Musings from Mexico

I was in Mexico this week to deliver a public seminar on Marketing. My host was Seminarium Mexico – they organize top-quality seminars featuring faculty from leading business schools. In my conversation with the host and participants, it became obvious to me how quickly the financial markets crisis affected the Mexican economy, and how bad things are likely to become. The Mexican Peso has lost more than a third of its value since August 2. Companies hare hurting badly despite the fact that exports from Mexico will become cheaper. People are very nervous about a run on the banks. The mortgage market is thankfully not in bad shape as mortgage-backed securities and derivatives linked to real-estate are not as prevalant. But it is a matter of time. I came back with a feeling that that things aren’t looking good down South. But in tough economic times, it becomes even more important to be customer-centric and to fight to retain the most valuable customers. That was my message in the seminar, and it resonated with the audience.

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