13 December 2007

Whatever Happened to the “Service Station”?

In their efforts to cut costs, companies in gasoline retailing -- and plenty of other industries -- are minimizing human interaction. Does this self-service approach risk turning their brands into commodities?

by William J. McEwen
Author of Married to the Brand (Gallup Press, 2005) and coauthor of the Harvard Business Review article "Inside the Mind of the Chinese Consumer"
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In their efforts to cut costs, companies in gasoline retailing -- and plenty of other industries -- are minimizing human interaction. But in doing so, they're undermining a major competitive advantage: the personal touch. Does this self-service approach risk turning their brands into commodities?
William J. McEwen, Ph.D., is Global Practice Leader for Gallup's Brand Management practice. He is the author of Married to the Brand (Gallup Press, 2005) and coauthor of the Harvard Business Review article "Inside the Mind of the Chinese Consumer."
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