As a growing number of organizations are creating the role of Chief Customer Officers, they're also working harder on designing more granular customer experience programs that are aimed at improving the business performance of their companies. 1to1 Media's Tom Hoffman spoke with Sage North America's Chief Customer Officer Doug Meyer about the importance of incorporating business process and culture change as part of this evolution.

Continue reading "Hoffman's Hot Seat: The Chief Customer Officer: Building a Customer Strategy" »

Posted by Tom Hoffman at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the media constantly inundating us with negative messages, it was refreshing to listen to someone like Bert Jacobs speak on Monday. The cofounder and chief executive optimist of Life is Good, a $100 million privately held t-shirt and apparel company, talked to an audience at the National Retail Federation to provide life lessons that we can all translate into business lessons. "Your life isn't there to grow your business; your business is here to serve your life," he explained.

Continue reading ""Life is Good" Offers Valuable Lessons" »

Posted by Mila D'Antonio at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I once was fired as a customer. It's true.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Allstate Insurance decided that potential hurricane damage was a significant risk for many of its customers in the New York City area. So, the company notified us that it was cancelling our homeowners insurance--with plenty of time to find a new carrier. Initially, it seemed absurd to me (I live in the city and the extremely rare times any hurricane has made landfall in New York, it's been at the eastern-most area of Long Island). But, being in the "customer business" I understood Allstate's decision to fire potentially unprofitable customers.

Continue reading "When Is It OK to Fire Your Customers?" »

Posted by Ginger Conlon at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

The IRS doesn't have a very good reputation for customer service or helpfulness. With the bar set so low, it would take something extraordinary to get people to be upset about a lack of service. And here it is: the customer service goal is to answer only 7 out of every 10 calls that come in.

Continue reading "The IRS' Customer Service Goal: Don't Answer 30 Percent of Calls" »

Posted by Elizabeth Glagowski at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The New Year always brings with it predictions about what to expect over the next 12 months. The consensus among our group of leading business thinker is that this year will be the year that social media actually gets operationalized into business. Companies now realize that it's no fad, and they should dedicate resources and strategies to incorporate social media into everyday business, say Don Peppers, Martha Rogers, and others. What do you think?

Continue reading "Is Social CRM the "It" Strategy of 2010?" »

Posted by Elizabeth Glagowski at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)