I took my family to Colonial Williamsburg for a long weekend. Everyone had a great time but what really hit me over the head was the speed of communication back in the 1700’s.

It would take 1 to 2 years to hear back from England regarding a proposed ruling. Goods shipped from Europe traveled on average 144 days before they could be purchased. The main mode of commerce: water.

Today, it’s the speed of light vs. the speed of a scooner. I gained an even deeper appreciation of the immediate and global availability of information and customer interaction by stepping back 300+ years for 3 days.

It made me realize what a great opportunity we have in incorporating customers’ voice into company voice to improve sales…without getting seasick along the way!

Let me know if you have any stories about how commerce was conducted long ago or any comments in general.

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