S P E C I A L FE ATUR E Mariam Ottimoore, author of This Messy Mobile Life and the And Then We Moved To blog therefore reduced demand for traditional moving services. But for those who like to adapt, there is a huge market opportunity to fulfil the new needs and make mobile life easier for the next generation. MAKE YOUR SERVICES ACCESSIBLE For existing and emerging business that are taking up this challenge, Vlachos offers three pieces of advice. Focus on these customers and try to understand their exact needs, she says. This might not be easy because they are so used to doing things themselves. Dig deep, understand their needs, and provide them with a comprehensive package of services that fulfil those needs and streamlines their experience. Give them tools and services that they can pick and choose from and allow them to do that online. Next, she says, companies sending their employees on new, less permanent assignments will need specialist help with the admin of aspects such as compliance, and many will want to outsource this. Finally, make your new services easily accessible online with features including websites, online assessment tools (testimonials) and ratings. Make this user friendly, she adds, capture and engage customers. Stand out from them online with proven credentials or membership to a renowned organisation such as FIDI. Make sure customers can assess you and know what theyre getting. She says: I would have killed to have had someone who understood my needs and provided me with the support without needing to go to different providers. Understanding the humans at the sharp end of any moving chain has always been important. But, as more frequent and more flexible mobility based on diverse individual choices comes to the fore, this empathy will become vital as will terms like customisation and personalisation. Many FIDI Aliates are expanding services in this direction and are already rethinking their business models. FIDI is taking these changes in its stride and will launch a DSP Certification programme, in parallel to its FAIM Certification, in early 2020. There is a need for the all-in-one global citizen specialist, says Vlachos. You can look at a situation and see negative consequences or you can look and see the opportunities that are right there for whoever is bold enough to take them. Mariam Ottimofiore is author of the book This Messy Mobile Life: How a MOLA can help globally mobile families create a life by design and the international moving blog www.andthenwemovedto.com Katia Vlachos is the author of A Great Move: Surviving and Thriving in Your Expat Assignment. She is also a blogger and transition coach: www.katiavlachos.com 40 FF292 AugSep19 pp34-41 The Human Side of Moving.indd 40 WWW. F I D I . OR G 15/07/2019 15:56