We recently published the results of our annual survey of the members of our customer experience professionals peer research group. The group is interesting in that they're pros: They all work to improve the customer experience delivered by their organizations. This year their responses are encouraging -- but also very sobering.
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An article in today's 1to1 Magazine discusses the burgeoning field of social commerce. Companies are beginning to use the advantages of social media tools to conduct transactions and make sales. Yet most companies are still struggling to define their overall social media strategy, let alone add sales to it. In his upcoming book, The Social Customer, author Adam Metz highlights the four phases of social customer engagement within companies. Firms are more likely to conduct social commerce as they move
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Imagine being inside a pinball game: You ricochet right and score big, then bounce left and just miss a chance at tripling your points; you careen down the center but veer to the side just enough that a paddle catches you and catapults you back into the fray where you hit a bell and send the scoreboard reeling. It's surprise and delight and disappointment and relief and happiness and... It's just like the many experiences we have with the organizations
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When Christi McNeill describes her social strategist role at Southwest Airlines as the "cheerleader and advocate for social media," she may be embracing her organizational culture's flair for humor. McNeill's hard work and effort has helped lift Southwest's social media presence to the top of the class in the airlines industry. McNeill describes her role's largest challenge as "Doing it all," which a quick look at her company's "Nuts about Southwest" blog confirms. In addition to writing posts and manages
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Companies are increasingly relying upon digital asset management tools and rich media such as pictures, video, and audio to provide customers with more compelling marketing campaigns, says Joshua Duhl, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at North Plains Systems.
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For Valentine's Day this year, I decided to use an online floral delivery service I hadn't tried before. I had heard about the service and a promotional offer they were making while listening to a talk radio program I often tune into. Although the flowers arrived on time and made my wife happy, the subsequent emails I've received from the service have left me discontented.
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I waited until the last minute to get my car inspected this year. It was a Sunday, so my usual service station was closed. Luckily, the Firestone near my house was open and had availability. I was happy just to find a place, but the folks at Firestone made me happier by delivering a positive experience from end to end -- clean store, polite service guy, clear expectations about timing, a call to make sure I wanted to replace a
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How likely are you to recommend your favorite brand? On a scale of 1-10, where 10 means you would definitely recommend it, I'm guessing that the likelihood is a 9 or 10. Now consider, how much more likely are you to recommend that product, service, restaurant, hotel, airline, etc., than its competitor? You may like more than one brand in a category, but odds are, one of them is the standout and the other is a backup. One would get
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Netflix, the DVD-by-mail service with over 10 million subscribers experienced a severe technology glitch in August 2008 that interrupted and halted shipping of DVDs to subscribers. Netflix confessed immediately on its website, saying, "IMPORTANT: Your DVD Shipments Have Likely Been Delayed." They didn't sweep the problem under the rug and didn't try to hide from the blame. Netflix followed up with emails to make sure all customers heard the news. Not all customers even knew that there was a delay.
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E-commerce has come a long way from static online billboards, to personalized guided shopping experiences, and now mobile commerce. While the larger retailers have a handle on their e-commerce initiatives, smaller retailers still struggle. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual E-commerce report, produced in partnership with ForeSee Results and released yesterday, satisfaction with e-commerce dipped 3 percent last year to 79.3, the lowest level since 2004.
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When used effectively, web content management software can be used by companies to provide more engaging social media experiences for customers, says Loren Weinberg, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at FatWire Software.
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Building a customer-centric culture is occupying the minds and activities of a lot of companies that I'm talking with lately. This is great, because culture is the difference between going through the motions of a script and internalizing a set of values that dictate actions beyond the script. Let me give an example: I recently was on the phone with an incredibly chipper call center rep at a telecommunications company. He didn't answer either of the two questions that I
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Roses are red, violets are blue, Do you love your customer, and does your customer love you? Happy Valentine's Day from 1to1 Media! It's a day for those who may have lost sight of what's truly important in their relationship to step back and take the time to show their appreciation of what they have. This is just as true for businesses as it is for people.
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When was the last time someone asked you to name a roach in honor of a loved one? Most likely, never. Which is why, when the Wildlife Conservation Society proposed the idea as a Valentine's Day alternative, I couldn't resist.
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"A customer is not an interruption of our work...he is the purpose of it. We are not doing a favor by serving him...he is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so." Those are the words of Leon Leonwood Bean, declared on L.L. Bean's customer service website. It's no secret why the retailer topped Businessweek's Customer Service Champs 2010 -- but how do you make customer service work for you? It starts with establishing your own
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Last week my friends Jeff and Gillian went to Target to buy their two children some new Dora the Explorer DVD's. Jeff has an iPhone barcode scanner, which allows shoppers to comparison price shop while in stores. Consumers simply scan the product with their iPhone and the app searches from the Web for the best price at other retailers. After scanning the DVD, Jeff and Gillian discovered that Wal-Mart was selling the same one for much less so they hopped
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To date, many e-marketers have focused on obtaining as many email addresses for consumers as possible and blasting out messages and promotions in the hopes of generating a decent percentage of opens, click-throughs and responses to offers. However, the recent introduction of Google's Priority Inbox has dramatically altered the landscape for e-marketers who will need to employ more customer-centric strategies to succeed.
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Yes, Apple is amazing. In no uncertain terms, the company has had a seismic impact on our society. Apple has changed everything from what we buy to how we work, and awakened both corporate executives and the general public to the value of good design. Apple has raised our awareness of the value of simplicity (and the rejection of feature overload); the importance of paying attention to every little detail (down to the layout and typography on product manuals); and
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It's the Monday morning after the Super Bowl and we at 1to1 Media cover the marketing space. Does this mean we have to discuss the Super Bowl commercials? Yes. Personally my fav's were the Darth Vader kid Volkswagen spot and the Bridgestone "Reply All" ad. And while I like babies and dogs, the E*Trade and Doritos pug commercials didn't stand out with me, though they topped USA Today's Ad Meter. Here are a few observations about this year's crop of
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1to1 Customer Champion Pete Winemiller often says that companies shouldn't aim to deliver an outstanding customer experience until they get the basics right. Winemiller, senior vice president of guest relations at NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, focuses heavily on the basics--and his strategy has won several awards. I agree with Winemiller's philosophy. Consider your own experiences as a customer.
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In Temkin Group's recent research report, "Customer Experience Accelerates In 2011," we found that 80 percent of companies plan to focus more on building a customer-centric culture in 2011 than they did in 2010. Companies are planning to increase their effort in this area more than in any other customer experience activity. But, what the heck is customer-centric culture?
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Last year, Pepsi decided to watch Super Bowl XLIV from the sidelines, investing instead in a social media campaign called the Pepsi Refresh Project. I cautioned in my blog at that time that Pepsi shouldn't isolate its social media marketing and that all media and marketing must work together.
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Amanda Sachs, Senior Director, Worldwide Customer & Partner Experience at Microsoft, shares some of the practices and metrics the company has put into place to develop tighter relationships with its customers.
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If you called American Express a few years ago to report a lost credit card, you got the card cancelled right on the spot. If it appeared under the couch a few minutes later, you were out of luck. You still had to wait several days for a new card to arrive. It was bad for you. It was bad for Amex. Luckily, a customer care professional (CCP) noticed this phenomenon. And, luckily, Amex had a formal program for CCPs
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