With 2010 around the corner, businesses everywhere are gearing up to tackle a laundry list of resolutions designed to increase their bottom lines. In order to start the New Year in prosperity, businesses must look to overcome barriers that prevented them from reaching their objectives in 2009 and to set new goals that will help increase earnings in the coming year. Here are seven resolutions that businesses can adopt to help them prosper.

Continue reading "7 Business Resolutions to Adopt in 2010" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It seems that the holidays are a profitable time not just for retailers, but also for thieves who steal gift cards from the mail. Or perhaps it's not so profitable for those thieves after all--especially when a retailer like J.Crew is involved. The company's proactive approach to service saved the day, and the sale.

Continue reading "J.Crew Saves (One) Christmas" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the not too distant past the addage "a rising tide lifts all boats" was true for many markets. It didn't seem to matter your industry -- incredible growth and expansion meant that many firms benefited from the high economic tides that brought double- and, in some industries, triple-digit annual growth. To succeed, the management team simply needed capital and a plan to expand sales channels to achieve revenue growth. Ah, yes, it was all about the top-line revenue number, the need to increase revenue, just adding "feet to the street." We all miss those high-tide days.

Flash forward to the present. As we begin 2010 we're faced with the reality of lower tides, with less demand for the products we sell -- and, an increase in competition for the opportunities that do exist.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Craig Nelson: Co-Creating Value With Customers Is Essential " »

Posted by Guest Blogger at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

More than 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies with an existing online presence have undertaken some form of social media for marketing or customer relations purposes, according to Gartner research director Adam Sarner. However, Sarner also believes that some 50 percent of these campaigns have been or will be classified as failures.

While it is increasingly clear that companies are incorporating social media into their overall communications strategy, questions still remain for marketers: "How do I build long-term credibility through social media?" Or more simply put, and perhaps harder to tackle, "How do I maintain the conversation?"

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Steve McAbee: The Social Media Conversation" »

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Another year has come and gone. We at 1to1 Media have seen our fair share of innovation and best practices around customer strategy. Whether its social media's impact on marketing, sales, and service, or companies finally integrating data across channels, there has been much progress in 2009 in the name of customer centricity.

Continue reading "What Was Your Favorite Customer Strategy Story of 2009?" »

Posted by Elizabeth Glagowski at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's a week before Christmas and all through the mall
Every shopper is rushing, buying things big and small.
The items were displayed in the stores with great care
In hopes that they'd sell till the walls were quite bare.
The sales signs were hung to catch shoppers' eyes;
Few products were full-priced, even the ties.

Continue reading "A New Spin on a Classic Holiday Tale" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Most experts say you should work harder than ever during a recession, doubling your efforts both to increase your value and make up for production lost to downsizing. Likewise, many advise a similar tact in customer relationships during hard times; concentrate on keeping the customers you have since new ones are in short supply. Neither is wrong, but maybe there are better solutions.

This isn't news, but many industry-changing companies were created during past economic downturns. Microsoft, HP, GE, and FedEx are just a few of the brands delivered in a recession. These companies didn't succeed by fulfilling an existing customer need; they created innovations that customers didn't know they needed yet. The same can be said of the people behind those innovations. They were thinking outside the box, experimenting and researching during a time when fear prevents deviation from the norm.

Continue reading "Time for a Shift" »

Posted by Jeremy Nedelka at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Not so long ago, it used to be that digital marketers didn't really comprehend the value of one-to-one marketing. I can say that because, since 1998, I have been in the thick of digital marketing, working with some of the larger brands in the nation. Even as recent as a few years ago, the relationship was all about the website. Sure, digital marketers talked about personalization. We even reflected that we listened to users' feedback, using their preferences to slightly alter the website (i.e., "Hello, Bob!"). But that's not really one-to-one marketing, is it? That's a slight improvement on mass marketing at best.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Jeff Hilimire: You Want Customer Engagement? Forget About Your Website" »

Posted by Guest Blogger at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dragging recyclables to the curb is no fun, especially when the bin overflows with unwanted catalogs. As the 2009 holiday winds down, I look at my stacks of duplicate catalogs from the usual suspects--Pottery Barn, Eddie Bauer, L.L. Bean, Crate & Barrel, Victoria's Secret, and Wine Enthusiast--and wonder why this cycle of recycling still continues today, with data strategies so recognized.

Continue reading "Catalog Overload: End the Cycle of Recycling" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

To me, CRM has always meant one thing:
CRM is the strategy an organization uses to create profitable relationships with its customers. And when I say profitable, I mean beneficial to both company and customer.

It doesn't matter what you call it--customer relationship management, customer managed relationships, total customer management--CRM is about partnership, and the enterprises that recognize that are the ones customers tend to gravitate toward. It's also about creating a compelling customer experience; one that boost wallet share, spurs referrals, and thwarts the competition.

The challenge for organizations that want to "do" CRM is defining profitable, partnership, customer experience, and sometimes even customer. But doing so is necessary to craft a CRM strategy that will foster a sustainable competitive advantage in today's hyper-evolving marketplace.

So how do you define...

Continue reading "Let Customers Be Your Guide to Success" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

The conventional wisdom of e-commerce is that customers only care about the best price. As a result, many online retailers don't consider customer loyalty an attainable goal. But according to a recent Aberdeen report, online loyalty is possible.

Continue reading "Online Shoppers Care About More Than Price" »

Posted by Elizabeth Glagowski at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Considering the many technologies out there to help companies with their customer relationship management efforts, sometimes I wonder if CRM is real, or just a pleasant, Santa-like myth. Consider this missed opportunity:

Continue reading "Yes, Virginia, There Is CRM. Or Is There?" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I just published a research report called "Consumers Expect Poor Service Experiences." The research, which was based on surveying more than 4,200 U.S. consumers, looked at consumer expectations for getting an issue resolved in 10 different areas (apparel, bank account, hotel, auto insurance policy, TV service, credit card, wireless phone plan, Internet service, computer, and health insurance policy).

It turns out that consumers don't expect much from customer service. Here are some of the findings:

Continue reading "Forrester's Bruce Temkin: Consumers Expect Poor Customer Service" »

Posted by Guest Blogger at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Immersed in customer stories, I often scratch my head when I hear about the stupid things that companies do. You would think by now with all of the discussion about the importance of delivering a quality customer experience that companies could get the basics right, but they don't. Instead, I am constantly surprised how companies sabotage their own success. Here's one example I that I recently encountered:

Continue reading "The Stupid Things That Companies Do" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

We all know the brands: Disney, the Ritz-Carlton, Zappos.com. Unless you live under a rock, you've probably done business with at least one of these famous companies. Sure, they're renowned for their customer service, and yes, they continue to make profits when other brands are going out of business, but do you know how they deliver those world-class customer experiences? They created a corporate culture that is all-encompassing, that filters through every level of the organization and underscores every aspect of their world-class delivery of outstanding customer experiences.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Patricia Jackson: Disney, the Ritz-Carlton, and Zappos Do It--Why Shouldn't Your Company?" »

Posted by Guest Blogger at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

"Marketing needs a complete revamping," FreshDirect Chairman and CEO Richard S. Braddock told attendees during The Conference Board's 2009 Marketing Executive Conference. "Marketing as a discipline in woefully suboptimized in the digital age."

Although it's critically important to get close to customers today, few companies are marketing and managing with the intensity possible, Braddock said. They can't adapt to today's pace--largely due to cultural obstacles within their organizations. Companies need to completely revamp their approach, he said, and harness the real-time customer knowledge and opportunities for action that the Internet allows today. "You have to rethink your business proposition online," he said.

Continue reading "Marketing Must Keep Pace With Customers" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been getting a bunch of inquiries about the best metrics to include on a dashboard, which vendors make the best partners, and how to set up for dashboard success. These inquiries come from firms that have already made it past the first hurdle, firms that already know they need a better way to organize the masses of data and information they have that illustrate where they're successful and where they could improve.

Continue reading "Forrester's Julie Katz: New Data on Dashboards" »

Posted by Guest Blogger at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Whether you're a large retailer or small business, the importance of good customer service cannot be underestimated. This is especially true in a business environment that is growing increasingly more competitive.

Continue reading "The Cost of Poor Customer Service" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It should come as no surprise that growth in a company is often directly related to how effectively leaders and managers delegate and are able hold people accountable. The more effective the "hand off" to others, the more aligned everyone becomes and are able to work together towards the same goal. The less effective the delegation, the more likely people are to find that they're out of sync with everyone else.

Here are some tips to make the "hand off" easier for you:

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Mark Goulston, MD: How to Delegate More Effectively and Hold People Accountable" »

Posted by Guest Blogger at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)