John Protopapadakis is a teacher, blogger and marketing expert. He discusses about customer experience and reputation management.
Interview curation: Dimitra Dolianiti
H.A: Describe us yourself in 3 words.
J.P: Teacher, writer, blogger. I consider myself lucky enough(although ,in great measure, luck is defined by us) as I love these 3.
H.A: What do you consider to be the most important milestones in your career?
J.P: In 1999 when, despite my father’s orders, chose not to work on the public sector but keep on teaching instead. Moreover, in 2002 when I woke up and said to myself that I had to do something: either a doctorate or write a book about Marketing. Thankfully, I chose the latter.
H.A: What is the fondest memory in your everyday’s life?
J.P: I’ve always wanted to grow up and live somewhere where I could wake up in the morning and see the ocean. I was able to fulfill my dream a few years ago when we moved to Artemida. Sitting on the balcony and write, its worth is priceless!
H.A: Is there a life’s motto that characterizes you?
J.P: It’s “Carpe diem“(seize the day). Taken by the astounding movie “Dead Poets Society” , a film that I admit marked me and changed the way I see things in life.
Η.Α: Do you think that success comes with a price? What was the most difficult time you faced during your career ,which made you say success came with a heavy cost?
J.P: Americans say that “there is a price for everything”. We will always face the price of opportunity in our lives(the alternative we “burn” because we chose another path). Having the desire to do what I loved, I came to a rupture with my parents resulting in me sleeping on a friend’s couch for 6 months.
H.A: Good customer service can lead to an equally good customer experience. Do you believe that as a country we have taken advantage of our brand properly in order to achieve good results? What do you consider is lacking ,that according to your point of view, we should focus on?
J.P: It is mentioned that it costs 10 dollars to bring a new customer to your property but only 1 dollar to keep him. Most of the people are not aware that 70% of the customers who shut the door to a business is because it lacks on service, not on its product.
As a country we have fallen behind on branding or destination marketing. To a great extent we have not developed even the Internet. We keep on playing in terms of 2000…
H.A: You have published a significant amount of books and writings.Out of these books, the one that stood out from Stamouli publications was the one entitled: “Airbnb: The absolute guide to excel as a host”, favorite by Greek readers. What pushed you to write about it?
J.P: Airbnb was a moment’s inspiration. While exercising I thought about writing a book, which will help a host increase his bookings. As a marketing expert, I made a research and there was nothing to be found in Greek – the number of lodgings were far exceeding 120.000. Bingo, I said!
H.A: How do you see the tourism sector being reformed after this unprecedented worldwide health crisis?
J.B: It will be undoubtedly affected similar to other economy branches.The detriment will be extensive and maybe it is time for introspection now that data change. For instance, we reached up to the point where Ionian islands depend on one market exclusively: The English. This is not healthy. The same goes with all inclusive model and the reliance by Tour Operators(whose terms become more burdensome than ever) or Online Travel Agents(OTA’s). We also lack on customer service and reputation management.
We are in need of a brand new model(which will be emphasized on quality and not quantity) both on tourism destination and business model.
John Protopapadakis, Teacher, blogger, Marketing Expert
H.A: What is the most characteristic moment you recall while teaching in Greece’s tourism schools?
J.P: The most characteristic moment was when I took my PhD in United States of America. There has been an incident, which in a way, accompanied me in my later years as a teacher. At that time, my professor in a lesson, which was a simulation with Math, had a black out unable to solve an exercise on the board. He kept on staring both the board and the exercise’s recitation for 2 minutes. He was stuck- he might not have been sufficiently prepared. When I became a teacher, I promised myself to always follow market developments and get to improve in order to be able to answer all my students’ questions that I should know about.
H.A: What piece of advice you would give to the young people, who want to work on the tourism sector?
J.P: First and foremost love what they do. To start on a lower level, to work on several job posts, to be patient and steadily build their resume. To be open- minded and never forget that… the customer is the one who pays their salary.
Visit Mr. Protopapadakis “Marketing tips” blog:
For branding solutions Mr. Protopapadakis suggests:
Learn how to become a successful Airbnb host:
English (UK) 
Ελληνικά