The Temkin Group recently released its second annual "Forgiveness" rankings of companies in a variety of industries. This measures a customer's likelihood to forgive a company for making a mistake. The 2012 ratings asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to rank 206 companies from 18 industries. Not surprisingly, many famous customer-focused companies found their way to the top of the list.
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"The big change in the world is that patients are taking control." The remarks from TEDMED's Jay Walker at last week's World Health Care Congress captured the prevailing sentiment of the conference for medical and healthcare executives. Nearly every session and keynote focused on the theme that consumers, once a secondary business consideration in the industry, have shot to the forefront of healthcare business strategy.
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"Consumers think of healthcare as a complex web," said Joshua Riff, M.D., chief medical director at Target at today's World Health Care Congress event. The company known for customer engagement sees healthcare as a potential new horizon.
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Today's issue of 1to1 Magazine highlights the Top Mobile Trends to Watch. A number of experts in the industry share what they think are hot topics related to mobile marketing, customer service, and the overall customer experience. Data shows that mobile is a burgeoning channel. However, its promise has yet to be fully realized.
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Social media is an enigma to many executives. Its prevalence can't be denied and all companies should use it as a critical interaction channel. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Foursqure, Pinterest and others take away the barriers to direct interaction with customers and prospects. The challenge comes from using social media in a strategic way that has a financial impact, not just as a "nice to have" initiative. Many companies are looking for best practices in how to best use social
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It's common knowledge that customer focus leads to revenues. So why don't more companies implement customer strategy? They are knowingly leaving money on the table, yet many continue to do it rather than risk facing the "devil they don't know."
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UK supermarket chain Tesco has always been afforded a reputation for providing a positive customer experience. But new competition, along with growing customer expectations, a down economy, and a lack of customer focus have taken its toll on the retailer. The company announced today that it would add 20,000 jobs over the next two years, boosting its workforce by 7 percent. Many of those jobs will be created in the customer service department. In these days of automation and cost
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Last week, President Obama unveiled The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, a policy framework designed to provide a "baseline of clear protections for consumers and greater certainty for businesses." The availability and use of consumer data continues to grow. The announcement intends to provide clarity on how companies can use consumer information, and provides consumers with guidelines about their protections and rights.
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Whew! What a week. 1to1 Media and Peppers & Rogers Group's 2012 social media week was a great success. We met lots of readers and fans, got some great insight, and connected in ways we've never done before. If you missed any of it, here's a recap of our activities last week:
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What can Warren Buffett learn from Justin Bieber? Besides the latest dance moves, it turns out celebrities can teach CEOs and other business executives a thing or two about making personal connections with customers via social media. Until now, many executives have hidden behind their size when it comes to customer interactions. Social media tools like Twitter and others break down that barrier, allowing senior leaders and customers to interact in new and scalable ways.
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I opened my email today to a message from Zappos telling me my account may have been hacked. But I'm not alone. 24 million other customers received the same email. While Zappos has made a name for itself with its customer-focused culture, not everyone is a fan. This weekend it became the target of hackers. And the situation may test the relationship it has with customers.
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The online world is fast-paced and hectic. Many of us are so focused on keeping up, that sometimes we lose sight of the fact that there are other people out there too. Somewhere along the line snarky comments and impatience replaced common courtesy and politeness. Well, Real Simple magazine has had enough, and this week launched "Be Nice on the Internet" week.
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It's the day after Christmas -- Boxing Day in some countries. That gift card or dollar bill from Aunt Edna is burning a hole in your pocket. The sweater you got from Cousin Larry isn't going to fit. And the thought of hanging with relatives eating more food for another day is too much to handle. So let's hit the mall!
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There are only six days left until Christmas, which is just about the time most men begin their holiday shopping. Stereotypes aside, those who waited until the last minute will be pleased to find that many retailers are prepared with special offers, free shipping, and other relevant and timely incentives for procrastinating purchasers.
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Like many of you, I'm doing a lot of my holiday shopping online this season. Last week I found a great item on eBay for someone on my list (who shall remain nameless in case they read this blog). I made the purchase, which was an eBay store located in the U.K. The seller had a 100% positive feedback rating, which was encouraging for what could otherwise be a risky purchase.
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It was bound to happen. Black Friday has moved beyond its brick-and-mortar beginnings to penetrate anywhere potential customers are. So it's obvious that Facebook is now ground zero for Black Friday deals and retailer outreach this holiday season.
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Tales of passenger woe at the hands of airlines are unfortunately too common. Even with in-depth media coverage and widespread customer complaints, airlines continue to leave customers on the tarmac in adverse situations. They haven't had incentive to consider customers ahead of standard operating procedure. But today's news from the Department of Transportation may signal a wake up call, hitting airlines where it hurts -- their pocketbooks.
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Last week the 1to1 Media staff provided in-depth coverage of the upcoming holiday season. Articles ranged from sharing new mobile initiatives and gift card best practices to e-marketing campaign tips and research such as holiday consumer spending predictions. Even with coverage of the many facets of the industry, a few themes shown through.
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No holiday season is complete without the toy catalog. Every year, kids the world over study each page carefully, pondering which holiday gifts to add to their wish lists. This year Toys R Us is giving its holiday catalog a new twist, adding mobile quick response (QR) codes to its pages. Select products in the 80-page book will have accompanying QR codes, which customers can scanned with a mobile QR reader to access additional multimedia content including videos, product reviews,
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One issue companies have when it comes to social media investment is that it's hard to measure the return on that investment. It may be inexpensive to set up a Facebook or Twitter account, but it takes a lot of time, effort, and sweat equity to keep it active and build a community around it. Many companies ask the question, "is it worth it?" Some companies like KFC and others are able to measure, at least to an extent, the
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Customer service is one area where being a small organization has its advantages. For some reason, the smaller establishments tend to treat their customers better.
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I got an email today from Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO. He began his message with "I messed up." That's a good place to start. Netflix has been a roller coaster of ups and downs lately. The company, trying to expand its business, acted like a teenager rebelling against his supportive parents, not realizing that its actions hurt the ones it needs the most -- loyal customers. What it does next will be a lesson in trust and customer strategy. As
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Today Google announced that it will purchase Motorola Mobility, the makers of the Droid smartphone and other mobile devices, for about $12.5 billion. Many in the industry note the move was done to resolve patent issues and provide more intense competition with Apple's iPhone and Microsoft's Windows mobile operating system. But it's also a sign that the industry, a fiercely competitive space revolving around innovation and leading technology, needs a shift toward customer centricity.
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Today's lead article in 1to1 Magazine is an interview with Deeanne King, vice president of customer care at Sprint. In it, she discusses how the company used a laser focus on customer experience to generate revenues, improve customer service, and grow its subscriber base. Customer experience has been noted as one of three goals for the entire company to work to improve (along with strengthening the brand and generating cash). King's message emphasizes how important the customer experience is to
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The calendar has turned to August, which means that school will be starting sooner rather than later (sorry kids). As families begin their back-to-school shopping, many will go online. And those companies that provide the best overall experience will come out on top during this busy shopping season.
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The demise of email marketing has been greatly exaggerated. Ever since social media burst onto the scene, experts have predicted email's death on an almost weekly basis. But as we all know from experience, email still plays a vital role for both business and consumer use. But this is no time for email marketing to rest on its laurels. Social media has changed the game, and customer expectations have also changed as a result. Companies need to evolve their email
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Netflix has had a rough July so far. The company, which built up a glowing reputation among customers, took its customers' loyalty for granted and may wind up an example of how not to treat loyal customers.
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Google + launched last week to rival Facebook. Its "circles" feature represents a shift toward more relevant, timely, and valuable communications to different segments. What implications will such a shift will have on business use of social media?
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Would you wait more than eight minutes to speak to a customer service representative on the phone? How good would you feel about a retailer if it took almost four days for the company to answer your email? If you are a customer of Barnes & Noble or Crate & Barrel, you will likely find out. Companies are always discussing the importance of customer service across channels, but how well do they deliver? A new study of the top 100
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At today's World Innovation Forum presentation, Harvard Business Professor and author Clayton Christensen discussed his perspective on disruptive innovation. He defines disruptive innovation as "a driver of leadership failure and the source of new growth opportunities."
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Shop.org and Forrester Research last week announced results of its annual online retailing study in the The State Of Retailing Online 2011: Marketing, Social, and Mobile. Of course, social and mobile are hot trends that retailers are beginning to experiment with, though financial results of such initiatives tend to be vague.
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This weekend my husband and I bought a new car. The experience was pretty painless, though there were a few hiccups. However, what caught my attention was my salesman's parting words as we drove off the lot. He told us we would be getting a call from corporate asking us to rate our purchase experience. Then he played the guilt-trip card...if he didn't score all 10's on the survey he might get fired. So we need to be sure to
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Corporate policies are put in place to maintain consistency and drive efficiency within an organization. But sometimes they work to undermine the customer experience, which can leave both employees and customers unsatisfied. With all the lip service given to the importance of the customer experience, it's unfortunate that when it comes down to practice, some companies rely more on strict policies than on solving customer problems.
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Budget airline AirTrain topped the Airline Quality Rating for 2011, beating out fellow low-cost carriers JetBlue, Southwest, as well as the big dogs like American, Delta, and United. The rankings show that inexpensive doesn't equal less quality. With a commitment to customers, efficiency, and effectiveness, it is possible to provide a fantastic customer experience without crippling customers' wallets.
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"Customer satisfaction is not a differentiator, it's a lagging indicator," said Leigh Benatar of Brand Keys at last week's Loyalty Expo trade show. Customers expect to be delighted these days. So instead of focusing on satisfying customers, companies need to look at new ways to build true loyalty and advocacy. During the show Loyalty 360 CEO Mark Johnson highlighted seven trends he sees in customer loyalty.
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Even though software companies and agencies create content for the mobile phone, mobile providers need to take ownership of their subscribers' experiences. New research shows that nearly half of smartphone users blame mobile providers for service issues.
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The role of "social strategist" in the business world is gaining steam. Many companies realize they can't relegate social media efforts to a tactical level, and instead need someone to formulate strategy, planning, and execution in this important customer channel.
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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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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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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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For all the grief the auto industry has gotten, many automakers strive to build long-term loyalty with customers. At the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this month, Ford and Kia stood out for their ability to generate repurchases.
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In the call center, self-service tools are considered valuable to help improve the customer experience while also boosting efficiency. But a study of more than 400 call center professionals finds that there is still much work to be done to understand how to make the most of self-service tools.
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Email's demise has been greatly exaggerated. Some have predicted that as smartphone usage grows, email use will decline. That's just not the case. In fact, people are combining their email and smartphone use to enhance both activities. And data around how people use mobile email sheds light on some interesting customer experience opportunities.
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Today's issue of 1to1 Magazine's Weekly Digest tackles two hot issues among social media strategists: the role of influencers and the difficulty in achieving measurable ROI. Both topics are on the forefront of any social media discussion.
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As each year begins anew, there is much hope for how the year will play out. For customer strategists, the hope renews that companies will bring customer focus to the forefront of their business practices. We asked experts in customer service, mobile, multichannel marketing, social media, and voice of the customer to weigh in on their thoughts for the coming year.
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Some of this year's hottest holiday gifts include smartphones and iPads. These mobile devices can do what many other mobile phones can't. With new technology and information access also bring with them new privacy concerns. As a result, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is taking proactive steps to address privacy with the creation of new mobile privacy guidelines.
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Sales and marketing strategy is changing, and changing fast. It can be hard to keep up. And the B2B space, with its long sales cycles and complex products and services, tends to lag behind the consumer space when it comes to evolving sales and marketing strategy. Yet in 2011, many B2B companies will recognize that 'business as usual' doesn't exist, and will change how they operate to be more collaborative and transparent with customers while keeping a tight rein on
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Last week Peppers & Rogers Group held a Healthcare Executive Summit to discuss how customer centricity will become more important in the changing health industry. To deliver on those customer-centric principles, new technologies will need to adapt as well. A new study from CSC predicts some of those emerging technologies within the healthcare space.
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First of all, thank you for taking time away from your online shopping today to read this post. Cyber Monday is a great day for deals online. But, not everyone is organized and ready to make holiday purchases today. So what happens after Cyber Monday? Are retailers prepared to deal with last-minute shoppers? How can they make the most of this important customer group?
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The mobile channel continues to grow as a valuable customer experience touchpoint. Nielsen reports that smartphone penetration in the U.S. is at least 28 percent and rising, accounting for 41 percent of new phone purchases in Q3 2010. As customers do more with their phones, the mobile app market grows as well. Companies are clamoring to develop apps for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and iPad devices. But while the desire to keep up with technology is strong, there needs to
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I don't normally like to use this blog to complain about poor customer service. But sometimes the situation is so blatant that I can't hold back. I hope the following story encourages any automaker or auto dealer to take an honest look at how they may be alienating their customers.
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Social media efforts tend to impact intangibles like goodwill, brand awareness, and affinity, which are tough to measure. But companies are increasingly thinking of social media as part of a coordinated, multichannel effort, connecting specific online and mobile initiatives to offline sales. Marketers are finally starting to answer the question, "how does social media impact my bottom line?"
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Not to brag, but I have a lot of friends on Facebook. 421 to be exact. Some are good friends with whom I spend a lot of time, some are family members I keep up with, some are old elementary school acquaintances that I reconnected with, etc. I have different relationships with each of them. One giant social network to treat them in the same way makes it hard to manage. Understanding this, Facebook created a new tool called "Friendship
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Don Peppers & Martha Rogers say that trust is built on combination of intent and competence. It's so true. Misfire on either of these, and it's hard to win customer trust.
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Marketing can be a very siloed business. Email marketers may be doing their thing, while social media folks play on Twitter, Facebook, and other sites. Elsewhere traditional direct marketers are planning direct mail campaigns and website folks might be working on lead generation programs with the sales team. Mobile marketers are finding short codes and promotions to use. All of this activity is important, but without a common thread, it can get pretty confusing to the customer. It's time for
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