-
ish real estate business” did not dis-
appoint this year either: the one-and-
a-half-day seminar served up a full plate
of industry goods, ranging from invest-
ment and financing to construction and ser-
vices. The bigger perspective was there as
well, with Fredrik Reinfeldt, former Prime
Minister of Sweden, delivering the keynote
speech to kick off the convention.
With hundreds of participants flock-
ing the halls of Tampere House, it was also
clear that networking was very much a part
of people’s agenda. In addition, this year’s
main topic – customer-orientation – caused
a big buzz among the guests.
Brand is Everything
Laura Tarkka from Kämp Collection Hotels
provided insights into the mind of a cus-
tomer who is keen on quality. According to
Tarkka, today’s customers are looking for
personalised experiences – and this is where
thoughtful branding comes in. The Kämp
Collection, for instance, features nine hotels
which all have their own, strong brands
which resonate strongly with the patrons.
“As the hotel market keeps growing,
it’s all about the engaging your customers,”
Tarkka said, adding that customers want
“bigger meaning” now.
Tarkka remarked that when it comes to
empathy, Finns don’t do very well according
to international studies – but this is some-
thing all organisations can work on. “A good
indicator of employee’s level of empathy is
the amount of additional sales he or she is
able to generate.”
Getting your “troops” in fine form
is, naturally, a key part of all this. Tarkka
revealed that Kämp Collection uses a special
“On Fire” Index to see who’s really doing a
great job with the patrons.
Feel the Difference
Tuula Uitto from Telia Finland argued that
customer insight is something that is, sim-
ply put, everybody’s business. According to
Telia’s research into the matter, customers
want service that is smooth and individual.
“In customised service, the customer
gets the feeling that there is a constant
improvement and you’re getting better and
better service as a result. Eventually, via the
use of data and analytics, one can anticipate
the customer’s needs and act accordingly.”
One of Telia’s breakthroughs in the
customer feedback process was turning the
attention to feelings – one of the key indi-
cators now is ‘joy’.
“Understanding where the customer is
coming from emotionally is more and more
relevant.” According to Uitto, with new dig-
ital tools, there is no shortage of data out
there, but the personal touch is still the most
important thing.
Running Free
On the second day, the big “headliner”
was a man accustomed to performing to as
many as 250,000 people. Bruce Dickinson
– known for his long stint as the lead singer
of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden – is
also a commercial pilot, brewmaster, busi-
ness angel, entrepreneur… Dickinson pro-
vided a feisty lecture on the power of cre-
ativity to close the convention with style.
“The secret lies in simply doing one
thing at a time – focus on the moment and
set other things aside,” he said. l
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