When you have 98 percent brand recognition, what do you do? Thrive.

Montblanc currently commands 70 percent of the world market in fine writing instruments, according to Jan-Patrick Schmitz, president and CEO of Montblanc N.A. The company has achieved this by focusing on creating "deep positioning and meaning" in the luxury market instead of targeting everyone who writes, Schmitz said during his keynote at the Argyle Executive Forum's 2010 CMO Spotlight Forum: Retail and Consumer Goods & Services.

Continue reading "Montblanc Inks a Long-Term Customer Strategy " »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

There are rare moments in technology when everything changes. When the entire framework defining how we interact with machines (and consequently, each other) shifts perceptibly. That happened when the TV was invented, it happened when the computer mouse was made available commercially. These kinds of changes forever alter our economics, our social life, and our individual experiences.

It's now about to happen again. Only this time, the shift that is coming is on such a large scale that not only will it change things dramatically; it will usher in a new era in human economics (and therefore, everything else).

Continue reading "Forrester's James McQuivey: We Are About To Enter The Age Of Experience" »

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Attempts to monitor what customers are saying about your company in social media can often be a hit-or-miss approach. Vovici's Vice President of Research Brian Koma shares his recommendations for using enterprise feedback management tools to help gauge and react to customer sentiment in the social media atmosphere.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: Applying Enterprise Feedback Management to Social Media to Glean Customer Insights" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

For years, companies have pursued loyalty programs that cater to their most valued customers. However, in a tough economic environment, where every dime of revenue matters, it is now essential to promote loyalty among a broader base of customers. Expanding loyalty requires that companies ensure a satisfying experience that moves high-potential customers up the value chain.

En route, however, companies can find that loyalty comes in many shades. Depending on the duration of the relationship and other factors, customers have their own definitions of what loyalty entails. Knowing the appropriate treatment for customers, at the right stage of their development, makes all the difference in the success of conversion efforts.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Ryan Pellet: Customer Loyalty -- Follow the Customer's Lead" »

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Self-service can definitely enhance the customer experience, but it can also hurt it too. On Sunday my husband and I went to Lowe's to purchase some items that we needed for home improvement projects. After about an hour in the store, we approached the check-out to find our choices limited. There were only four self-service kiosks open--both with two winding lines.

Continue reading "Using Common Sense When Deploying Self-Service" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

After Facebook's big open graph announcement and Project Titan murmurs, it seems likely that email marketing will take a hit. If Facebook could bring down Google and turn SEO on its head in its reorganization of the Web, it's just a matter of time before email goes the way of the carrier pigeon, right?

With 500 million people reachable on Facebook, 125 million on Twitter and millions more siphoned off by any number of mobile and other digital distractions, what chance does email have?

A great one.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Ajay Goel: Life After Facebook -- Why Email Remains Your Biggest Opportunity" »

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The financial crisis has forced many governments to enact rules to rein in financial processes and procedures. The United States earlier this year passed credit card reform, and just last week passed its financial reform bill, which creates a federal consumer protection agency and puts limits on fast and loose financial activity. Not to be outdone, the British government last year enacted its own set of mandates. The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which regulates banks, building societies, and credit unions, added rules designed to build confidence in the banking system. As part of the reform, financial services companies will be required to take a holistic view of their customers.

Continue reading "Financial Reform in the UK Mandates Customer Centricity" »

Posted by Elizabeth Glagowski at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Companies can learn a lot about customer behaviors, attitudes and preferences by listening to what they have to say in social media channels. Erick Brethenoux, Predictive Analytics Strategist for SPSS, an IBM Company, shares his views on how companies can apply analytics to learn more about the social customer.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: Applying Analytics to the Social Customer" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

There's a huge amount of buzz around social CRM but a limited amount of action that marketers are actually taking. Larry Ritter, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Sage CRM Solutions, shares his insights on opportunities for marketing leaders to engage with customers through a variety of social CRM platforms.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: Making the Most of Social CRM Opportunities with Customers" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

"The best strategy is nothing without engagement and accountability," Allstate Insurance Chief Customer Experience Officer Patty VanLammeren told attendees of the Forrester Research Customer Experience Forum 2010.

Those two elements were essential to Allstate's recent customer experience revamp. "We changed the way we measure success," VanLammeren said, explaining that success is now measured across the enterprise, not just within one business unit.

VanLammeren was appointed to lead the customer experience journey in 2008, when Allstate's management team made improving customer loyalty one the insurer's three corporate priorities. "We needed to change the way we think, to shift the culture to focus on the customer," she said. Today the company reports earnings and loyalty together.

Continue reading "Allstate's Full-Coverage Customer Experience" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

A few years ago it became nearly cliché to say, "This is the year for mobile." That notion is now a reality. At the recent Internet Week New York, the Mobile Marketing Forum (MMA Forum) showcased the mobile channel's global reach and local relevance.

Here are some examples of mobile marketing success happening today, cited during MMA Forum:

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Michael Becker: The Time for Mobile Marketing Is Now" »

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A Facebook friend wrote a status update yesterday that caught my eye. He was ranting about an interaction he had with a customer service rep, saying "Does 'customer service rep' mean liar nowadays? They B.S. so much they should be in politics. And returning phone calls? Forget it."

Continue reading "What's Wrong With Customer Service These Days?" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome--more commonly known as SARS--hit Southeast Asia in 2003, infecting more 8,000 people, killing nearly 800. Very quickly, 80 percent of business travel and tourism to Vietnam evaporated.

Our colleague Binh Nguyen was working at the time at the Duxton Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. His boss, the hotel manager, faced some tough choices and spent a few days agonizing over what to do. Finally, he brought all of his employees together in the hotel's grand ballroom. "You all know about SARS and what it has done to our business," he said. "And you've seen other hotels in the city cutting jobs by 40 percent." Everyone nodded, prepared for the worst. Then he said, "I also understand that you still have your family to feed. I know what will happen if you don't have a job. So I have an idea." The manager then explained two options: The hotel could cut jobs by 40 percent...or everyone could take a 40 percent pay cut but no one would lose his or her job.

Continue reading "Guest Bloggers Jeff Grimshaw & Tanya Mann: In Tough Times, Rally People Around a Common Cause" »

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McDonald's is one of the most ubiquitous brands in the world, and customers can find a fairly consistent experience no matter which store they visit, anywhere in the world. But aside from the temperature of the french fries and famous golden arches, one franchisee take his approach to customer service a step further than corporate asks for.

Continue reading "McDonald's Franchisee Shares His Employee Engagement Secret Sauce " »

Posted by Elizabeth Glagowski at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Understanding the mobile channel is a must for marketers today. "It's increasingly becoming an essential part of the marketing mix," Michael Becker, Mobile Marketing Association's managing director for North America, told me during a recent conversation. "Companies need to provide value through and with mobile in a unique way."

According to Becker, we've hit a critical inflection point in smart phone adoption, about 24 percent of the market. MMA expects a rapid uptake in the use of text, MMS, email, mobile applications, and the mobile web over the next year. Marketers need to prepare, he said.

Continue reading "Mobile Marketing Is a Must" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Companies are spending a dwindling amount of face time with customers as consumers become increasingly selective and utilize a plethora of communications channels. Mark Smith, Executive Vice President at Portrait Software, shares his insights on some of the opportunities decision-makers can seize upon to maximize their interactions with customers across various channels.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: Optimizing Customer Interactions" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Having lived in Asia for the past eight years, I have learnt much about the respective cultures of this unique part of the world. It only takes a single phone call to an Indonesian, Vietnamese, or Thai contact center, for one to realize, like Wizard of Oz's Dorothy, that you are no longer in Kansas anymore.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger CJ Werley: Cultural and Geographical Differences Are No Excuse for Poor Customer Service" »

Posted by Guest Blogger at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

It makes sense that a company should listen to what its customers are saying, then take action based on the feedback it receives. The idea is simple, but putting it into practice can be an arduous task. It requires departmental integration, technology, training, and a culture driven by customer focus. Forrester Research understands the challenges and recently awarded three companies for their commitment to not just voice of the customer, but true enterprise customer feedback.

Continue reading "American Express, CDW, Dell Share Award-Winning VOC Strategies" »

Posted by Elizabeth Glagowski at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

A growing number of companies are discovering they can exert greater control in online interactions with customers by creating their own online communities. Lithium Chief Marketing Officer Katy Keim describes how companies can use online communities to engage with customers and develop tribal knowledge centers.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: Building Online Communities with Customers" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

If you're not investing in customer experience improvements across your organization, now is the time. According to Victoria Bough, vice president and practice leader, customer experience, at Forrester Research, customer experience has become a top strategic priority.

Continue reading "Customer Experience Is a Strategic Priority" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

There's a lot that companies can learn about what consumers are saying about them in social media. Clarabridge President, Co-Founder and CTO Justin Langseth shares his recommendations for using text analytics and sentiment analysis to learn more about customer attitudes and preferences in social media.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: Applying Text Analytics to Learn More About the Social Customer" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Love it or hate it, interactive voice response (IVR) has defined telephony self-service for nearly three decades. Whether a customer is looking for store hours, refilling a prescription, ordering a taxi, or simply trying to get routed to the right department, the find-it-yourself option has long taken the form of a 'Press 1 for X, Press 2 for Y' message. But the script is about to change.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Tim Harris:
The New Self-Service -- Beyond IVR " »

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Customer service can make a big difference in a down economy, yet many companies are missing out by not providing quality service. According to findings released today in the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer of 1,000 U.S. consumers interviewed in April, 28 percent said that companies are now paying less attention to good service. And with 61 percent of those consumers indicating that quality customer service is more important to them than ever, it's apparent that organizations need to improve their service strategies.

Continue reading "Companies Are Paying Less Attention to Good Service" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Despite years of practical experience with customer relationship management, marketing leaders can still encounter challenges in executing these strategies effectively. Pegasystems Chief Marketing Officer Grant Johnson shares his advice for leveraging business process management tools and techniques to help drive successful CRM outcomes.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: BPM+CRM = A Seamless Customer Experience" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Price, Promotion, Product, and Place have been among the traditional marketing instruments for decades. However, "Four Ps" marketing has been criticized by professionals and academics in the direct marketing/database marketing and CRM space. These experts correctly point out that 4P conspicuously lacks any meaningful consideration of customers. In fact, many in the CRM industry dismiss the usefulness of these old concepts and argue that customer-centric analysis and marketing is the only way to go. Some even call such change a paradigm shift both from marketing strategy and execution standpoints.

It's true that a strong customer-centric approach should be the overarching strategy framework, and that the 4P way of thinking has not adjusted itself to reflect the Internet and today's multichannel world, where there is a noticeable change in the way customers consume information. These changes have had a dramatic effect on marketing landscapes.

But 4P has not become completely irrelevant. If anything, marketers in the CRM space should use them more.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Hongjie Wang: The Four Ps -- Alive and Well in Marketing and Strategic Analytics" »

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