Summer 2009
FREE! 1to1 Magazine highlights the achievements, case histories and newest developments in customer strategy.
1to1 Customer Champions: On the Move
Who are this year's sentries of customer centricity? They're executives who know that customers are the business, and who have a wizard-like ability to transform even the toughest customers' loyalty into profit. They're 1to1 Customer Champions.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Tim Collins, Vice President, Experiential Marketing, Wells Fargo
Tim Collins likes to think he has "the coolest job" at Wells Fargo. As senior vice president of experiential marketing he oversees the company's event and social media strategy, which includes blogs, sponsorships, events, interactive marketing, and online communities.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: M. Sirri Erkan, Deputy CEO, Isbank
Isbank Deputy CEO M. Sirri Erkan has used his leadership position to drive an enterprisewide transformation based on customer centricity. It's what makes him a 2009 1to1 Customer Champion.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Robert Pearson, Vice President, E-commerce, Future Shop
Robert Pearson knows that true competitive advantage occurs through the customer experience, not products or advertising. Pearson is vice president of e-commerce at electronics retailer Future Shop, a subsidiary of Best Buy Canada and Canada's largest retailer of consumer electronics and computers. With both physical stores and an online presence, Pearson's goal is to provide a personal customer experience no matter how a customer interacts with the brand.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Stuart Roesel, Director of Customer Loyalty and Retention, EarthLink
Who is the customer? What do they want? Why do they stay?
Those are the three most important questions for EarthLink's Stuart Roesel. As director of customer loyalty and retention for the Internet service provider, it's his job to understand the changing needs of customers and meet them over the long term. It's what makes him a 2009 1to1 Customer Champion.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Stormy Simon, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Customer Care, Overstock.com
Online retailer Overstock.com competes in the busy e-commerce space with the likes of Amazon.com, eBay, Walmart.com, and others. It stands out by strictly adhering to a simple notion: "We do what's right by the customer." And Senior Vice President of Marketing and Customer Care Stormy Simon leads that charge. It's why she's a 2009 1to1 Customer Champion.
The Mysterious Case of Hidden Customer Preferences
Many companies today use insights gleaned from various "voice of the customer" channels to make decisions on everything from product updates to process improvements. But dig a little deeper and it's possible to discover evidence of other potential improvements-like cost cutting options that won't detract from the customer experience, or hidden service gaps that when filled will deliver a competitive advantage.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Shannon Balliet-Antorcha, Director of Database Marketing and Customer Data Integration, Carnival Cruise Lines
When Shannon Balliet-Antorcha came to Carnival Cruise Lines the company already excelled at meeting customers' expectations once they left port, but finding and retaining customers was less than an exact science.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Sonja Buhrmann, Customer Centricity Officer, Telkom SA Limited
The impact of embracing customer centricity at Telkom SA is visible and measurable, but what went on behind the scenes to create that atmosphere almost goes unnoticed. The job of creating that customer-centric foundation fell to Sonja Buhrmann, the South African telecommunications provider's first customer centricity officer.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Perry Cooper, Senior VP of Digital and Direct Marketing and Fan Analytics, NHL
Sports fans' fervor and enthusiasm make them a unique kind of customer. Looking to better understand them and capitalize on that zeal, the National Hockey League appointed Perry Cooper as its senior vice president of digital and direct marketing and fan analytics. Cooper says working with fans is his passion, and working within corporations that haven't previously been fan centric is his specialty. Before coming to the NHL in 2007, Cooper spent his career at Sports Illustrated and the National Football League.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Fran Horner, Senior Director of Patient Services, NorthShore University HealthSystem
The medical industry is typically associated with long waits, complicated forms and rules, and poor customer service. When Fran Horner came to NorthShore University HealthSystem as its senior director of patient access, much of that was the case there, as well. Call center customer satisfaction was in the 60 percent range, centralized scheduling and registration efforts had failed multiple times, and there was no benchmark for customer service. Over the past three years all of that has changed.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Harris Simmons, Chairman, Zions Bancorporation
Harris Simmons isn't your typical bank chairman. Despite running Zions Bancorporation for the past 19 years, he still feels a personal connection to customers. He's often in his office after hours, taking calls from customers who are surprised to hear that they're speaking to the bank's chairman, president, and CEO. His office is directly above a branch, next to lending officers and other frontline personnel.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Maryellen Abreu, Director of Global Customer Support, iRobot
At iRobot's customer service centers, a large sign hangs above the areas where the service reps sit. Its four simple words remind them how to interact with clients. It says: "Think like a customer."
"Think like a customer" has become the foundation for iRobot's service strategy. And Maryellen Abreu, director of global technical support, ensures that employees execute on it. The theory behind the saying is that when reps put themselves in customers' shoes, natural conversations will occur, producing valuable information to help enhance the company's products and services.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Rosemarie Donzanti, Senior Vice President, Customer Care Services, CVS Caremark, CVS Caremark
Rosemarie Donzanti's mother passed away in 1985 from cancer; every morning since Donzanti rededicates her life's work to her mom.
At CVS Caremark, where she serves as senior vice president of customer care services, she relays her intimate story to the new reps to help connect them on a personal level with customers. Because CVS Caremark's mission is to improve customers' quality of life, stories like Donzanti's help employees to deliver experiences that match the type of calls they receive.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Barbara Graovac, Vice President of Client Services, Thomson Reuters HealthCare
Barbara Graovac says customer centricity has always been her passion. "I've always been inspired by great customer service and great customer experience," says Graovac, vice president of client services at Thomson Reuters Healthcare.
Fortunately for Thomson Reuters Healthcare, that passion took hold in the company last year and resulted in the rollout of a customer experience strategy. "I've been at the organization for 16 years and I knew that we needed to differentiate ourselves," she says. "I went to a conference and it lit a fire under me that I could pull it off."
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Ron Kelly, Vice President of Customer Care and Logistics, Drugstore.com
Ask Ron Kelly's peers what makes him a customer champion, and they would say he's the voice of the customer in all management meetings.
As vice president of customer care and logistics at Drugstore.com, Kelly says his mission is to remind colleagues what customers think about the company's products and services. "The folks who work for me coined the phrase ‘WWRD': what would Ron do?'" he says.
2009 1to1 Customer Champion: Om Kundu, First Vice President, Treasury and Payments Solutions, Product Management, SunTrust
Customer-centric initiatives require a deliberate strategy that speaks to individuals' needs, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
For Om Kundu, first vice president, treasury and payments solutions, product management, at SunTrust Banks, executing and synchronizing such a strategy depends on partnerships formed within the organization. "Forming partnerships across, down, and throughout the organization is an imperative, and so is a strong culture of accountability and recognition," Kundu says.
New York Life Invests in Customer Sentiment
Contact centers have become a key differentiator in many companies for delivering superior customer service, building loyalty, and delivering a unique experience. The contact center for life insurance company New York Life has also become a portal for collecting and distributing customer feedback to the entire organization.
Darrell Robertson, vice president of member services at New York Life Insurance, AARP office, which services AARP's 1.7 million customers, says agents are trained to enter two types of information into a database accessed through an icon on their desktops: anything that sounds like an unsatisfied customer or unresolved issue, and any time they say "no" to a customer's question. For example, in the past customers asked agents if they could make payments via the phone, but New York Life didn't offer that service at that time. That's considered a "no" exchange. By studying this feedback, the company now offers phone payments.
Tesa Tape Gets Transparent With VOC
Implementing a voice of the customer program doesn't require a huge investment, or even a large staff. Listening to customers and effecting change based on what they say is valuable to every company, whether it's a corner store or a conglomerate.
Tesa Tape, which sells a variety of adhesive products throughout North America, recently implemented a VOC program, even though the company employs only eight customer care associates. Since the company sells mostly to large distributors, it receives a significant amount of feedback from a few customers.
Don't Get Paralyzed by Company Policies
At San Francisco Fire Credit Union, core values serve as the employees' guiding principles.
Old-Fashioned Meetings Get a Digital Upgrade
Current market conditions have created a perfect storm for marketers to create successful virtual events, such as trade shows, user conferences, and roundtables. Online events are part of a larger event strategy that companies are taking to interact with customers and prospects.
Five Tips for Virtual Event Planners
"Sometimes there's an assumption that because it's virtual it's easy," says Brent Arslaner, vice president of marketing at virtual event company Unisfair. Here are some tips Arslaner recommends for virtual event planners.
Chat Your Way to Customer Service Excellence
Online self-service tools provide great convenience, but in many instances customers still need some guidance. Companies are increasingly turning to live chat to provide proactive sales and customer service assistance in real time.
Walk Away From Prospects Now to Save Relationships Later
The days of "all or nothing" customer acquisition strategies are over. A long-term customer relationship begins with finding the right customers in the first place.
Dashboards: No Longer a Luxury
Companies are deploying specialized dashboards across their organizations as a way to deliver benchmark and ROI data. It's part of a strong customer data strategy.
What Customer-Centric Leaders Do
The reason we celebrate Customer Champions is that customer-centric initiatives rarely succeed without capable champions. And there are six essential actions executives must take to ensure the success of their firm's customer strategy.
Creating an Ownership Culture
In The Ownership Quotient, authors James Heskett, Earl Sasser, and Joe Wheeler argue that the path to better performance starts with achieving a level of employee commitment they describe as ownership. Here, Wheeler explains why this may be the single most important idea you pay attention to this year.
Giving New Meaning to Grass-Roots Marketing
In 1880 John Davey, known as the father of tree surgery, founded The Davey Tree Expert Company. Nearly 100 years later the family-owned business became an employee-owned business, and its growth soared. Today Davey Tree operates throughout the United States and Canada, consists of 7,000 employees, and boasts annual revenue of more than $500 million. The company provides a variety of tree services, grounds maintenance, and consulting services for residential, commercial, utility, and government customers.
(Non) Risky Business
Today's economic climate has put a new priority on the idea of risk management. The concept is typically considered in negative terms-stopping bad customer behavior-but taking the positive perspective of rewarding good behavior adds an extra relationship dimension to the process.
On the Beat
1-800-Flowers is known for cultivating a culture of loyalty. Here, Jim McCann speaks to 1to1 Magazine about his company's success and managing customer expectations.
The Collective Wisdom of the 1to1 Customer Champions
This year's 1to1 Customer Champions had so many interesting things to say, we couldn't fit all their wisdom into one feature. Here's a sampling of what inspires our 1to1 Customer Champions, along with their hot-button issues, favorite business books, common roadblocks, and other challenges that keep them awake at night.
On the Right Track
Grand Central Terminal. It's a hub of commerce-not only as a conduit for the more than 750,000 commuters and tourists who travel through its halls daily, but also as a 68-store "mall" and as a "food hall" with 35 places to eat. Its lost and found, which supports the entire Metro-North Railroad, processes more than 1,800 items per month with an 80 percent return rate. Plus, Metro-North Railroad Media Relations Officer Dan Brucker, who makes the arrangements for all special events in Grand Central, is a champion of the customer in his own right. His admiration for the terminal, the railroad, and the employees who keep everything running smoothly is contagious.